increase societal resilience to weather, climate, and other atmospheric hazards
Evidence and predictions of catastrophic climate, water resource and weather changes invoke questions, and their associated measures, regarding how decision-makers should adapt, respond and mitigate adverse impacts. To this end, the science of decision-making must now dominate an important shift in the nature of weather and climate impact science. There is now a much stronger emphasis on providing impacts research that can more pragmatically apply to solving “real, place-based” local and regional problems through interactions with stakeholders – “real” people who are affected by weather and climate extremes.
As a part of this shift, the importance of communicating to the public the connection between climate, water and weather science and decision-making has greatly increased. SERE/CCB/ISSE/ASP provide research, education and capacity-building strategies to support this shift. The development of assessment methods and tools requires the investigation of extreme events; determination of appropriate platforms to display and layer quantitative and qualitative data; and quantifying uncertainty in climate, water and weather scenarios and impacts. Research regarding this development takes advantage of the social science, geophysical, statistical, computation and environmental expertise at NCAR and throughout and university, government and business communities, and is evidenced by the extent of collaborative work with these organizations.
Goal 2: Increase societal resilience to weather, climate, and other atmospheric hazards
Priority 1: Investigating Weather and Climate Information Needs and Decision-Making
- IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) AR4
- WCIASP: Weather and Climate Impacts Assessment Science Program
- Modeling Hurricane Evacuation Decision-Making
- Developing and Disseminating Likelihoods of Future Regional Climate
- Lessons Learned about "Lessons Learned" about Hurricane Katrina
- Beijing 2008 Olympics Forecast Demonstration Project
- Communicating Uncertainty in Weather Forecasts to Benefit Users
- The Role of Institutions in the Use of Climate-Relevant Information
- Climate and Health
- Extreme Value Methods as an Integrative Element in Weather and Climate Impacts Assessment
- Tools for Biocomplexity in the Environment
- Assessing the Use and Value of Weather Information to the Transportation Sector
- Applying Ethics to Analyze Hydrometeorological Prediction and Flood Decision Making
- Understanding How Weather Forecasters and Emergency Managers Use Information
- Estimating Water Usage and Vulnerability with Remote Sensing
Priority 2: Building Capacity for Coping with Weather and Climate Hazards
- Institutional Aspects of Vulnerability and Adaptation: Marine Fisheries
- Adapting to Climate Change in Urban Areas
- Climate Change and Water: Municipal Planning
- Prototype Workshop on Water Affairs
- Improving Communication and Use of Extreme Weather Warnings
- Building Capacity in Asia to Adapt to Climate Change
- Educating Undergraduates through Study of Response to Hurricane Rita Forecasts
- Developing Socioeconomic Research Priorities for Weather Forecasts and THORPEX
- Climate Change Communication and Social Change
- Regional Impacts of Climate Change and Adaptation Strategies
- Science-Policy Interactions
- Exploring Spatial Patterns of Societal Vulnerability to Extreme Heat
- Spatial Patterns of Risk and Vulnerability in Extreme Precipitation Events: 1997 Fort Collins Case Study
Priority 3: Establishing New Connections with Researchers from Developing Nations
- Dry Season Transmission of Dengue Fever in San Juan, Puerto Rico
- ADAPTE: Adapting to Health Impacts of Air Pollution and Climate Extremes in Latin American Cities
- Climate Affairs Regional Centers