Highlights

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.

An example indicator featured on the USGCRP Indicator Platform.

Climate indicators show trends over time in key aspects of our environment, such as greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere, temperatures across land and sea, and the extent of Arctic sea ice, as well as metrics of social or economic exposure to the impacts of climate variability and change. Indicators are based on long-term, consistently collected data and can be used to assess risks and vulnerabilities from a changing climate and to inform response actions. USGCRP’s Indicators Interagency Working Group (IndIWG) leverages existing agency research, data, and indicators in support of...

Williams Flats fire approaching the north bank of the Columbia River

Fire risks to human health and property have increased in recent decades due to the impacts of a warmer, drier climate on ecosystems as well as historic land use and management practices. Smoke from wildfires in the western United States and agricultural fires in crop-producing regions such as the southeastern United States increasingly impacts air quality, with expected negative effects on human health.^{^[1]}

The impacts of smoke on atmospheric conditions depend on...

Climate-sensitive infectious diseases, including vector-borne diseases (such as dengue, West Nile Virus, and Chikungunya), waterborne diseases (such as those caused by Vibrio species), soil- and dust-borne diseases (such as Valley Fever), and zoonotic diseases (such as plague and avian influenza) pose threats to the health of Americans living at home and abroad. These threats are anticipated to change in distribution and severity as climate change progresses in the coming decades. Improving U.S. capacity to predict and communicate changes in risks of climate-sensitive diseases,...

This image of Pee Dee River in South Carolina was captured by NASA’s Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) instrument aboard a September 17, 2018 science flight.

Hurricane Florence struck the Carolinas on September 14, 2018, causing widespread flooding and damage. In the aftermath of the storm, NASA deployed airborne radar to map floodwaters threatening the region, supplying federal, state, and local agencies with information critical to disaster response efforts.

Airborne radar is able to “see” through cloud cover to image the ground below during day and night and can map flooding occurring under...

Collaboration across the modeling community supports critical experiments and scientific advancement.

U.S. climate modeling centers play a central role in understanding and predicting global change on seasonal to centennial timescales. They are engaged in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP), which produces climate projections underpinning the assessments conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the U.S. National Climate Assessment. Models developed by these centers are designed for different purposes, from providing operational forecast...

A lake near Fairbanks, Alaska shows signs of thawing permafrost below the surface

By monitoring trends such as permafrost thaw, shifts in wildfire, and changing wildlife habitats, a multi-year field campaign seeks to provide the scientific basis for informed decision-making in response to change.

Climate change in the Arctic and Boreal Region is unfolding faster than anywhere else on Earth. Observations reveal reduced Arctic sea ice, widespread changes to coastlines and waterways, thawing of permafrost soils and decomposition of long-frozen organic matter, and shifts in ecosystem structure and function. These changes have far-reaching impacts in the...

USGCRP co-led an international group of funders and implementers in initiating development of a collaborative research action.

The Belmont Forum is an international partnership between national research funding agencies and international science organizations focused on advancing transdisciplinary global change science and accelerating its application. Its Collaborative Research Actions (CRAs) combine natural science, social science, and stakeholder perspectives to produce knowledge for understanding and responding to global environmental change. In November...

The NMME (yellow column) is a seasonal forecasting system that combines individual models (purple columns N1-N6) to produce more accurate predictions of climate. In forecasts of precipitation (top two panels) and temperature (bottom two panels)—key factor

Drought is a significant hazard for the United States, with potentially severe and long-lasting impacts on the Nation’s economy and food and water supplies. USGCRP agencies are advancing our understanding of the causes and consequences of drought, an FY 2015 interagency research priority (see Section 4). They are also collaborating in efforts to support drought preparedness and recovery, such as the National Drought Resilience Partnership (a deliverable of the President’s Climate Action Plan) and the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS).

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Highlights

An interagency platform highlights important indicators of change

An observing campaign investigates the impact of fires on air quality and climate

Interagency activities inform efforts to predict and prepare for climate-sensitive infectious diseases

Interagency data products and research inform hurricane response and recovery in the Carolinas

Enhancing coordination among U.S. modeling centers

Monitoring change in Alaska and the Arctic

Developing international support for research on climate, environment, and human health

Drought Research to Support Management and Preparedness