NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study was supported by Contract Nos. 50-DKNA-5-00015 and 50-DNKA-7-90052 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Global environmental change : research pathways for the next decade / Committee on Global Change Research, Board on Sustainable Development, Policy Division, National Research Council.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Global environmental change. 2. U.S. Global Change Research Program. 3. Climatic changes—Research—United States. 4. Global warming—Research—United States. 5. Greenhouse effect, Atmospheric —Research—United States. I. National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Global Change Research.

GE150 .G56 1999

363.738′74′072073—dc21

99-6463

Cover image: Face of the Earth, ARC Science Simulations, Copyright 1996-1998, www.arcinc.com