Prof. Janetos Co-authors Paper on Climate Indicators in Climatic Change

Anthony Janetos, Director of the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future, co-authored a paper released today that describes the process of developing the U.S. National Climate Indicators System (NCIS), a web-based prototype of climate indicators to track nationally-relevant climate change and its impacts over time. The paper, co-authored by Melissa Kenney, University of Maryland research assistant professor, and Glynis Lough, Chief of Staff for the National Climate Assessment, is titled “Building an integrated U.S. National Climate Indicators System.” It was published in a special issue of Climatic Change called “The National Climate Assessment: Innovations in Science and Engagement.”

In the paper, the authors describe the development of the NCIS in order to highlight key aspects of its early success and to better inform others creating suites of indicators. They also call on coordination and expertise from the broader scientific community to successfully implement and maintain the NCIS moving forward.

The adoption of the indicators by the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) in May 2015 was the culmination of over four years of collaborative work by more than 200 scientists and practitioners. The prototype includes 14 physical, ecological, and societal indicators of climate change that can help communicate key aspects of change, highlight vulnerabilities, and inform decision making at the federal and local levels.