Since 1989, the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) has submitted annual reports to Congress called Our Changing Planet. The reports describe the status of USGCRP research activities, provide progress updates, and document recent accomplishments
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.
The Arctic is facing rapid climate and environmental change relative to many other parts of the world. In addition to long-lived greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, short-lived climate forcers—in the form of pollutants such as black carbon and trace gases— contribute to warming in this region. A new synthesis, recently published in BAMS, highlights the key results emerging from POLARCAT—an international effort initiated during the most recent International
The United States and other countries around the world are working together to implement Future Earth, an emerging global sustainability research program that emphasizes partnerships among scientific and stakeholder communities worldwide. Bringing together and in partnership with existing international research programs—including DIVERSITAS, the International Human Dimensions
Advancing science in the Arctic is crucial to understanding global climate dynamics, supporting policy decisions, and managing nationally and internationally important resources. In coordination with the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) and USGEO, USGCRP member agencies observe and monitor the Arctic environment to understand the impacts of global change on this ecologically, culturally, and economically significant region. Polar orbiting satellites provide data that are combined with information from surface-based measurement networks, airborne and
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Coastal zones are central to socioeconomic development and are estimated to provide more than half of all global ecosystem goods and services. These narrow, marginal, often low-lying areas are subject to intense population pressure—with over a billion inhabitants—and are highly vulnerable to extreme weather and natural hazards associated with climate change. USGCRP supports efforts to understand and prepare for climate impacts in coastal zones worldwide through its member agency activities in the United States and its funding for IHDP, IGBP, and
In the Caribbean, the economic importance of agriculture and tourism—combined with rural poverty and widespread vulnerability to climate-related hazards like hurricanes and drought—makes planning for climate impacts an urgent necessity. USAID and NOAA are working together on multiple fronts to connect climate research with risk management, climate-resilient development, and adaptation challenges in this region.
For example, the USAID- and NOAA-supported International Research and Applications Project (IRAP; to learn more, visit: http://goo.gl/