The obvious changes in climate in recent years have led to growing concern, particularly with global warming and the effects of climate on natural resources such as water and agricultural land. Research has expanded in an effort to forecast climate phenomena. As in most natural phenomena, the current changes in the environment, particularly the climatological conditions, can be understood through historical records measured in the concentrations of specific parameters in natural archives such as ice cores, lake and sea sediments, corals, paleo-groundwater, cave deposits, and tree rings.

Isotope methodologies have been found useful for recognizing past conditions to understand possible future conditions. Isotopes are indicators of climate related parameters like surface air temperature, relative humidity of the atmosphere, and amount of precipitation. In addition, the dynamics, transport and mixing processes in the atmosphere governing the climatic conditions and air-sea interactions can be investigated through measurements of radioisotopes. The input of isotope data can thus strengthen the modelling efforts aimed at providing a prognosis of future environmental conditions.

• Isotopes in the atmosphere and the hydrosphere:
  atmospheric moisture and precipitation, transport of water vapour; isotopes as a calibration tool for regional and global models of atmospheric and oceanic circulation; isotope characteristics of atmospheric greenhouse gases; reconstruction of past atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases; isotope constraints on sources and sinks of greenhouse gases; anthropogenic impact on atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases.

• Interaction between the atmosphere and the hydrosphere:
  air-sea interactions and major climatic phenomena (monsoon, ITCZ, NAO, El Niņo and La Niņa); carbon fluxes in the ocean; transport of tracers through surface water systems; recent changes in large aquatic systems (lakes and semi-enclosed seas); human-induced perturbations of the soil-plant-atmosphere system on a local and regional scale; impact of large scale deforestation on regional climate and hydrology; rainfall-recharge relationship under different climatic regimes.

• Isotope indicators of past climatic and environmental changes:
  response of hydrological and marine systems to climate change; deep sea sediments, polar ice sheets and high mountain glaciers as archives of climatic and environmental change; palaeowaters as archives of palaeoclimate; lacustrine deposits as archives of climatic and environmental changes; sea level changes; other indicators of climatic and environmental changes (terrestrial and aquatic organic matter, freshwater carbonates, speleothems, corals, phosphates, etc.); modelling for predicting environmental changes.

• Advances in isotope and other analytical techniques:
  recent developments in isotope dating techniques; C-14, Th/U and other chronologies; new isotope tools for reconstructing past climatic and environmental changes; isotopomer methodology and data analysis.
  
  

All persons wishing to participate in the meeting are requested to complete a Participation Form and send it as soon as possible to the competent official authority (Ministry of Foreign Affairs or national atomic energy authority) for subsequent transmission to the Agency. A participant will be accepted only if the Participation Form is transmitted through the competent official authority of a Member State of the International Atomic Energy Agency or by an organization invited to participate.

Participants whose designations have been received by the IAEA will be notified directly two to three months before the meeting.

As a general rule, the IAEA does not pay the cost of attendance, i.e. travel and living expenses, of participants. However, limited funds are available to help meet the cost of attendance of selected specialists mainly from developing countries with low economic resources. Generally, not more than one grant will be awarded to any one country.

If governments wish to apply for a grant on behalf of one of their specialists, they should address specific requests to the International Atomic Energy Agency to this effect. Governments should ensure that applications for grants:

1. be submitted by 10 November 2000

2. be accompanied by a duly completed and signed Grant Application Form.

Applications which do not comply with the conditions mentioned under (a) and (b) cannot be considered.

The grants awarded will be in the form of lump sums usually covering only part of the cost of attendance.

No registration fee is charged to participants.

All papers - apart from invited review papers - must present original work; they should not have been published elsewhere.

Deadline for submission

1. A completed Form for Submission of a Paper, together with the Participation Form and two copies of an extended synopsis of 800 words (i.e. two A4 format pages of single spaced typing or the equivalent, including any tables or diagrams and a few pertinent references) must be sent (in English) to the competent official authority for transmission to the IAEA by 10 November 2000 (see section 12 below). In addition, this extended synopsis should also be sent electronically to the Scientific Secretaries (e-mail addresses: p.aggarwal@iaea.org and p.povinec@iaea.org).

   The synopsis should give enough information on the contents of the proposed paper to enable the selection committee to evaluate it. Introductory and general matters should not be included. The synopsis - if accepted - will be reproduced in unedited form in the Book of Extended synopses; therefore, the original must be submitted as camera-ready copy. The general style and presentation should be as in the attached sample.

2. If changes or corrections to an extended synopsis become necessary, a revised version may be sent to the IAEA by 10 March 2001 for inclusion in the book of extended synopses.

3. The full paper should be submitted by 10 March 2001.

Authors are urged to strictly observe the above deadlines as otherwise publication of their paper cannot be guaranteed.

Paper/poster acceptance

In order to provide ample time for discussion, the number of papers that can be accepted for oral presentation is limited. If the number of relevant and high quality papers submitted for selection exceeds the acceptable number, poster sessions may be arranged.

Authors will be informed whether their papers have been accepted for presentation at a regular session or as a poster on the basis of the extended synopsis. The IAEA, however, reserves the right to refuse the presentation or publication of any paper that does not meet the expectations based on the information given in the extended synopsis.

Further details concerning the written and oral presentation at the meeting will be sent to all authors in due course.

The proceedings of the meeting will be published in camera-ready (unedited) form as a CD ROM by the IAEA as soon as possible after the meeting. All participants will receive a free copy of the proceedings. In addition, selected papers will be submitted for publication in a scientific journal.

The working language of the meeting will be English. All communications, synopses, abstracts and papers must be sent to the Agency in English.

A preliminary programme of the Conference will be sent to the participants before the meeting.

The final programme and the book of extended synopses will be distributed upon registration.

Detailed information on accommodation and other items will be sent to all designated participants well in advance of the meeting.

Designated participants who require a visa to enter Austria should submit the necessary application to the nearest diplomatic or consular representative of Austria as soon as possible. Please note that Austria is a Schengen State and therefore persons who require a visa will have to apply for a "Schengen visa" at least 14 days before entry into Austria. In States where Austria has no diplomatic mission visas can be obtained from the consular authority of a Schengen Partner State representing Austria in the country in question. [The Schengen States are as of September 1999; Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.]

The address of the Secretariat is:

International Atomic Energy Agency
IAEA-CN-80
Vienna International Center
P.O. Box 100
Wagramer Strasse 5
A-1400 Vienna
Austria

Telephone No.: (+43) - 1 - 2600 (0) plus extension
Telex No.: (+43) - 1 - 12645
Telefax No.: (+43) - 1 - 26007
Email: Official.Mail@iaea.org)

The Scientific Secretaries of the Conference are Mr. P.K. Aggarwal of the Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences (telephone extension 21735, e-mail address: p.aggarwal@iaea.org) and Mr. P. Povinec of the IAEA Marine Environment Laboratory in Monaco (telephone: +377-979772-16, email: p.povinec@iaea.org). Conference organization is provided by Ms. T. Niedermayr, Conference Service Section, Division of Conference and Document Services (telephone extension 21312 & ext. 21311, e-mail address: t.niedermayr@iaea.org).

The Participation Form and the Form for the Submission of a Paper, together with two copies of each synopsis, and, if applicable, the Grant Application Form, should be sent to the competent official authority (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, national atomic energy authority) for transmission to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Subsequent correspondence on scientific matters should be sent to the Scientific Secretary and correspondence on administrative matters to the IAEA Conference Service Section.