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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.

Coasts, Human Health

A new forecast tool helps the public avoid toxic algal blooms

An image from a new pilot smartphone-based information tool that alerts users in Florida’s central Gulf Coast to potential respiratory hazards from toxic algal blooms.
In the Gulf of Mexico, toxic algal bloom outbreaks (or red tides) occur primarily during the late summer and early fall, and can be harmful to people and ecosystems. One of the most severe red tide outbreaks in a decade hit Florida’s Gulf Coast throughout the summer and early fall of 2018, with widespread adverse impacts that prompted the governor to declare a State of Emergency in mid-August. 
 
In October 2018, a new pilot smartphone-based information resource developed by NASA, NOAA, and state and local partners began alerting users to red tide risks...
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Coasts, Adaptation

Flood mapping helps planners visualize the future of California’s coast

A king tide flooded parts of Imperial Beach, California in December 2018.
U.S. coastal communities are increasingly vulnerable to sea level rise, tidal flooding, higher storm surge, coastal erosion, and other climate-related impacts.[1] To help communities in southern California plan for rising water levels, a NASA DEVELOP team collaborated with the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, in partnership with the California Coastal Commission, to create detailed projections of flooding from sea level rise and coastal storms along the...
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