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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. Highlights describe the state of science at the time of publication of each yearly report, and may not reflect more recent advances in understanding. The date of publication of the source report is noted on each highlight page.

Observations, Mitigation, International, Carbon Cycle

Improving monitoring of forest carbon stocks

Three field researchers pictured while making forest assessments, just off a wooded footpath in Vietnam.A group of researchers gather around computers, engaged in lively discussion during a training session in the Congo Basin.Two field researchers fastened to a carbon flux tower during a training session in the Andean Amazon.

SilvaCarbon leverages state-of-the-art science and technology to advance the generation and use of information in managing forest and terrestrial carbon.

...

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Ecosystems & Biodiversity, Adaptation

Understanding climate change refugia

An up-close, profile shot of an Arctic ground squirrel perched upright on its hind quarters, dried grass filling its mouth.

A journal special issue highlights advances in the science of protecting species and ecosystems from climate change impacts. 

An increasingly important climate change adaptation strategy is to focus conservation on climate change refugia, or areas that are relatively buffered from contemporary climate change. Protection and management of climate change refugia can help shelter native species and ecosystems from current climate change impacts and provide longer-term havens that protect valued ecological and sociocultural resources. The U.S. Geological Survey and EPA,...

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Ecosystems & Biodiversity, Adaptation

Co-designing climate change adaptation strategies with land managers

A field researcher installs a hanging, multi-tiered emerald ash borer trap in the forest.

The Climate Change Response Framework provides landowners with adaptation options to address climate change risks to forests. 

Climate change increases uncertainty about future conditions affecting land and natural resources, creating new challenges for land managers working to sustain healthy ecosystems and ecosystem services. In 2020, the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS) and the USDA Northern Forests Climate Hub worked side-by-side with land managers to advance regionally specific climate change adaptation strategies. The NIACS...

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Ecosystems & Biodiversity, Adaptation

Supporting management of invasive species in forests and rangelands

A close-up shot of an emerald ash borer clinging to the side of a twig. Its metallic brown-green stands out against the blurred, wooded background.

A new scientific assessment provides information on the spread and control of invasive species for land managers.

The spread of invasive species is recognized as a major driver of biodiversity loss and a source of substantial economic and environmental damage. Global environmental changes, including climate change and land use change, continue to influence how invasive species spread and interact with ecosystems, presenting new and ongoing challenges for land managers. A recent USDA Forest Service (USDA-FS) ...

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Data & Tools

Providing national-scale drought information

New data products integrate multiple sources of soil moisture information to improve drought monitoring and prediction.

Drought is one of the most destructive and costly natural disasters, resulting in diminished agricultural production, reduced water resources, and deadly heatwaves. NOAA and the National Integrated Drought Information System have supported interagency activities to develop a national-scale drought product that integrates multiple sources of soil moisture...

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Water Resources, Adaptation

Addressing water supply challenges in the American West

A straight-on view of unsettled water flowing through the All-American Canal, the Southern Californian landscape framing both of its sides.

Collaborative studies among scientists and decision-makers are identifying strategies to meet current and future water demands.                                                  

The western United States faces growing water challenges. Drought, population change, aging infrastructure, and ecosystem needs all strain existing water and power infrastructure, and future climate change is expected to further...

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Data & Tools, Observations, Coasts, Ecosystems & Biodiversity, Adaptation

Assessing the health of coastal wetlands nationwide

Calm water snakes through a salt marsh surrounded by green vegetation on a sunny day.

Satellite data products are helping land managers quickly evaluate the health of vulnerable coastal wetlands.

Salt marshes protect communities and infrastructure from storms, filter pollution, and provide habitat for fish and shellfish. These coastal wetlands and the ecosystem services they provide are increasingly threatened by rising sea levels, erosion, and land use change, and land and resource managers need tools to track changes and trends in their health and extent. Satellite data products provide one method for quickly evaluating marsh vulnerability to environmental...

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Data & Tools, Coasts, Extreme Events

Understanding coastal hazards

Partially collapsed Florida beach homes sit beside a crumbling road under blue skies, captured in the aftermath of a category four hurricane.

A modeling framework provides insight on future coastal flooding risks to guide resilience efforts.

Sea level rise and other climate-related changes are increasing risks from the impacts of storms on coastal communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems. To support efforts to build resilience to climate variability and change, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center-Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (ERDC-CHL) developed the Coastal Hazards System (CHS) as a...

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Coasts, Adaptation

Building coastal resilience in the Chesapeake Bay

An aerial view of the Chesapeake’s Swan Island spotted with new marsh and dune plant growth, and its coasts lined with restored sediment.

Nature-based restoration efforts on Swan Island aim to protect coastal communities from erosion and storm surge while restoring ecosystems.

Coastal islands and marshes in the Chesapeake Bay provide habitat for many species and protect coastal communities from wave energy. Within the last half century, the effects of shoreline erosion, land subsidence, and sea level rise have accelerated the rate of island submergence and degradation of ecosystems in the region. In one example, the Smith Island complex, of which Swan Island is a part, has eroded at rates of up to 2 meters per...

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Modeling, Extreme Events

Developing a new seasonal-to-decadal climate prediction system

A next-generation modeling system supports assessment of changing climate risks.

NOAA, the USGS, and Princeton University scientists contributed to the development of a new modeling system for seasonal-to-multidecadal climate predictions and projections, SPEAR (Seamless System for Prediction and Earth System Research), at NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory.[1] SPEAR combines a set of newly developed components that...

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