U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program

Programs and Activities

Carbon Cycle Science Program

Introduction

The U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program addresses the global carbon cycle research theme in the Strategic Plan for the U.S. Climate Change Science Program (2003). A number of federal agencies are responsible for carbon cycle research; together, they have planned and are coordinating a multidisciplinary research strategy to integrate the broad range of needed infrastructure and resources, scientific expertise, and stakeholder input essential for program success and improved decision processes. This coordination is achieved through the Carbon Cycle Interagency Working Group (CCIWG), which is responsible for the programs, funds, development, coordination, and integration of carbon cycle research across the federal government. The Carbon Cycle Scientific Steering Group (CCSSG), a panel of experts who are actively engaged in various aspects of carbon cycle science, provides the Carbon Cycle Science Program with continuous scientific guidance. The Carbon Cycle Science Program consists of three major activities: the North American Carbon Program, the Ocean Carbon and Climate Change Program, and International Activities. In 2007, the Climate Change Science Program released a major report from the Carbon Cycle Science Program: the State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR, also known as CCSP Synthesis and Assessment Report 2.2).

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Science Plan

Carbon Cycle Science Plan Cover

A U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Plan (1999) (Sarmiento and Wofsy, 1999), reflects the combined knowledge and insight of prominent carbon cycle scientists and well-informed science program managers in both academia and federal government. The vision is that an integrated interdisciplinary science, multi-agency partnership, new and advanced technology and advanced modeling approaches would yield better understanding of the carbon storage, sources and sinks in North America and adjacent ocean basins, and that the research would strengthen the scientific foundation for resource management and policy decisions in numerous areas of public in numerous areas of public interest.

A new planning effort was undertaken to update and revise the 1999 plan, resulting in the publication of A U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Plan (2011) (Michalak A., Jackson R., Marland G. and Sabine C, co-chairs).

The development of this new 2011 Plan was initiated by the U.S. Carbon Cycle Interagency Working Group (CCIWG) and the Carbon Cycle Science Steering Group (CCSSG), and outlines a strategy for refocusing U.S. carbon cycle research based on the current state of the science. The development of this Plan was led by a committee of 25 active members of the carbon cycle research community, and the result is intended to provide U.S. funding agencies with information on community-based research priorities for carbon cycle science over the next decade.

More information is available at Carbon Cycle Science Planning for the Next Decade.

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Program Office

The Carbon Cycle Science Program Office, established by the CCIWG, assists in leading the Carbon Cycle Science Program and facilitates interagency cooperation in carbon cycle research through coordination of interagency business (e.g., policy, budget, personnel, strategic direction, work planning, and education). The Program Office staff (Roger B. Hanson and Gyami Shrestha) are responsible for providing direct support to the CCIWG co-chairpersons in matters associated with interagency activities, such as annual budget planning, fiscal matters, inventory of funded projects, and planning meetings and workshops. The Program Office Staff also represent the CCIWG on carbon cycle science issues with the the USGCRP, and liaise with international carbon cycle science programs and organizations. The Staff supports the CCIWG in preparing, reviewing, and coordinating any reports or other documents as required; analyzing the scope and content of funded carbon cycle research projects and informing the CCIWG on project status, needs, and opportunities for enhancing research and coordination among research scientists and agencies; and communicating significant new findings to decision makers and the public.

Staff Bios

Roger B. Hanson (Retired in December 2011)

Gyami Shrestha

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Carbon Cycle Interagency Working Group (CCIWG)

The Carbon Cycle Interagency Working Group (CCIWG), established under the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), formerly known as the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, has full authority for all Carbon Cycle Science Program policy and activities.

Role of the CCIWG:

CCIWG activities include, but are not limited to, meeting regularly to exchange agency information, implementing the Strategic Plan of the Climate Change Science Program, and revising A U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Plan as needed. In addition, the group represents agencies at program meetings, interfaces with the scientific community, initiates workshops, and links to international programs and organizations. The CCIWG, whose members represent ten federal agencies, coordinates the development and execution of federal research programs in carbon cycle research. Leadership of the CCIWG comes from senior-level managers of the participating agencies and ensures the success and continuity of the program.

