Invitation to Comment on
Draft Prospectuses
1.3, 4.1, 5.1 and 5.3

Dear Colleague -

You are invited to provide comments on the prospectuses for four Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) Synthesis and Assessment Products:  

• 1.3   Reanalysis of Historical Climate Data for Key Atmospheric Features: Implications for Attribution of Causes of Observed Change
• 4.1   Coastal Elevation and Sensitivity to Sea-Level Rise
• 5.1   Uses and Limitations of Observations, Data, Forecasts, and other Projections in Decision Support for Selected Sectors and Regions
• 5.3   Decision Support Experiments and Evaluations Using Seasonal to Interannual Forecasts and Observational Data

These are four of the 21 synthesis and assessment products that will be prepared by the CCSP.

The Climate Change Science Program coordinates and directs U.S. research efforts in the areas of climate and global change. The Program completed and released a Strategic Plan in July 2003 to guide its activities. More information about the CCSP can be found in the Strategic Plan for the U.S. Climate Change Science Program. The Strategic Plan commits the program to prepare synthesis and assessment products to support informed discussion and decision making regarding climate variability and change. The first set of products is described in the strategic plan.

The program has also released guidelines for the synthesis and assessment products. These guidelines establish a broadly standardized methodology for product development that will facilitate involvement of the research community and the public in ensuring that the products are focused in a useful fashion and meet the highest standards of scientific excellence. The guidelines also encourage transparency by ensuring that public information about the status of the products will be provided through the Federal Register, on the CCSP website, and through other means.

The prospectuses have a special purpose within the guidelines’ standardized methodology, namely to describe the proposed focus and process that will be used to prepare each of the products. Expert and public comments are requested as part of the open approach that has been a hallmark of the CCSP process. I invite you to participate in this comment process. Your input will help to ensure that the plans for preparing the products are open and fair and will produce products that are relevant and sound.

The personnel who are guiding preparation of these products are listed in each prospectus along with their contact information. These individuals are leaders in their respective fields, and I wish to publicly acknowledge their efforts in this work.

Comments are due by 30 January 2006. All comments submitted by that time will be thoroughly evaluated and, if appropriate, incorporated in the final prospectuses, which will be posted on the CCSP website when finalized. The comments submitted will be collated and posted on the CCSP website as well. The final prospectuses will include the agreed timetables, which will highlight opportunities for further public engagement.

To ensure that your comments are routed correctly, please submit them to the email address described in the instructions for formatting and submitting comments. These instructions have been customized for each product and are available through the internet links listed below:

• Product 1.3 (Reanalysis)
• Product 4.1 (Sea Level)
• Product 5.1 (Observations)
• Product 5.3 (Seasonal)

To begin the review of one of these products, follow the appropriate link to download the instructions and the prospectus. We appreciate your participation and constructive comments.

In closing, I wish to bring to your attention the completed Prospectus for Product 2.1, Scenarios of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Atmospheric Concentrations and Review of Integrated Scenario Development and Application, which (along with public comments submitted on an earlier draft), can be found online.

Sincerely,

James R. Mahoney, Ph.D.
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, and
Director, Climate Change Science Program