Since 1989, the U.S.
In particular, Our Changing Planet highlights progress and accomplishments in interagency activities. These highlights represent the broad spectrum of USGCRP activities that extend from Earth system observations, modeling, and fundamental research through synthesis and assessment, decision support, education, and public engagement.
An observing campaign on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is improving understanding of influences on recent ice loss and the implications for future sea level rise.
Antarctica holds the largest reservoir of ice on Earth and is significant contributor to sea level rise. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet, once considered relatively stable, has shed an increasing amount of ice...
Balloon-borne instruments measure
Satellite observations of sea ice thickness provide an opportunity to improve seasonal predictions of Arctic sea ice cover.
Arctic sea ice grows and melts each year with the seasons, reaching its low point in September. Summer sea ice cover has shrunk significantly over the past thirty years, although variation from year to year means that the downward trend is not uniform. Arctic sea ice plays a critical role in regulating weather and climate in and beyond the region. Sea ice decline activates a...
Scientists are using aerial and ground survey methods to measure change in Alaska’s interior forests and its impact on
The boreal forests of interior Alaska are changing rapidly as the climate warms. Wildfires are more frequent and more severe, and declines in growth of spruce trees...
Scientists are using satellites to collect detailed data on forest change in remote parts of Alaska and the Arctic.
Rapid warming in the Arctic and boreal regions of Alaska is affecting boreal forests and tundra ecosystems in a number of ways. Higher temperatures and changes in precipitation have led to a higher incidence of wildfire and increased tree mortality from
Scientists are combining satellite remote sensing and ground survey data to better understand the impacts of
Scientists are gaining new understanding of processes that control greenhouse gas emissions from Arctic
Rapid warming in the Arctic is causing carbon-rich soils known as permafrost, previously frozen for millennia, to thaw. As thawing soils decompose, the...
Researchers are experimentally warming northern peatlands to understand carbon cycling in the climate of the future.
Northern peatlands hold large stocks of organic carbon in their soils that are vulnerable to release into the atmosphere as the...
An assessment of carbon stocks in Alaska’s soils and vegetation helped set a baseline for monitoring future change.
Alaska’s soils and vegetation store vast quantities of carbon. Increases in temperature throughout the 21st century may increasingly expose these stores to loss from increased wildfire,
A global data collection network has built a strong foundation for
The ...