According to the 2011 CCIWG TERMS OF REFERENCE (Approved on May 6, 2011), CCIWG coordinates and integrates the carbon cycle research funded by the U.S. government.  The CCIWG plans, evaluates and reports on interagency coordination and implementation of carbon cycle research of participating U.S. agencies.  The goals and objectives of the carbon cycle research coordinated by the CCIWG align directly with the goals of the USGCRP Strategic Plan and these goals will be implemented in harmony with the USGCRP Implementation Plan. The specific carbon cycle goals will be guided by the USGCRP Strategic Plans and community based science plans (e.g., the 2011 community-based science plan: “A U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Plan ). CCIWG activities and functions will also support new priorities and directives of the USGCRP, as well as carbon cycle research needs arising from new scientific findings and observations. In detail, CCIWG responsibilities include the following:

  1. Convening federal program managers: The CCIWG provides a mechanism for regular interagency consultation of Federal program managers that represent carbon cycle science interests and responsibilities
  2. Producing program implementation plans: The CCIWG is responsible for the development of research plans for U.S. carbon cycle science (land, ocean, atmosphere, and human dimension). Detailed implementation plans will be developed through CCIWG-sponsorship of planning efforts involving the carbon scientific community and/or the Interagency Subcommittee on Global Change Research (SGCR)*, as appropriate.
  3. Planning and coordinating activities: The CCIWG plans, strategizes, and coordinates agency and department approaches for addressing carbon cycle research priorities and needs by developing single- and multi-agency solicitations that will increase the overall value of the research. CCIWG maintains interagency awareness by exchange of agency annual plans and coordinates allocation of resources to the extent possible. CCIWG seeks to reduce redundant research, review and paperwork through this coordination. CCIWG identifies implementation priorities annually with formal recommendation of carbon cycle research priorities as requested by SGCR.
  4. Evaluating and ensuring research progress is achieved: The CCIWG assesses the extent to which carbon cycle goals and objectives of the 2012 USGCRP Strategic Plan are being met by Federally-funded researchers. The CCIWG takes steps to ensure that this research remains relevant and productive and provides feedback to the SGCR on progress and priorities.
  5. Reporting carbon cycle research: The CCIWG provides contributions to USGCRP’s annual report (Our Changing Planet). The CCIWG provides input to or sponsors the development of other USGCRP documents (e.g., Strategic Plan, National Climate Assessments, etc.) and reports on research plans and results, as requested and/or appropriate.
  6. Interacting with relevant USGCRP elements, relevant U.S. Government programs, the science community and public: CCIWG interacts with and supports USGCRP and its subsidiary IWG's, other related government programs, and segments of the scientific community and public. The goal of these interactions is to guide the Nation's carbon cycle research in ways that improve our understanding and prediction of coupled Earth (natural and human) systems in the context of a changing climate, and that serve governmental and societal needs.
  7. Advising and participating in relevant syntheses and assessments:  For example, the National Climate Assessment (NCA). The CCIWG facilitates relevant synthesis and assessment processes by coordinating interagency inputs, reviewing draft prospectuses and reports, and providing agency feedback to lead agency and authors.
  8. Serving as point of contact on carbon cycle research both nationally and internationally, supporting and coordinating as appropriate: CCIWG serves as a point of contact between the SGCR (including its USGCRP Director), the National Coordination Office, other USGCRP IWGs or subcommittees, other relevant agency programs, the research community of carbon cycle science, and the general public. It also supports and coordinates with appropriate international programs such as Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP), the Global Carbon Project (GCP), the Global Atmospheric Watch Programme (GAW) of the World Meteorological Organization, and Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Carbon, the carbon component of the Global Earth Observing Systems of Systems (GEOSS). In addition, the U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program Office serves as an Affiliate Project Office of the ESSP Global Carbon Project.

* The Interagency Subcommittee on Global Change Research (SGCR) coordinates the implementation of the USGCRP, in cooperation with the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

Reference

A U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Plan (2011): A Report of the Carbon Cycle Science Steering Group and Subcommittee, Anna Michalak, Rob Jackson, Gregg Marland, Chris Sabine, Co-Chairs.

CCIWG Co-Chairs:

CCIWG Members:

CCIWG Program Coordinator:

Last update: October 7, 2011

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Carbon Cycle Scientific Steering Group (CCSSG)

The Carbon Cycle Scientific Steering Group (CCSSG), established by the Carbon Cycle Interagency Working Group (CCIWG), is a group of experts involved in carbon cycle research and application from federal, state, university, and non-government organizations. The CCSSG interacts closely with the CCIWG and the Carbon Cycle Science Program Office. The function of the CCSSG is to provide individual as well as broad scientific and application input to the CCIWG as it develops and administers carbon cycle science programs within the federal government. The CCSSG provides input on the direction of the Carbon Cycle Science Program, scientific content and its relevance to the various stakeholder communities, identifying gaps and potential new areas of emphasis. The CCSSG will remain abreast of relevant issues in related scientific bodies and stakeholder communities and help ensure that the CCIWG is aware of these issues.

