Appendix A
Statement of Task
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS), through its National Research Council (NRC), is facilitating the increased involvement of scientists in answering questions related to climate and environmental change, energy, natural disasters, and national security. The goal is both to advance scientific understanding of global climate and other environmental and disaster-related phenomena, and consider the implications for both fundamental scientific understanding and national security.
As part of a broader suite of activities, the Committee on Indicators for Understanding Global Climate Change was asked to develop a document that proposes an illustrative suite of indicators, measurements (including locations around the globe), and metrics that are most important for understanding global climate change and provide insights on environmental sustainability issues. This information could be useful in consideration of a coordinated climate observing strategy.