National Science Foundation Releases Comprehensive Report on Global Impacts of Climate Change

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a report on global climate change, entitled "Solving the Puzzle: Researching the Impacts of Climate Change around the World." The report explores the contributions and ongoing activities of NSF-funded researchers in science and engineering fields including ecology, glaciology, atmospheric science, behavioral science and economics. The report addresses the climate change "puzzle" piece by piece--devoting chapters to the sky, sea, ice, land, life and people components of Earth's climate system.

Climate change research and education has been identified as a Presidential priority area for NSF, and the report's release coincides with the recent announcement of the President's fiscal year 2010 budget for NSF, which includes an increase of approximately $250 million for climate research, which would double NSF's investment in climate research.

NSF-funded researchers have revolutionized the way we understand the Earth system as a whole because they've reached across disciplinary boundaries to study questions that extend beyond any one field of science or engineering. Because of the complexity of Earth's climate, this research involves contributions from nearly every field of science, math and engineering.

Image credit: Cover design: Adrian Apodaca, National Science Foundation Cover photo credits: © 2009 JupiterImages Corporation (background) Sphere: top row, left to right: David Cappaert, Bugwood.org, © University Corporation for Atmospheric Research; © 2009 JupiterImages Corporation. Second row: Eva Horne, Konza Prairie Biological Station; © 2009 JupiterImages Corporation (2). Third row: © 2009 JupiterImages Corporation; Jeffrey Kietzmann, National Science Foundation; © Forrest Brem, courtesy of NatureServe; Digital Vision, Getty Images. Fourth row: Jim Laundre, Arctic LTER; © 2009 JupiterImages Corporation; by Lynn Betts, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; Peter West, National Science Foundation. Bottom row: David Gochis © University Corporation for Atmospheric Research; © University Corporation for Atmospheric Research