U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science

1. U.S. Department of Energy’sOffice of Science Climate Change Science Program Update Jerry Elwood, Director Climate Change Research Division Office of Biological and Environmental Research BERAC Meeting July 11, 2006

2. U.S. Department of Energy Overview of BER’s Climate Change Research Program Office of Science • Four major programmatic areas of research: • Climate Forcing – clouds, aerosols, carbon dioxide • Climate Change Modeling – coupled climate and Earth system models and modeling • Climate Change Response – effects of atmospheric and climatic changes on the structure and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, tools to assess costs and benefits of alternative mitigation options • Climate Change Mitigation – terrestrial carbon sequestration • All except Climate Change Mitigation part of interagency U.S. Climate Change Science Program. Sequestration research part of U.S. Climate Change Technology Program

3. U.S. Department of Energy Overview of BER’s Climate Change Research Program Office of Science Climate Forcing: • ARM Science Program – effect of clouds and aerosols on radiation, improving cloud parameterizations, cloud resolving models • ARM Infrastructure Program – maintains and operates 3 stationary climate research facilities and one mobile facility to collect data for ARM science, support field campaigns at ARM sites and other locations of opportunity; includes support for ARM Aerial Vehicle Program for aircraft required for field measurements and campaigns • Atmospheric Science Program – aerosol properties and processes, field campaigns • Terrestrial Carbon Processes Program – CO2 flux measurement sites (AmeriFlux), soil carbon and terrestrial carbon process studies, carbon cycle modeling • Ocean Carbon Cycle Research – discontinued • Information and Integration – CDIAC - archiving, dissemination of greenhouse gas emissions and concentration data

4. U.S. Department of Energy Overview of BER’s Climate Change Research Program Office of Science Climate Change Modeling (coupled climate and Earth system model development and climatic change modeling): • Climate Change Prediction Program, including SciDAC* component • Incorporate better representations of key climate processes in climate models (e.g., CCSM) • Test and develop global models based on theoretical foundations and improved computational methods • Produce climate scenarios using fully coupled CCSM for international and national assessments of climate change • Apply climate models to examine issues of climate change detection and attribution, e.g., human-induced greenhouse signal • Develop diagnostic tools and methods to evaluate performance of climate models (PCMDI) • incorporate best practices in computing software and technology to increase accuracy and throughput of climate models on high-end computing facilities at DOE labs *SciDAC – joint with DOE Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research

5. U.S. Department of Energy Overview of BER’s Climate Change Research Program Office of Science Climate Change Response: • Program on Ecosystem Research – experimental field studies, observational studies along climate gradients • Scaling initiative – experimental and theoretical studies to bridge gap between molecular biology and ecological systems • Integrated Assessment Research Program – develop methods and models for use in end-to-end assessments of climate change causes and consequences and costs and benefits of different policy options for climate change mitigation • Global Change Education Program – graduate and undergraduate fellowships to train next generation of scientists needed for climate change research

6. U.S. Department of Energy Overview of BER’s Climate Change Research Program Office of Science Climate Change Mitigation: • Terrestrial Carbon Sequestration ResearchProgram - field and lab studies, modeling • Ocean Carbon Sequestration Research is discontinued

7. U.S. Department of Energy Overview of BER’s Climate Change Research Program Office of Science BER Climate Change Science Program Budget FY 2006FY 2007 Request ($ in millions) Climate Forcing $79.9 $77.8 Climate Change Modeling 26.7 25.2 Climate Change Response 25.0 23.2 Climate Change Mitigation 6.9 5.0 Total $137.5 $131.2

8. U.S. Department of Energy BER’s Climate Change Research Program Office of Science Programmatic changes: Climate Forcing: • ARM Infrastructure: Recompeted and reconfigured ARM UAV program for FY 2007. UAV program renamed ARM Aerial Vehicle Program (AAVP) and is now part of ARM infrastructure to respond to aircraft needs requested in proposals for use of the ARM User Facility. These include: • Airborne measurements during intensive observational periods • Airborne measurements requested for routine flights over stationary sites Carbon Cycle Research: • Support of field studies/measurements of ocean carbon cycling discontinued Climate Change Mitigation: • Ocean carbon sequestration research discontinued

9. BER’s Climate Change Research Program U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science Programmatic changes – cont. National Institute for Climate Change Research (NICCR): academically-based institute started as Congressional earmark (NIGEC) in 1990. Funded as cooperative agreement to support research at universities relevant to BER’s Climate Change Research Program; emphasis on climate change research requiring a regional or national focus. • NIGEC – reorganized and renamed National Institute for Climate Change Research (NICCR) • Management moved to DOE Headquarters - National office discontinued • Regional centers re-competed and reduced from six to four - four NICCR regional centers selected (Northeastern Center at Penn State, Southeastern Center at Duke, Midwestern Center at Michigan Tech, and Western Center at Northern Arizona University), • Established fifth NICCR center in response to Congressional direction (Coastal Center at Tulane selected through open competitive process) • Joint RFP from the four NICCR Regional Centers and the Coastal Center is being prepared for FY 2007

