U.S. CLIVAR

U.S. CLIVAR
Name	U.S. CLIVAR
Formation	1995
Headquarters	United States
Leader title	Director

U.S. CLIVAR U.S. CLIVAR was a United States-based program focused on understanding climate variability and predictability, founded to coordinate research across federal agencies, academic institutions, and national laboratories. It linked observational programs, modeling centers, and field campaigns to investigate phenomena such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Activities involved partnerships with organizations including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Science Foundation, and Department of Energy.

History

U.S. CLIVAR was established in the mid-1990s in response to international initiatives such as the World Climate Research Programme and national directives from the U.S. Global Change Research Program and the National Research Council. Early drivers included scientific assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and programmatic recommendations from panels convened by the American Geophysical Union, National Academy of Sciences, and leaders at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Foundational workshops featured participants from the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, and Princeton University. Over subsequent decades the program coordinated experiments linked to TOGA-era legacy studies, supported campaigns related to the Argo program, and interacted with climate centers such as the Met Office and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.

Mission and Objectives

The mission focused on advancing predictive understanding of climate variability on seasonal to decadal timescales in regions influenced by the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Southern Ocean. Objectives included improving coupled climate models at centers like the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, evaluating observational networks such as the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) array, and enhancing process studies at institutions including the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences and the University of Washington. Goals emphasized applications for stakeholders including agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency and sectors represented by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Geological Survey.

Organizational Structure and Governance

Governance involved interagency coordination among NOAA, NASA, NSF, and the Department of Energy, with program oversight informed by advisory bodies such as the National Research Council committees and panels including members from the American Meteorological Society and American Association for the Advancement of Science. Scientific leadership came from principal investigators at universities like Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, San Diego, and national labs including the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Working groups and panels addressed topics spanning oceanography, atmospheric dynamics, and cryospheric interactions, drawing experts from the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and NOAA Climate Program Office.

Research Programs and Projects

U.S. CLIVAR coordinated projects ranging from basin-scale studies of the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Indian Ocean Dipole to targeted field campaigns such as repeat hydrographic sections and air-sea flux measurements led by teams from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of Miami Rosenstiel School, and University of Rhode Island. It supported model intercomparison activities linked to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project and experiments involving the Community Earth System Model and the CESM Project. Projects included decadal prediction efforts interfacing with the International CLIVAR community, paleoclimate syntheses involving the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and process studies employing platforms from the Office of Naval Research and the U.S. Navy.

Observational Systems and Data Management

Observational programs tied to U.S. CLIVAR encompassed sustained networks such as the Argo program, TAO/TRITON array, NOAA Weather and Climate Operational Supercomputing System, repeat hydrography coordinated with the Global Ocean Ship-based Hydrographic Investigations Program (GO-SHIP), and satellite missions from NASA including sensors on Aqua (satellite) and Terra (satellite). Data management practices aligned with repositories and services such as the National Centers for Environmental Information, the Earth System Grid Federation, and the Global Change Master Directory, with community standards promoted by the World Meteorological Organization and the International Oceanographic Commission. Quality-controlled datasets supported by laboratories like the Plymouth Marine Laboratory and centers such as the NOAA National Oceanographic Data Center enabled model validation and reanalysis efforts carried out by groups at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and the NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory.

Collaborations and Partnerships

The program partnered with international initiatives including the World Climate Research Programme, CLIVAR International Project Office, and regional efforts such as the Pacific Islands Forum. Academic collaborations involved institutions like Harvard University, Yale University, Stanford University, University of Colorado Boulder, and Brown University. Operational and policy interfaces connected with agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and regional stakeholders such as the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. It engaged industry partners and non-governmental organizations including the Nature Conservancy and the American Red Cross for application-oriented research and risk reduction.

Impact and Contributions to Climate Science

U.S. CLIVAR contributed to advances in understanding modes of variability such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, improvements in seasonal to decadal prediction tested against records from the Paleoceanography community and instrumental datasets curated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Outputs informed assessment reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and guided modeling improvements at centers including the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Research influenced operational forecast systems at NOAA and supported capacity building at universities such as University of California, Los Angeles and Arizona State University, while informing coastal resilience planning in regions represented by the National Association of Counties and emergency response strategies involving the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Category:Climate research organizations