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.

Social science methods and insights can enhance Federal global change research, assessments, and programs.

In March 2017, USGCRP’s Social Science Coordinating Committee convened a three-day workshop, “Social Science Perspectives on Climate Change.” The workshop brought together over 80 participants, including scientists and program managers from 13 Federal agencies, representatives from non-governmental organizations, and academic social scientists from four disciplines: anthropology, archaeology, geography, and sociology. Participants focused on identifying...

The Ten Thousand Islands mangrove ecosystem in the Florida Everglades pictured before (top, March 28, 2017) and after (bottom, December 1, 2017) Hurricane Irma

Interagency collaboration supported recovery efforts after Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

During the 2017 hurricane season, hurricanes Irma and Maria, two of the most significant storms to affect Florida and the U.S. Caribbean in recent history, caused catastrophic damage that affected ecosystems, livelihoods, and economic stability throughout the region. USGCRP provided one venue for facilitating interagency efforts—involving USDA, DOE, NASA, NSF, DOI, and FEMA—that are tracking storm damage and recovery in forests and the agricultural sector and supporting recovery and...

Imagery captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite on May 2, 2017

Interagency collaboration supported rapid response efforts.

Periods of heavy rainfall caused extensive flooding across much of the Midwestern United States and Mississippi River Basin in spring 2017, including widespread accumulation of 7–10 inches of rain, flash floods, and long-term river flooding. In response, NASA’s Earth Science Disasters Program assembled a team of scientists at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, other NASA centers, and NASA-affiliated partners to assist the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. National...

A lake near Fairbanks, Alaska shows signs of thawing permafrost below the surface

By monitoring trends such as permafrost thaw, shifts in wildfire, and changing wildlife habitats, a multi-year field campaign seeks to provide the scientific basis for informed decision-making in response to change.

Climate change in the Arctic and Boreal Region is unfolding faster than anywhere else on Earth. Observations reveal reduced Arctic sea ice, widespread changes to coastlines and waterways, thawing of permafrost soils and decomposition of long-frozen organic matter, and shifts in ecosystem structure and function. These changes have far-reaching impacts in the...

The figure shows long-term averages of Arctic summer sea ice concentration simulated by an adaptation of CICE/Icepack

Interagency collaboration supports predictions of Arctic sea cover used by the U.S. Navy and other operational and research organizations.

Summer sea ice cover in the Arctic Ocean shrunk significantly since the early 1980s, with particularly rapid declines in recent years^[1]. Arctic sea ice plays a key role in regulating weather and climate in and beyond the region^[2], and projections of how sea ice cover will change in the coming years are critical for...

Modeling efforts provide new data on the effects of climate change in Antarctica.

Between 1998 and 2016, warming in Antarctica has been rapid and significant. Recent observations also reveal increases in snowfall in western Queen Maud Land, East Antarctica that are unprecedented over the past two millennia. To investigate these changes, a team of NSF-sponsored researchers and NASA scientists merged observation-based NSF-funded research with global modeling efforts that benefited from NASA satellite and airborne-based data^[1]...

The Strawberry Advisory System tool, which shows risk levels for climate-related disease in strawberry crops, helps growers make decisions about fungicide application.

Interagency efforts develop and deliver science-based information and technologies to help agricultural producers and natural resource managers make optimal management decisions.

Farmers, ranchers, and land managers across the country rely on weather and climate information in their management decisions. To help producers and managers better understand the risks and opportunities that extreme weather events and climate change present for their operations, interagency efforts produce and deliver a range of information tools and resources that help guide climate risk...

A NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) dust warning to motorists traveling along Interstate 10 near Lordsburg, New Mexico, tweeted in November 2017.

Interagency efforts are supporting preparedness and safety measures for critical transportation infrastructure.

Dust storms in the Southwest can create dangerous and deadly driving conditions, reducing visibility to near zero with very little warning. Interstate 10 is especially vulnerable to dangerous dust-related driving conditions as it passes through a dry lake bed west of Lordsburg near the Arizona border. To help reduce dust-related risks, the NOAA Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) program and the DOT Federal Highway Administration coordinated with...

VegDRI (left) and QuickDRI (right) for weeks in May and July depicting the evolution of the “flash” drought over eastern Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota in 2017.

Monitoring tools help resource managers prepare for and reduce the impacts of drought.

The impacts of drought on water resources, plants and wildfire, agriculture, and the economy are complex and occur over many timescales, underscoring the value of a range of drought monitoring tools that support different types of decisions. To help meet this need, two complementary weekly drought monitoring and mapping tools—the Vegetation Drought Response Index (VegDRI) and the Quick Drought Response Index (QuickDRI)—were...

Historical and Projected Global Mean Sea Level Rise

An assessment of observed and projected climate trends in the United States forms the foundation for comprehensive analyses of climate-related vulnerabilities and risks.

USGCRP oversaw the production of the Climate Science Special Report (CSSR) as Volume I of the Fourth National Climate Assessment. CSSR assesses the state of knowledge on human-caused climate change, with a primary focus on the United States, including observed and future projected changes in temperatures, precipitation patterns, extreme...

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Highlights

Learning from social science perspectives

Supporting recovery from the 2017 hurricane season

Responding to the 2017 Midwestern floods

Monitoring change in Alaska and the Arctic

Predicting Arctic sea ice change

Modeling ice sheet change in Antarctica

Providing climate information tools to agricultural communities

Building infrastructure resilience

Supporting informed responses to drought

Providing the climate science foundation for the Fourth National Climate Assessment