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As directed by the Global Change Research Act, USGCRP produces a periodic assessment of the science of climate change, its present and future impacts on the United States, and options for reducing risk, known as the National Climate Assessment (NCA). The NCA evaluates climate impacts across a wide range of interests, including water, forests and ecosystems, coasts and the ocean, agriculture and rural communities, the built environment, energy and transportation, health and air quality, and economic and social systems. The Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5) met critical milestones in 2022...
National Climate Assessment
The Rio Grande is the primary source of water for more than 13 million people in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and northern Mexico, serving irrigation, municipal, and industrial water needs. However, as populations increase and crop patterns change, water demand is increasing at the same as the region is undergoing a decrease in supply due to drought and climate change. To understand how climate change is expected to affect future water supply in the Upper Rio Grande Basin, which includes parts of Colorado, New Mexico, and western Texas, a study from DOI and USACE paired a streamflow model with...
Water Resources Modeling
The GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) Program is a science and education initiative that engages a network of students, educators, scientists, and members of the public from more than 125 countries across the world to better understand, sustain, and improve Earth’s environment. GLOBE provides participants worldwide with the opportunity to participate in data collection and the scientific process and contribute meaningfully to our understanding of the Earth system and global environment. NASA is the lead federal sponsor, and NOAA, NSF, and DOS are federal co...
Education
Marine invasive and nuisance species are important, yet understudied issues faced by natural resource managers and coastal communities worldwide. When managing invasive species, one of the most valuable types of data needed by managers to launch a response is the extent of invasion across the area of interest. Satellite imagery is a useful tool for monitoring and mapping the distribution of invasive or nuisance algal species on coral reefs over the temporal and spatial scales needed for ecosystem management. In a recent study , NASA, NOAA, USFWS, and academic researchers used visual...
Observations Ecosystems and Biodiversity Oceans
The U.S. Navy is working with other USGCRP member agencies to develop innovative sea ice analysis products and improve sea ice predictions that support increased activity in polar regions as sea ice extent continues to decline. Navy research activities are leveraging the wealth of data provided by NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) and other satellite programs to improve operational sea ice products and the CICE model , which simulates changes to Arctic sea ice and its interactions with the polar environment over seasonal to decadal timescales. Development and maintenance of CICE have...
Physical Climate Arctic Modeling
USGCRP and its member agencies are prioritizing integration of social science insights and methods to understand global change risks, opportunities to build resilience, and effective delivery of climate and global change information. USGCRP’s Social Sciences Coordinating Committee (SSCC), in collaboration with other USGCRP Interagency Groups, fosters integration of social science methods, findings, and disciplinary perspectives across agency and Program activities. In February 2022, the SSCC and USGCRP’s Coasts Interagency Group hosted a gathering of over 100 federal social scientists who work...
Social Science
The interagency 2022 Sea Level Rise Technical Report provides the nation with authoritative information to help communities assess potential changes in average tide heights and flood frequencies as they take action to adapt to sea level rise (Sweet et al., 2022). The report provides the most up-to-date sea level rise projections for all U.S. states and territories by decade for the next 100 years and beyond, finding that sea levels along the U.S. coastline are expected to rise an additional 10–12 inches by 2050, with regional variation. This report provides greater confidence in estimates of...
Coasts Data & Tools Physical Climate
USGCRP’s Strategic Plan emphasizes a focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and accessibility, as its agencies collaborate to invest research funding, build capacity with a more diverse scientific workforce, engage with frontline communities, and translate results into useful and actionable information. To support interagency collaboration, USGCRP’s Interagency Crosscutting Group on Climate Change and Human Health (CCHHG) collected agency activities related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility efforts at the agency and interagency levels. The CCHHG asked agencies to...
Human Health
The USDA Climate Hubs and the multi-agency National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) continue to strengthen partnerships and advance drought and climate change knowledge- sharing in support of building resilience to drought-related risks. NIDIS federal partners include USDA, CDC, FEMA, NASA, NOAA, NSF, USACE, DOE, DOI, DOT, and EPA. In response to ongoing and significant drought conditions, the Southern Plains Climate Hub co-organized the Southern Plains Drought Early Warning System Drought Partners Meeting with NIDIS. Over 60 participants attended in person, including those from...
Adaptation Water Resources
Island-Led Resilience 2030 (ILR2030) is a NOAA-led project, funded by DOS, to partner with the Local2030 Islands Network , a coalition of 20 island jurisdictions within and outside the United States committed to advancing the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through island-led solutions, with an emphasis on reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and strengthening resilience in island economies to combat climate change. DOE, USAID, NOAA, DOS, EPA, and DOI are partners in the Local2030 Islands Network, as part of a cross-government effort to foster island adaptation and resilience...
International Adaptation