Key facts
- A new paper suggests scientists can fill the void left by the White House terminating a US climate report.
- The paper calls for synthesizing current scientific understanding to support climate assessment efforts at state, local, and sectoral scales.
- Recent developments in climate modeling, including machine learning and finer spatial resolution, are highlighted.
- The roadmap also considers changes in US climate policy and the impact of AI data centers on electricity demand.
- Researchers suggest expanding analysis beyond national borders to include Canada or evaluate global trade links to climate impacts.
- Melisa Kenney, a lead author, described the roadmap as seeding a distributed synthesis effort rather than a centrally managed program.
A new paper published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society and Earth's Future proposes a framework for scientists to collaboratively synthesize climate data and projections, aiming to fill the gap left by the termination of a federally coordinated US National Climate Assessment. The roadmap highlights key areas for scientific focus, including comparing measured trends with climate model projections and incorporating recent advancements in climate modeling such as machine learning-based simulations and techniques for finer spatial resolution.
The paper also addresses the evolving landscape of climate adaptation and emissions reduction efforts, noting the chaotic nature of US climate policy and the significant impact of AI data center growth on electricity demand. It suggests mirroring or building upon the regional focus of past assessments to make scientific findings more concrete and relatable, using the example of research connecting permafrost thaw, wildfires, and mercury release in Alaska.
Furthermore, the proposed approach would allow analyses to extend beyond national borders, potentially incorporating Canada or evaluating how global trade links US climate impacts to other regions. Lead author Melisa Kenney stated that the roadmap is intended to "seed and accelerate a distributed synthesis effort rather than launching a centrally managed research program," with the goal of supporting a network of climate assessment efforts at various scales.