Author
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Reicosky, Donald |
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Submitted to: Journal of Environmental Quality
Publication Type: Review Article Publication Acceptance Date: 7/12/2000 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: The book reviewed was "Global Environmental Change: Research Pathways for the Next Decade," published by National Academy Press. The book summarizes activities of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), designed to carry an organized and coherent attack on the scientific issues posed by global environmental change. Highlights of this book include: 1) research imperatives and strategies for investigators in the areas of atmospheric chemistry, climate, ecosystems studies, 2) the context climate change, including lessons gleaned from paleoclimatology, and 3) human responses to, and forcing of,projected global change. The book offers an overview of global change research to date and provides a framework for answering urgent questions. It was written by leaders in their disciplines and is a rich body of compiled information in the form of lessons learned over the past decade. These lessons provide a platform for future research directions that focus on critical scientific issues and unresolved questions that are relevant to pressing national policy issues. The format consists of a series of 11 chapters that are loosely organized into related parts covering research needs from a global perspective. Each chapter contains a summary section followed by research imperatives that must be met to understand climate change. This format is beneficial for the casual reader interested in only a brief synopsis. Topics range from "changes to the biology and biochemistry of ecosystems" to "human dimensions of global environmental change." The book concludes with chapters on data observations, processing and distribution of the observations and information, and modeling. The last chapter identifies high priority research imperatives and scientific questions for the next ten years. |
