NOAA’s Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) Program is announcing five new five-year awards totaling $19 million to research institutions from Honolulu to New York City to improve the ability of those seeking to prepare for and adapt to climate variability and change.
The five regional teams will work closely with communities, resource managers, land planners, public agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to advance new research on how climate variability and change will impact the environment, economy, and society, and develop innovative ways to integrate climate information into decision-making. Over the next five years, these teams will build on their ongoing relationships with decision makers in their regions and develop new partnerships..
The new awards cover a range of topics including infrastructure, water resources, tourism, ecosystems, energy, agriculture, human health, transportation, and the resilience of urban and rural communities to extreme events. Each team focuses on the topics of most importance to their region, which they identify through iterative engagement and partnerships with decision makers and stakeholders.
The five new RISA FY15 awards include:
- Climate Impacts Research Consortium — Oregon State University (team established in 2011): Focus on climate, water, coastal and land issues in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho
- Consortium on Climate Risk in the Urban Northeast — Columbia University (established 2011): Focus on climate issues across water, coasts, and health in the urban corridor spanning Boston, New York and Philadelphia
- Great Lakes Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments Center — University of Michigan and Michigan State University (team established in 2011): Focus on watersheds of the Great Lakes
- Pacific RISA: Climate Adaptation Partnership for the Pacific — East-West Center, Hawaii (team established in 2003): Focus on various climate and water issues in Hawaii and the U.S. Pacific Islands
- Western Water Assessment — University of Colorado (team established in 2000): Focus on climate, water, energy and ecosystems in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming
These awards were chosen competitively by an independent, expert review panel. NOAA has supported RISA teams for 20 years. RISAs represent an effective method to co-design and co-develop knowledge about climate and its impacts through partnerships among scientists and decision makers.
RISA teams work closely with NOAA’s regional efforts as well as its federal, state, and local partners. The teams have strong connections with federal initiatives such as the Department of Interior’s Climate Science Centers and Landscape Conservation Cooperatives and USDA’s Climate Hubs.
The new RISA partnerships join five ongoing RISAs including:
- Alaska Center for Climate Assessments and Policy: University of Alaska
- Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments: University of South Carolina
- Climate Assessment for the Southwest: University of Arizona and New Mexico State University
- California-Nevada Applications Program: Scripps Institution of Oceanography
- Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program: University of Oklahoma and Louisiana State University
RISA is a program in the Climate Program Office, within NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, that supports research teams that help expand and build the capacity of those seeking to prepare for and adapt to climate variability and change. To learn more about the RISA program and teams, visit: http://cpo.noaa.gov/ClimatePrograms/ClimateandSocietalInteractions/RISAProgram.aspx.
For a full list of CPO’s grants and awards for 2015, visit: http://cpo.noaa.gov/AboutCPO/AllNews/TabId/315/artmid/668/articleid/363879/CPO-Announces-FY15-Awards.aspx
NOAA’s Climate Program Office helps improve understanding of climate variability and change in order to enhance society’s ability to plan and respond. NOAA provides science, data, and information that Americans want and need to understand how climate conditions are changing. Without NOAA’s long-term climate observing, monitoring, research, and modeling capabilities we couldn’t quantify where and how climate conditions have changed, nor could we predict where and how they’re likely to change.