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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, Energy

Investigating methane emissions in the San Juan Basin

A map showing below average background methane levels in the Northeast, Southeast, and Northwest United States; close to normal levels in the Great Plains, Midwest, and partial Southwest regions; and above average levels in the San Juan Basin.

A coordinated observing campaign uncovered the causes of an unexpected methane plume spotted by satellite.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas emitted by both...

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Oceans, Observations, Arctic

Understanding rapid change in the Arctic

An aerial view of the Polarstern during the day, drifting with Arctic sea ice.

The Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) project concluded a yearlong expedition into the Arctic ice pack, collecting data that aims to advance understanding, modeling, and prediction of Arctic environmental change.

Sea ice cover in the Arctic Ocean has shrunk dramatically over the past four decades as temperatures in the region have warmed at over twice the rate as the rest of the globe. This trend is expected to continue, resulting in nearly sea-ice free late...

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Modeling

Modeling efforts drive advances in projections of future climate change

The U.S. research centers that develop climate and Earth system models and the U.S. scientific community are key participants in long-running collaborative efforts to improve knowledge on climate change. A number of major interagency activities supporting improvements in climate modeling took place in 2019.

Most prominently, the World Climate Research Programme Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) is currently in its sixth phase (CMIP6). The earlier phases of CMIP experiments have provided the research community...

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Indicators

An interagency platform highlights important indicators of change

A bar chart showing an increase in weather and climate disasters causing more than one billion U.S. dollars in direct losses from 1980 to 2020. Event types shown are drought, flooding, freeze, severe storm, tropical cyclone, wildfire, and winter storm.

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...

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International

USGCRP enhances cooperation among international global change science organizations

USGCRP’s International Activities Interagency Working Group (IAIWG) convened its first international and interagency workshop in December 2018, bringing together representatives from System for Analysis, Research and Training (START), Future Earth, and the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). These three international programs receive funding through USGCRP to support their activities and to advance USGCRP’s international mandate. USGCRP was represented by ten Federal agencies as well as USGCRP staff. The workshop’s goals were to enhance awareness of mutual priorities, investments, and...

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Observations, Arctic

An observing network tracks changes in Arctic sea ice cover

Satellite observations show significant declines in Arctic sea ice cover in recent decades as the climate has warmed,[1] with impacts on fish and wildlife habitats that are important for subsistence, recreation, and tourist activities in the region. Retreating sea ice also contributes to increased storm surge, coastal flooding, and coastal erosion.[2]  Arctic sea ice plays a key role in moderating climate within and beyond the region, and understanding sea ice change is critical to projections of future...
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Social Science, Indicators

A collaboration explores socio-environmental systems indicators for climate change adaptation and resilience

A national system of physical, ecological, and societal indicators is considered a foundational component of the sustained assessment process, serving to help users understand the changing environment, assess risks and vulnerabilities, and make informed decisions to build resilience to change. A 2019 Federal–academic workshop sought to advance the development of socio-environmental systems indicators of climate change to support adaptation and resilience decisions at various scales in the United States.

This work was supported by the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (...

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Antarctica, Oceans, Physical Climate, Observations

Unprecedented observations in the Southern Ocean help improve global climate models

A researcher launches a radiosonde instrument attached to a weather balloon to capture detailed atmospheric data.
The Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica is the stormiest place on Earth, marked by heavy cloud cover that helps determine how much of the sun’s energy reaches Earth’s surface. Due in part to the scarcity of field data from the region, current climate models have difficulty reproducing the behavior of clouds over the Southern Ocean, which in turn affects how well they can simulate current and future climate. Motivated by these data limitations, an international multi-agency effort collected atmospheric and oceanographic data via ship-, aircraft-, and island-based instrumentation in a...
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Data & Tools

New data infrastructure helps build a virtual ecosystem of Earth science information

The ability to archive and share datasets generated by field, experimental, and modeling activities is a critical component of Earth system and global change research. Several recent interagency efforts aim to support advances in global change data access, synthesis, and use. 
 
DOE recently launched the Environmental Systems Science Data Infrastructure for a Virtual Ecosystem (ESS-DIVE), a publicly accessible archive of Earth and environmental science data generated by DOE-supported ecosystems research...
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International, Human Health

Interagency efforts help lead a new international climate and health research effort

USGCRP agencies and interagency groups played a leading role in the development of a Belmont Forum international Collaborative Research Action (CRA) launched in April 2019, focused on issues at the intersection of climate, environment, and human health. 
 
In addition to an international scoping workshop organized by the Interagency Crosscutting Group on Climate Change and Human Health (CCHHG) and International Activities Interagency Working Group (IAIWG) in April 2018, USGCRP member agencies (including NIH, NOAA, and NSF) participated in a year-long,...
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