Research Questions for CCSP Categories

Match each lettered Climate Change Science Program category with the appropriate numbered research question; some categories may have multiple questions. One pair has been matched as an example

A. Ancient climates

B. Global carbon cycle

C. Composition of the atmosphere

D. Earths climate system

E. Ecosystems

F. Global water cycle

G. Population and global change

1. How sensitive are different social systems to potential changes in climate and their consequences?

2. How do we understand the mechanisms of regional and global climate patterns?

3. How is the availability of water on land related to the global climate cycle?

4. How will changes in water availability affect natural and managed systems?

5. How will the biosphere respond to changes in atmospheric quality and composition?

6. How will the human production of carbon dioxide change in the next century?

7. Will airborne pollutants serve to cool or warm the lower atmosphere, and how long will such substances remain in the air?

8. How much natural variation has occurred in past climate systems, and how rapidly did such changes take place?