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.
A global data collection network has built a strong foundation for carbon cycle understanding.
The AmeriFlux Network, which is supported by the Department of Energy, connects scientists from across the Western Hemisphere studying the exchange of carbon, water, and energy between ecosystems and the atmosphere. Since its launch in 1996, AmeriFlux has built a data record from 213 sites worldwide, called...
Interagency science investigated environmental influences on Zika transmission and helped support response efforts.
In February 2016, the World Health Organization declared the Zika outbreak spreading across the Americas since 2015 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, based on Zika’s previously-unknown association with birth defects. The virus was first discovered in 1947 in Africa and had not previously been found in the Western Hemisphere. By February 2016, the outbreak had spread to 48 countries and territories in the Americas...
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...
Interagency collaboration supported recovery efforts after Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
During the 2017 hurricane season, hurricanes Irma and Maria, two of the most significant storms to affect Florida and the U.S. Caribbean in recent history, caused catastrophic damage that affected ecosystems, livelihoods, and economic stability throughout the region. USGCRP provided one venue for facilitating interagency efforts—involving USDA, DOE, NASA, NSF, DOI, and FEMA—that are tracking storm damage and recovery in forests and the agricultural sector and supporting recovery and...
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...
The majority of terrestrial (land-based) carbon is stored in soil. With changes in climate and land use, understanding this key player in the carbon cycle is increasingly important. In October 2014, a group of scientists from 13 countries gathered in South Carolina for the Sixth International Workshop on Soil and Sedimentary Organic Matter Stabilization and Destabilization (SOM6). Participants engaged in focused discussions and shared results from
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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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).
Overview
Climate and Earth system modeling supported by USGCRP agencies such as DOE, NASA, NOAA, NSF, and others was foundational to the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) on the scientific basis for climate-change, released in 2013. Along with international partners, Federal and Federally supported modeling centers
Overview
Indicators are measurements or calculations that represent the status, trend, or performance of a system (e.g., the economy, agriculture, air quality). USGCRP, with the participation of 9 of its 13 member agencies—NOAA, NASA, EPA, USDA, DOE, DOD’s U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), HHS’s