Understanding Interactions between People, Climate, and the Environment

Coral reef organisms and the reefs that they build are both affected by ocean acidification. Click here or on the image to enlarge. (Photo courtesy of Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary). People, climate, and ecosystems interact in complex ways. Only by understanding these interactions can the benefits of science and technology be leveraged for human well-being.

Researchers in NCAR's Institute for the Study of Society and Environment (ISSE) study the relationship between climate, ecosystems, and society. One major focus of this research is on the vulnerability of society and natural resources to climate change and weather extremes. Statistical analysis, case studies, socio-economic and policy models, and Geographic Information Systems are used to assess the risk and vulnerability of both human and natural systems to climate change and other environmental stressors. An important aspect of this work focuses on the socio-economic and political determinants of vulnerability, resilience, and adaptive capacity. By integrating social and natural science perspectives, ISSE researchers are able to shed light on ways for society to adapt, mitigate, and reduce its exposure to climate change and climate-related environmental threats.

Ocean Acidification

Comparision of estimated mode, intermediate, and deep water formation regions (Talley, 1999) and regions with large column inventories of anthropogenic CO2. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the most important gases in the atmosphere, affecting the radiative heat balance of the earth, as well as the calcium carbonate equilibrium of the oceans. About half of the CO2 released by human activity is absorbed by the oceans. With the increase in CO2 associated with human activities, the oceans are becoming increasingly acidified, which decreases the amount of shell-forming materials.

Source: Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Coral Reefs and Other Marine Calcifiers. NCAR Authors: Joan Kleypas.


A second focus of ISSE's research is to understand the impacts of climate change on natural ecosystems, and how these impacts will in turn affect the relationship between people and ecosystems. Human beings are part of nearly every ecosystem on Earth and depend upon their services, yet we have a poor understanding of how society responds when ecosystems change. For example, rising global temperatures caused by increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide change the chemistry of seawater. These changes degrade the health and abundance of coral reefs and other marine ecosystems. Reefs protect shores from erosion, provide people with food and medicine, and bolster local economies with tourism revenue. ISSE researchers are using their expertise to study regional differences in the vulnerability of reefs to climate change. In the future, they'll expand this research to examine how societies adapt to changes in the marine ecosystem, with the aim to developing more holistic management strategies.

Third, ISSE researchers explore the socioeconomic and institutional drivers of changes in climate and ecosystems. In particular, they study how changes in age structure and household numbers determine certain emissions trajectories, how affluence and lifestyles drive the demand for energy and materials, and how diverse energy and materials production and consumption technologies release different kinds and quantities of greenhouse gases and other emissions.