primary research theme: global change
There is increasing recognition that human activities are altering the global environment. Key questions include the degree to which the global environment is affecting:
- Long-term climate change associated with increases in atmospheric greenhouse gases;
- Seasonal-to-interannual climate variability and its prediction;
- Depletion of stratospheric ozone and increase in harmful UV-B radiation;
- Land use and land cover change and distribution patterns of biota;
- Changes in hydrologic cycles; and
- Impacts of global environmental change on humans and ecosystems, and how contemporary society should respond to affect or adapt to the long-term risks.