2022 North American Carbon Program Science Implementation Plan, Report of the North American Carbon Program

Abstract

Carbon is a building block of life, a central biogeochemical element in the earth system, and an important constituent of Earth’s atmosphere as a greenhouse gas (GhG) that powerfully influences global climate. Human activity has radically altered the global carbon balance in fundamental ways, with severe consequences for the Earth system. Vast quantities of carbon have been emitted as CO₂ from oxidation of the primary carbon-containing fuels humans have used over the past two centuries, and from the destruction of natural ecosystems for agriculture, resource extraction, industry, transportation, and other human endeavors. Together these have significantly elevated atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, leading to planetary warming and attendant climate changes that are fundamentally altering ecosystems and environments worldwide. They have also acidified the oceans, jeopardizing coral reefs, endangering fisheries, and threatening the extinction of many species. Many of these impacts involve adverse natural feedbacks that release additional greenhouse gases and accelerate climate change. There is a pressing need to understand these changes to the global carbon cycle and their interactions with the climate system and biosphere so that we may stabilize and reverse their damaging impacts and safeguard human well-being and life on planet Earth. The North American Carbon Program (NACP) responds to continued and growing urgency to understand these dynamics and drivers of the coupled carbon-climate system, and its interactions with the health and sustainability of ecosystems, natural resources, and the provisions of goods and services.

Citation

​Williams, C.A.; Andrews, A.; Brown, M.; Davis, K.J.; Hoffman, F.; Larson, L.; Poulter, B.; Shrestha, G.; Sundquist, E.T.; Wei, Y.; et al. 2023. 2022 North American Carbon Program Science Implementation Plan, Report of the North American Carbon Program. Washington, DC: US Carbon Cycle Science Program. 162 p. https://www.nacarbon.org/nacp/documents/NSIP_Final.pdf.  https://www.doi.org/10.5065/kwe1-w815.