Photo by Dmitry

Climate Change and Weather

Recent findings clearly demonstrate that our planetary climate is changing. It is increasingly important to understand the causes of change, and how we can either mitigate damaging change or adapt to it. Research on climate variability and change provides new information on climatic influences on water resources, agricultural systems, and sea level rise. Examples of broad interdisciplinary research areas include:

• The effects of sea level rise on coastal systems are being quantified and predictive models for future inundation are being developed so that potential impacts can be understood.
• Research on ocean sediments is revealing the history of long-term climate change and providing the foundation for assessing future climate change and its impacts.
• As the influence of climate change on global rainfall distributions can have severe impacts on local agricultural practices and economies, research on potential rainfall change is being conducted to improve future management and decision-making.
• Increasing global temperature is affecting the survival of many organisms that have low tolerance for change, and research is helping to identify these highly vulnerable communities so that conservation measures can be taken in time.