Integrating federal research on global change and climate change

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) conducts a program of breakthrough research to advance fundamental knowledge on the most important scientific questions about the global and regional integrated Earth system. NASA’s program encompasses most themes of the 2003 Strategic Plan for the USGCRP.

NASA continues to enhance the ability of the international scientific community to advance global integrated Earth system science using space-based observations. The research encompasses the global atmosphere; the global oceans including sea ice; land surfaces including snow and ice; ecosystems; and interactions between the atmosphere, oceans, land, and ecosystems, including humans. NASA’s goal is to understand the changing climate, its interaction with life, and how human activities affect the environment. In association with national and international agencies, NASA applies this understanding for the well-being of society.

NASA aircraft- and surface-based instruments are used to calibrate and enhance interpretation of high-accuracy, climate-quality, stable satellite measurements. NASA supports state-of-the-art computing capability and capacity for extensive global integrated Earth system modeling. NASA, in recording approximately four tetrabytes of data every day, maintains the world's largest scientific data and information system for collecting, processing, archiving, and distributing Earth system data to worldwide users.

Also see NASA's Global Climate Change website.