USGCRP’s Social Sciences Coordinating Committee ( SSCC ) fosters integration of the methods, findings, and disciplinary perspectives of the social, behavioral, and economic sciences and interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches into USGCRP activities in support of the Program’s goals. In Fall 2021, the SSCC hosted a three-part public webinar series on food, culture, and climate , with the goal of highlighting the ways in which social science research considers climate change in a socio-cultural context. The series, with sessions on terrestrial and marine food systems as well as...

USGCRP’s Social Sciences Coordinating Committee ( SSCC ) provides regular input to USGCRP’s assessment reports and serves as a resource for author teams on incorporating social sciences into their chapters. After the release of NCA4, the SSCC developed a white paper outlining findings and recommendations for the further integration of social science topics into future NCAs, based on focus groups conducted with report authors, which was later released as a journal article (Maxwell et al., 2022). These SSCC efforts informed the creation of the new Social Systems and Justice chapter in NCA5. In...

USGCRP plays a vital coordinating role in international scientific assessments that provide policymakers with regular updates on the state of global change science on a planetary scale. The United States is a substantial contributor to the intellectual content of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) reports, with well over 100 writing team members serving during the Sixth Assessment Report ( AR6 ) cycle. The U.S. Government routinely provides comprehensive reviews of the draft reports, involving a process open to the public, hundreds of targeted reviewers, and convened expert...

In support of its international mandate, USGCRP currently helps provide core budget support to three international science organizations: Future Earth , which builds interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral partnerships to advance global sustainability science; the SysTem for Analysis, Research, and Training ( START ) , which provides opportunities for research, education, and training to scientists, policymakers, and practitioners in developing countries; and the World Climate Research Programme ( WCRP ) , which is the primary international coordination mechanism for climate system research. In...

As part of its international mandate, USGCRP builds and sustains partnerships to promote knowledge-sharing that supports research, data collection, and assessment capabilities in developing countries. In 2021, USGCRP initiated a new regional engagement effort, the Initiative for Enhancing Capacity for Climate Risk Assessment and Catalyzing Partnerships to Inform Decisions in Latin America and the Caribbean, or LACI . Its overarching vision is to provide opportunities for partnerships among Caribbean, Latin American, and North American countries to enhance capacity for climate risk and...

Neighborhoods in the same city can differ in temperature by as much as 20°F, due to differences in tree cover and other factors that influence the intensity of the urban heat island effect. To learn where action is needed to protect disproportionately affected populations now and in the future, the interagency National Integrated Heat Health Information System ( NIHHIS , led by NOAA and the CDC) and partner CAPA Strategies LLC launched community-led urban heat island campaigns that map the hottest parts of cities. Through this program, NIHHIS works with communities to inform equitable heat...

In December 2021, the U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System issued the third report in a series about the response and resilience of the Nation’s marine transportation system after major hurricanes. The report assessed the impacts to ports from the 2020 hurricane season, which saw a record-breaking number of storms form in the Atlantic basin during a global pandemic. Three storms were examined in-depth: Hurricanes Laura, Sally, and Delta. The report was authored by the Marine Transportation System’s Resilience Integrated Action Team, which includes members from EPA, NOAA, USACE...

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast of the United States, creating widespread coastal flooding and over $60 billion in economic damages. A recent modeling study funded by NASA, NOAA, and NSF, with contributions from DOE and the USGS, found that the impacts of Hurricane Sandy were significantly worsened by sea level rise attributable to climate change (Strauss et al., 2021). Researchers simulated water levels and damages both as they occurred and as they would have occurred across a range of lower sea levels, showing that tens of thousands more people were affected, and more than $8...

As the climate changes, hotter-than-usual days and nights are becoming more common, and heat waves are expected to become more frequent and intense. Cities experience higher temperatures than surrounding areas–known as the urban heat island effect–and residents often face higher health risks during extreme heat events. To help monitor changes in the health challenges associated with heat waves in urban areas, the USGS and EPA are developing data, analyses, and indicators for characterizing trends in the urban heat island effect . Integration of long-term USGS–NASA Landsat surface temperature...

Accurate measurements of soil moisture conditions can provide valuable inputs for agricultural monitoring and planning, weather prediction, and drought and flood early warning. Working with the USDA and other partners, the multi-agency National Integrated Drought Information System is leading an effort to establish a national soil moisture monitoring network. The NCSMMN is a multi-agency, multi-institutional initiative to integrate soil moisture data from around the country and support a wide range of applications across sectors of the economy. In 2021, agency partners (including USDA, DOI...