Our Changing Planet
The FY 1998 U.S. Global Change Research Program
Published 1997

You may request the print version of Our Changing Planet: The FY 1998 U.S. Global Change Research Program free of charge from the GCRIO Online Catalog.

An Investment in Science for the Nation's Future

A Report by the Subcommittee on Global Change Research, Committee on Environment and Natural Resources of the National Science and Technology Council

A Supplement to the President's Fiscal Year 1998 Budget

Abstract

Our Changing Planet: The FY 1998 Global Change Research Program  is a report to Congress supplementing the President's FY98 budget, pursuant to the Global Change Research Act of 1990. The report describes the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP); reviews progress in global change research over the past decade; presents highlights of recent and current research on key global change environmental science issues; outlines integrative activities and perspectives supported by the USGCRP; discusses new global change research challenges in the coming decade; and provides a detailed view of the FY98 USGCRP budget, including FY98 program components and program highlights by agency. Achieving the goals and objectives of this program will require continued strong support for the scientific research needed in order to improve understanding of how human activities are affecting the global environment, as well as how natural and human-induced change is affecting society.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Understanding Global Change
   • The Earth System and Global Change
   • Progress Over the Past Decade in Global Change Research

2. Highlights of Recent and Current Research
   • The USGCRP Focus: Four Key Global Change Issues
   • Seasonal to Interannual Climate Variability
   • Climate Change Over Decades to Centuries
   • Changes in Ozone, UV Radiation, and Atmospheric Chemistry
   • Changes in Land Cover and in Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems

3. Integrating Activities and Perspectives
   • Observing and Monitoring Global Change
   • Global Change Data, Products, and Information Services
   • Earth System Science
   • Human Contributions and Responses to Global Change
   • International Research Cooperation
   • Global Change Education and Communication

4. New Research Challenges for the USGCRP
   • Regional-Scale Estimates
   • Regional Analyses of Consequences
   • Integrated Assessment
   • The Need for Communication
   • Epilogue: The Fundamental Rationale

Appendices

1. The Proposed USGCRP Budget for FY98
2. FY96-FY98 USGCRP Budget by Agency and Program
3. The U.S. Global Change Research Program
4. Explanatory Notes for Figures
5. Contact Information

About the National Science and Technology Council

About the Committee on Environment an Natural Resources

About the Office of Science and Technology Policy

You may request the print version of Our Changing Planet: The FY 1998 U.S. Global Change Research Program free of charge from the GCRIO Online Catalog.