10. U.S. Department of Energy BER’s Climate Change Research Program Office of Science Climate Change Research Staff: ARM Science Program – Kiran Alapaty ARM Infrastructure – Wanda Ferrell, Rick Petty (AAVP) Atmospheric Science Program – Ashley Williamson, Rick Petty Terrestrial Carbon Processes Program – Roger Dahlman Information and Integration – Wanda Ferrell Climate Change Modeling – Anjuli Bamzai Program for Ecosystem Research – Jeff Amthor NICCR – Jeff Amthor Integrated Assessment Research Program – John Houghton Carbon Sequestration – Roger Dahlman New staff: Ashley Williamson – manager of Atmospheric Science Program Kiran Alapaty – manager of ARM Science Program Open positions: Open IPA position to manage Integrated Assessment Research Open IPA position to manage Terrestrial Carbon Sequestration Program and help manage Terrestrial Carbon Processes Program

11. U.S. Department of Energy BER’s Climate Change Research Program Office of Science Recent Program Reviews: • Terrestrial Carbon Processes Program reviewed by BERAC subcommittee in 2005. Report includes recommendations in specific programmatic areas: • FACE experiments • AmeriFlux • Soil Carbon • Fossil Fuel Emissions • Regional Scaling/Aircraft • Multi-scale Modeling and Integration • NICCR Regional Coordination • Recent re-competition of program funds addresses most recommendations. Remainder being addressed in other ways.

12. U.S. Department of Energy BER’s Climate Change Research Program Office of Science Requests Pending for Additional Reviews: • Integrated Assessment Research Program review – overall program review – BERAC to receive charge • Review of trace gas enrichment experiments (FACE, etc.) – pending • BERAC report on TCP review recommended undertaking review of existing scientific information and potential for new findings at each DOE FACE installation • Report also suggests potentially phasing out some current sites and transferring investment to new experiments • ARM Infrastructure review – pending • Committee of Visitors – BERAC to receive charge - FY 2007

13. U.S. Department of Energy BER’s Climate Change Research Program Office of Science U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) Synthesis and Assessment Products (SAPs): DOE/BER Role • CCSP committed to produce 21 SAPs by end of FY 2007 • Reports intended to inform public debate, policy, and operational decisions. Also intended to satisfy assessment requirements of Global Change Research Act of 1990 • Considered highly influential government reports; requiring clearance by National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) before publication and release • Six agencies (DOE, NASA, NOAA, USDA, EPA, and DOI/USGS) each agreed to lead production of subsets of the 21 products • Preparation of some SAPs requires FACA process, depending on whether all authors are Federal employees or Federal contractors or not. If not, FACA process required.

14. U.S. Department of Energy BER’s Climate Change Research Program Office of Science Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) Synthesis and Assessment Products: DOE/BER Role • DOE/BER responsible for three SAPs, two of which are being prepared under a FACA process. One of these consists of two separate reports: • SAP 2.1a “Scenarios of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Atmospheric Concentrations” SAP 2.1b “Global Change Scenarios: Their Development and Use” • SAP 3.1 “Climate Models: An Assessment of Strengths and Limitations for User Applications” • SAP 4.5 “Effects of Climate Change on Energy Production and Use in the U.S.” • New DOE FACA committee being established to oversee production of SAP 2.1 and 3.1. All authors of these reports will be members of a new FACA committee • 2.1 a and b drafted, reviewed by experts, revised, and posted for public comment • 3.1 in preparation • 4.5 drafted and ready for expert review • 4.5 written by experts at DOE labs; no FACA process required.

15. U.S. Department of Energy BER’s Climate Change Research Program Office of Science Strategic Planning: 10 year plan for Climate Change Research Program Why a Strategic Plan for the overall Program? • Plans exists for some individual programs in the Division • Lack overall plan for entire program – how the overall program plans to meet its Long Term Performance Goal of “Delivering improved data and models for policy makers to determine safe levels of greenhouse gases for the earth’s system” • Need strategic plan that articulates • what the program is and why DOE funds climate change research – mission needs, relevance • what the program is about - stakeholder needs it is intended to meet • how program goal, objectives, and stakeholder needs will be met

16. U.S. Department of Energy BER’s Climate Change Research Program Office of Science Strategic Plan for BER’s Climate Change Research Program How plan will be drafted: • Small group of chief scientists from some CCRD programs to assist • Interact with program managers and other key scientists in CCRD programs • BERAC will be asked to review and comment on draft plan • Plan is to have draft ready for review by next BERAC meeting