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Department of the Interior / U.S. Geological Survey
Principal Areas of Focus
Research at the USGS contributes directly to the CCSP strategic goals, principally
through studies designed to understand the interactions between climate, Earth
surface processes, and ecosystems on timescales ranging from years to millennia.
The goal of global change research at the USGS is to improve knowledge and
understanding of the Earth’s past and present climate and environment,
the forces bringing about changes in the Earth’s climate, and the sensitivity
and adaptability of natural and managed ecosystems to climate changes. This
information may be used to assess the impacts of climate change and variability
at a landscape scale and allow policymakers and land and resource managers
to gauge the relative sensitivity of particular ecosystems, resources, and
regions to climatic change and variability. The USGS supports multidisciplinary studies of past environmental and climatic
changes (climate history); process studies that explore the sensitivity of
the Earth’s surface, the hydrologic cycle, and ecosystems to climate
variability; and forecasting of potential future changes and their effects
on landscapes and ecosystems (particularly on public lands). The combination
of these studies provides integrated long-term perspectives on the effects
of climatic change and variability and on the interactions through time among
climatic, geologic, and biologic systems on regional and landscape scales. Program Highlights for FY 2004 and FY 2005
Geographic Analysis and Monitoring (GAM):
Research is directed to understand
the rates, causes, and consequences of landscape change over time. This knowledge
is used to model processes of landscape change and to forecast future conditions.
Studies are designed to document and understand the nature and causes of changes
occurring on the land surface; the impacts of land surface changes (including
urbanization) on ecosystems, climate variability, biogeochemical cycles, hydrology,
and human health; and to develop the best methods to incorporate GAM science
findings in the decisionmaking process.
Hydroclimatology:
Research on effects of climate change and variability
on the hydrologic cycle focuses on characterizing, and developing predictive
methods related to, the hydroclimatology of North America. This includes identification
of seasonal variations in regional streamflow in relation to atmospheric circulation
for regional streamflow prediction and flood/drought hazard assessment; the
linkage between atmospheric circulation and snowpack accumulation (for forecasting
spring and summer water supply in the western United States and for flood forecasting)
as well as glacier mass balance; and the physical and chemical variability
in riverine and estuarine environments in relation to large-scale atmospheric
and oceanic conditions (to discriminate natural from human-induced effects
on such systems). It also includes documenting the long-term behavior of hydrologic
systems in response to past climatic variations and changes (from decades to
hundreds of thousands of years) as well as more recent (decadal) hydrologic
trends. The Program maintains an active effort to develop improved representations
of terrestrial hydrologic processes in general circulation and regional climate
models. In broad terms, these activities are aimed at improving statistical
and deterministic methods for predicting hydrologic hazards and related environmental
conditions on monthly to interannual timescales.
Carbon Cycle:
The USGS conducts a broad range of carbon cycle research
focused on North America, which includes the following activities:
- Assessment of Carbon Stocks and Soil Attributes — Determine
the spatial distribution of carbon in the
terrestrial environment in relation to historical natural and human processes,
as a basis for initializing
dynamic models of soil carbon.
- Carbon Sequestration in Sediments — Study the redeposition
of eroded soils and sediments (and their
associated organic carbon) which sequesters large quantities of carbon,
buried at the base of slopes
and in wetlands, riparian areas, and reservoirs.
- Landscape Dynamics and Vegetation Change — Examine the
long-term dynamics of vegetation change in
relation to climate change and variability. A detailed history of vegetation
change in the western United States is being constructed. Past changes
are used to model vegetation response to climatic
variables.This knowledge is applied to forecasting the effects of future
climate change on the
distribution of vegetation in the western United States.
- Fate of Carbon in Alaskan Landscapes — Expand process
studies and modeling to better understand the
historic and modern interactions among climate, surface temperature
and moisture, fire, and
terrestrial carbon sequestration. Cold region forests (boreal ecosystems)
contain large carbon
reserves that are highly susceptible to changes in climate.
- Exchanges of Greenhouse Gases,Water Vapor, and
Heat at the Earth’s
Surface — Employ field measurements,
remote sensing, and modeling of carbon fluxes to develop estimates
of gross primary productivity, respiration, and net ecosystem exchange
at flux tower sites, and use remotely sensed data to
extrapolate these carbon fluxes to ecoregions.
Cryosphere dynamics:
The Arctic is particularly vulnerable to climate
change because of the large temperature changes that occur there and the disruption
caused by melting/freezing of ice and permafrost. In addition, the polar regions
have the greatest potential for causing abrupt global-scale climate changes
through instabilities and feedbacks involving the cryosphere and ocean circulation.
USGS research focuses on documenting change in the cryosphere via studies of
the thermal state of the permafrost in Northern Alaska; mass balance studies
of benchmark glaciers in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska; a global assessment
of changes in glacier extent, and mapping of changes in ice extent along the
coast of Antarctica.
Changes in Ecosystems:
USGS ecosystems research focuses on impacts
on terrestrial and coastal ecosystems by determining the exposure, sensitivity,
and adaptive capacity of natural systems and ecological processes to multiple
environmental factors, including climate and other natural and anthropogenic
influences. Research provides the scientific knowledge and technologies for
conservation, rehabilitation, and management of ecosystems needed by public
land management agencies.
Satellite Data Management and Dissemination:
The USGS operates and
continually enhances the capabilities of the EROS
Data Center to serve as the
National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive, by maintaining existing
datasets, adding new ones, and converting older data sets from deteriorating
media to modern, stable media. This archive supports all research components
that investigate the land surface and the ecosystems it supports.
Related Research.
DOI also sponsors contributing research programs
addressing the collection, maintenance, analysis, and interpretation of short-
and long-term land, water, biological, and other geological and biological
processes and resources through dispersed observing networks; research in land
use and land cover, including creation of maps and digital data products; and
inventorying and monitoring of biological habitats, resources, and diversity.
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