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.

Map shows the average active layer thickness (ALT) at the end of the growing season for the Barrow, Alaska region that contains the NGEE Arctic study site.

Scientists are gaining new understanding of processes that control greenhouse gas emissions from Arctic permafrost, a potential driver of significant future warming.

Rapid warming in the Arctic is causing carbon-rich soils known as permafrost, previously frozen for millennia, to thaw. As thawing soils decompose, the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane are released into the atmosphere in varying proportions depending on the conditions under which decomposition occurs. Permafrost emissions could contribute significantly to future warming...

Mangrove forests store large amounts of carbon, protect the coastline from erosion, and provide shelter for many species.

A new research network aims to accelerate discoveries in the science of these important natural carbon sources and sinks.

Coastal wetlands provide protection from wind and waves, support habitats and fisheries, and store large amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide for centuries to millennia. These ecosystems can also be sources of greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere; wetlands that do not have the capacity to keep pace with sea-level rise, for example, can erode and release soil carbon rapidly to the atmosphere. Freshwater and brackish wetlands also emit methane, a...

Improving Predictions of Changing Arctic Ecosystems

A key challenge for Earth System Models is accurately representing land surface and subsurface processes and their complex interactions in a warming climate. This is true for ecosystems across the globe, but particularly critical for Arctic ecosystems, which are projected to warm at a rate twice that of the global average by the end of the 21st century. The Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments in the Arctic (NGEE-Arctic) project is addressing this challenge by integrating process studies, ecosystem observations, and computational...

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Highlights

Understanding carbon cycling in Arctic ecosystems

Understanding carbon flows in vulnerable coastal wetlands

Improving Predictions of Changing Arctic Ecosystems