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Our Mission

To improve our understanding of how the atmosphere interacts with the physical, biological, and social components of ecosystems at multiple scales; provide new information on the effects of atmosphere-ecosystem interactions on ecosystem processes and functions; provide information and tools to aid in the development of policies and management strategies for these ecosystems.

Research

Our research focuses on:

• Fire-Fuel-Atmosphere Interaction Research
  Through the Eastern Area Modeling Consortium (EAMC), a multi-agency coalition of researchers, fire managers, air-quality managers, and natural resource managers at the Federal, State, and local levels, we are working to increase understanding of fire weather, fire behavior, and smoke dispersion, expand our knowledge of the physics of fire-atmosphere interactions on all scales, enhance our ability to predict and respond to the dangers of prescribed fires and wildfires, and develop products and transfer new technologies related to national and regional fire-weather and air-quality dynamics.
• Climate Variability Research
  Spatial and temporal variability in climate plays a significant role in governing the natural processes that occur in terrestrial, riparian, and aquatic ecosystems. We are conducting research on the critical climatic patterns and climate-driven disturbances that affect ecosystems in the north central and northeastern US.
• Global Change Research
  In cooperation with Michigan Tech University, a Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) facility has been developed to examine the effects of increasing tropospheric carbon dioxide and ozone concentrations on regenerating aspen forest ecosystems. We are studying how the atmospheric environments within the FACE treatment plots change as a result of vegetation responses to those gases.
• Landscape Change and Ozone Pollution Research
  In cooperation with Battelle Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, WA and the University of Minnesota – Duluth, we are examining the impact of current and potential future surface ozone pollution patterns, brought on by landscape change, on forest health in the Great Lakes region.

More Information

This site is under development as the Forest Service brings together the Northeastern and North Central Research Stations to form the Northern Research Station, serving the Northeast and Midwest. Check back often as we expand our site to reflect our combined commitment to supporting the natural resources and people of the Northeastern and Midwestern United States.

For more details about our research visit http://www.ncrs.fs.fed.us/4401/