CCSSG Charter

CCSSG Chair:

CCSSG Members:

Last update: October 4, 2011

For more information about CCSSG members (past and current), please visit the CCSSG page.

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NACP logo

North American Carbon Program (NACP)

Introduction

The North American Carbon Program (NACP) is designed to address strategic research question 7.1 in the U.S. Climate Change Science Program Strategic Plan:

It will quantify the magnitudes and distributions of terrestrial, freshwater, oceanic, and atmospheric carbon sources and sinks for North America and adjacent oceans; enhance understanding of the processes controlling source and sink dynamics; and produce consistent analyses of North America’s carbon budget that explain regional and continental contributions and year-to-year variability. This program is committed to reducing uncertainties related to the increase of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere and the amount of carbon, including the fraction of fossil fuel carbon, being taken up by North America’s ecosystems and adjacent oceans, including uncertainty regarding the fraction of fossil fuel carbon.

More information about NACP is available from the NACP website.

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Science Plan

North American Carbon Program Report Cover

The report on the North American Carbon Program (Wofsy and Harriss, 2002) provides the scientific rationale for a coordinated surface and space observational program, land and ocean observation and experimental study, numerical modeling, and data assimilation effort for the terrestrial, coastal ocean and atmospheric components of the carbon cycle over North America and adjacent ocean basins. The report was prepared at the request of the Carbon Cycle Scientific Steering Group (CCSSG) and the Carbon Cycle Interagency Working Group (CCIWG). The report outlines a strategy to implement a principal recommendation of the U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Plan (Sarmiento and Wofsy, 1999). The central objective is to measure and understand the major reservoirs, sources, and sinks for carbon dioxide, methane, and carbon monoxide in North America. The goals are to develop quantitative scientific knowledge, robust observations, and advanced numerical models to determine the emissions and sinks of these gases, changes in carbon reservoirs, and the factors regulating these processes, and to develop the scientific foundation to implement full carbon accounting on regional and continental scales. This is the knowledge base needed to design effective monitoring programs for natural and managed carbon dioxide sinks and emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and carbon monoxide; to support long-term quantitative measurements of fluxes, sources, and sinks of atmospheric carbon dioxide, methane, and carbon monoxide; and to develop better forecasting capability for future trends. The program is also designed to advance science for other critical problems on the large-scale emissions, transformations, and long-range transport of pollutants; changes in species composition, health and productivity; the vulnerability to fire and drought of forests, croplands, and wild land; and forecasts of weather and climate.

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Implementation Strategy

North American Carbon Program Science Implementation Strategy Cover

The Science Implementation Strategy for the North American Carbon Program (Denning et al., 2005) builds on the NACP report (Wofsy and Harriss, 2002). The implementation strategy is organized around four major themes: diagnosis, attribution/process, prediction, and decision support. The results will contribute to an integrated and well-tested system for understanding, monitoring, and predicting carbon fluxes over North America and the adjacent coastal ocean, and for providing timely and useful information to scientists, agencies, policymakers and other stakeholders in the carbon cycle and climate change.

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Scientific Steering Group (NACP SSG)

The NACP Scientific Steering Group (NACP SSG), established by the CCIWG, provides leadership for the North American Carbon Program. The NACP SSG interacts closely with the CCIWG and the NACP Office. It also interacts with the CCSSG, the Ocean Carbon and Climate Change Scientific Steering Group, and the Carbon Cycle Science Program Office, as needed. The NACP SSG assists the CCIWG and NACP Office in implementing the NACP Science Plan, following recommendations outlined in the NACP Implementation Strategy (Denning et al., 2005) and working to assure that scientific returns are maximized.

NACP SSG Charter

NACP SSG Co-Chairs:

NACP SSG Members:  

Last update: January 6, 2012

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Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry

Ocean Carbon and Climate Change (OCCC) / Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry (OCB)

Introduction

Building upon an extensive set of U.S. and international community planning workshops and reports, the Ocean Carbon and Climate Change (OCCC) program was designed as an ocean component of the U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program. The OCCC program is integrated into the Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry Program, which focuses on the ocean’s role as a component of the global Earth system, bringing together research in geochemistry, ocean physics, and ecology that inform on and advance our understanding of ocean biogeochemistry. The overall program goals are to promote, plan, and coordinate collaborative, multidisciplinary research opportunities within the U.S. research community and with international partners.

