Our Changing Planet. The U.S. Climate Change Science Program for Fiscal Year 2007

摘要

Our Changing Planet: The U.S. Climate Change Science Program for Fiscal Year 2007 describes the activities and plans of the Climate Change Science Program (CCSP). CCSP coordinates and integrates scientific research on climate and global change supported by 13 participating departments and agencies of the U.S. Government. This Fiscal Year 2007 edition of Our Changing Planet highlights recent advances supported by CCSP-participating agencies in each of the programs research and observational elements, as called for in the Strategic Plan for the U.S. Climate Change Science Program released in July 2003. An addition to the report includes an analysis of the significant progress that CCSP has made toward its overarching goals since the release of the Strategic Plan. The document describes a wide range of new and emerging observational capabilities which, combined with the program's analytical work, are leading to remarkable advances in understanding the underlying processes responsible for climate variability and change. It illustrates advances in U.S. modeling capabilities to represent past, present, and potential future changes in the physical and biological dimensions of the Earth system. The report also highlights progress being made to explore the uses and limitations of evolving knowledge to manage risks and opportunities related to climate variability and change. The final chapter documents the program's numerous current activities to promote cooperation between the U.S. scientific community and its worldwide counterparts. The document also outlines how CCSP plans to continue implementation of the Strategic Plan during FY 2007. The program will continue to emphasize work on 21 scientific synthesis and assessment reports. The first of these, Temperature Trends in the Lower Atmosphere: Steps for Understanding and Reconciling Differences, was released in April of this year and answers a set of key questions related to ongoing observations of the Earth's temperature.