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2 Strategic Planning and Coordination
Pages 11-26

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From page 11...
... Global environmental change is only one part of a complex and dynamic context; as scientists' understanding has advanced, knowledge generated by federally sponsored research has also become increasingly important to those making critical economic and life-saving decisions, such as relocating facilities vulnerable to flooding, preparing for heat waves in poor neighborhoods, or knowing what crops to plant (Petkova et al., 2016; Upbin, 2013; Winkler et al., 2010)
From page 12...
... the incorporation of process-level understanding within carbon-cycle science, and (4) the integration of human dimensions within global 1 There are currently 11 interagency working groups or coordinating committees catalyzing work on the Program's goals: Integrated Observations; Process Research; Integrative Modeling; Carbon Cycle; Adaptation Science; Climate Change and Human Health; Social Sciences; National Climate Assessment; Scenarios and Interpretive Science; International Research and Cooperation; and Education, Extension, and Training.
From page 13...
... Without continuous global observations that are quality controlled for long time series analysis, it is impossible to make progress on documenting and understanding global environmental changes. Since the inception of the USGCRP, addressing the need for observations from space and in situ has been a top priority.
From page 14...
... Yet there were very few data sets that were truly global in extent or had been measured for long enough to provide time series against which change could be measured. In the 1980s, the scientific community had begun its international planning for global change research, and was seeking ties to existing programs coordinated under the WCRP.
From page 15...
... One important accomplishment was the leadership of the United States in the development and implementation of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) , within which the USGCRP provided major support for ocean sampling and analysis, that provided the first ever global and scientifically structured data set on the key physical characteristics of the global ocean (Subcommittee on Global Change Research, 1999)
From page 16...
... Newer techniques such as "fingerprinting" have allowed for the detection and attribution of human influence in observed global environmental changes. Having this more complete portrait of our changing planet is of keen scientific interest, and simultaneously yields numerous dividends to human societies such as better forecasts of epidemic disease (Monaghan et al., 2016)
From page 17...
... . Research and development continued to improve climate modeling and process-level understanding under the auspices of the USGCRP, and by the third National Climate Assessment in 2014 the scientific consensus was that "progress is being made in the accuracy of models in representing the physics of the climate system at smaller scales.
From page 18...
... 18 Accomplishme of the U.S Global Chang Research Pr ments S ge rogram FIGURE 3.
From page 19...
... The model comparisons in CMIP use standardized specifications of inputs and output formats established by an international committee; an extensive suite of model outputs is 12 See http://www.globalchange.gov/about/iwgs/igim-resources#Annual U.S. Climate Modeling Summit.
From page 20...
... a/b. Fo example, research by the National Oceanic an Atmospheric A or nd Administration, N National Aeronauutics and Space ence Foundation,, Department of Energy, and the Department of the Interior can be found in the Administratio National Scie on, e USGCRP's annual reports to Congress and strategic plans (e.g., CCSP, 2002, 2008a; Subcom a o s mmittee on Globa Change Resea al arch, 1996; USGCRP, 2012a, 2015)
From page 21...
... 6. Research Priorities Identified by USGCR includes exam RP mples of priorities identified in US GCRP strategic plans (USGCRP, 2012b)
From page 22...
... is essential for developing policies to manage climate change. The USGCRP agencies have played an important role in research on the global carbon sink by championing strategic planning activities and by promoting and coordinating core observations and process studies.
From page 23...
... The social forces shaping land and energy use and urbanization globally are now understood to be of basic importance in developing scenarios for climate models. Designing effective responses to both disasters and ongoing stress, and designing programs to adapt to ongoing environmental change, requires understanding the behavior of individuals, organizations, and communities.
From page 24...
... . Additionally, investments in Integrated Assessment Modeling as part of the overall USGCRP portfolio have supported the United States becoming a world leader in this field; these models link climate system processes with socioeconomic drivers of global change, allowing decision makers to explore issues such as the potential consequences of different pathways of greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation options (SSTF, 2013)
From page 25...
... . Given the lack of social science expertise at most of the USGCRP agencies, they will have to actively engage the larger environmental social science community to develop research programs that effectively integrate and make use of social science.
From page 26...
... Fundamental advances in knowledge have been achieved. Collection of consistent data sets, at levels of spatial resolution from global down to specific watersheds and neighborhoods, has documented a range of global environmental changes in ways that can inform American decision making.


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