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Science Plan and Implementation Strategy

Ocean Carbon and Climate Change Implementation Strategy Cover

Ocean Carbon and Climate Change: An Implementation Strategy for U.S. Ocean Carbon Research (Doney et al., 2004) provides the scientific rationale for a coordinated ocean surface and space observations, experimental study, numerical modeling, and data assimilation effort for the coastal ocean, ocean basins and atmospheric components of the carbon cycle over North America and adjacent coastal ocean and ocean basins. The report presents an integrated multi-agency, interdisciplinary science and implementation strategy for oceanic monitoring and research aimed at determining how much carbon dioxide is actively absorbed by the coastal ocean waters and how climate change will affect the future behavior of this carbon reservoir. The strategy consists of several coordinated and integrated elements on global ocean carbon observing networks, multidisciplinary process studies, data fusion and integration, synthesis and numerical modeling, and new technological development. While the program encompasses a wide breadth of ocean biology, chemistry, and physical research, the program promotes linkages and interactions with related ongoing oceanographic, climatic, and carbon cycle programs to address the full range of scientific elements relevant to marine carbon dynamics and the climate change (e.g., SOLAS, IMBER, CLIVAR, GLOBEC, GCP, and others).

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Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry Scientific Steering Group (OCB SSG)

The Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemisty Scientific Steering Committee (OCB SSC) provides critical leadership to the OCB community by helping to identify research priorities and promote, plan, and coordinate collaborative, multidisciplinary research opportunities in ocean biogeochemistry.

OCB SSC Charge and Terms of Reference

OCB SSC Chair:

OCB SSC Members:

Last update: April 5, 2010

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International Activities

Global Carbon Program

In 2007, the Global Carbon Project Scientific Steering Committee accepted Terms of Reference that recognized the U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program an Affiliated Office of the Global Carbon Project.

CarboNA

CarboNA is an international collaboration between Canada, Mexico, and the United States for carbon cycle science research throughout North America and adjacent coastal waters. The overall goal is to understand the temporal and regional distribution and magnitudes of carbon pools and greenhouse gas fluxes throughout North America, and how these affect and are affected by disturbances, human behavior, and climate and related changes, in order to predict future climate change and evaluate carbon related mitigation strategies and new technologies. In the United States, CarboNA comes under the auspices of the Carbon Cycle Science Program and the Carbon Cycle Interagency Working Group and includes work from both the North American Carbon Program and the Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry program.

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State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR)

Introduction

The carbon cycle chapter of the Strategic Plan for the U.S. Climate Change Science Program describes a vision to publish a series of government products on the status and trends of carbon emission and sequestration. The first of these reports, the State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR), was released by the US Climate Change Science Program on November 13, 2007.

The Terms of Reference for the first SOCCR (2003), prepared by the Carbon Cycle Interagency Working Group and in consultation with the Carbon Cycle Scientific Steering Group, envisioned a report designed to provide accurate, unbiased, and policy-relevant scientific information concerning the carbon cycle to a broad range of stakeholders. The SOCCR Coordinating Team focused on (1) summarizing our knowledge of carbon cycle properties and changes relevant to the contributions of and impacts upon the U.S. and the rest of the world, and (2) providing scientific information for U.S. decision support focused on key issues for carbon management and policy. The report depends on results from comprehensive and informative programs, such as the North American Carbon Program and Ocean Carbon and Climate Change Program, and demands a global perspective, integrating information from studies on land and in the atmosphere and oceans around the world. The expected audience includes researchers, decision makers in the public and private sectors and the public.

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Climate Change Science Program and Synthesis and Assessment Product 2.2

To fulfill the scientific assessment requirement of the Global Change Research Act of 1990 and to enhance the utility of the observations and research products developed by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, the U.S. Climate Change Science Program Strategic Plan calls for a series of synthesis and assessment products. These assessment products are an effective means for integrating and analyzing past and current research results with other knowledge, and communicating useful insights in support of a variety of decision support issues and defining future science direction and priorities. As a part of this effort, the Carbon Cycle Science Program is contributing to Synthesis and Assessment Product 2.2, The First State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR): North American Carbon Budget and Implications for the Global Carbon Cycle.

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Coordinating Team

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This page last updated January 18, 2012 12:44 PM .