SS 4

Carbon Cycle Science at the Frontier of Global Change: A Coordinated Effort Among Federal Agencies

For almost two decades, the U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program has coordinated multi-agency research to better understand past changes and current trends in the carbon cycle, deliver credible predictions of the future carbon cycle, and strengthen the scientific foundation for management decisions in numerous areas of public interest related to carbon and climate change in the U.S. and other regions. Led by the Carbon Cycle Interagency Working Group (CCIWG) and under the auspices of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), the U.S Carbon Cycle Science Program has enabled and facilitated significant national and international progress in carbon cycle science at the frontier of global change via entities it has established – the North American Carbon Program (NACP) and the Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry (OCB) Program - and other partnerships.This special session will highlight our process of developing & prioritizing research themes, along with coordination of activities based on emerging scientific advances, and community input in the context of evolving U.S. science, research & technology priorities. It will be a unique opportunity for US and international scientists, federal funding programs and other stakeholders to interact and share information contributing to current and future science and science-policy relevant opportunities in the US, across North America and affiliated international efforts. Additionally, this session will address emerging interagency topics and opportunities such as the currently planned Second State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR-2, as part of the Sustained National Climate Assessment), urban carbon, land-use change carbon, regional climate networks, and carbon monitoring/observing systems.