This material is based upon work supported by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which is a major facility sponsored by the National Science Foundation under Cooperative Agreement No. 1852977.

Towards an IntegratedCCIS Research Framework

Monica Morrison (Indiana University), Simone Tilmes (ACOM), Peter Lawrence (CGD), Brian Medeiros (CGD), Roy Rasmussen (RAL), Wojciech Grabowski (MMM), Andreas Prein (MMM), Britt Stephens (EOL), Tim Barnes (UCAR), Andrea Smith (COMET), Doug MacMartin (Cornell University), Dale Rothman (George Mason University), Karen Rosenlof (NOAA), Greeshma Gadikota (Cornell University), Gyami Shrestha (U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program at USGCRP)

Big Picture Question

What should the research environment look like for the holistic evaluation of

climate intervention strategies?

Ideal Environment for Holistic Research

Climate intervention

Human systems

Earth systems

What should the research environment look like for the holistic evaluation of climate intervention strategies?

• Collaborative• Interdisciplinary• Integrative• Synthesized• International• Usable• Transparent

Traditional Structure of Research Landscape

Surface Albedo

modification

Mitigation

Atmospheric composition

Ocean biogeophysics

andbiogeochemistry

Industrial Carbon

Removal

Stratospheric aerosol injection

Cloud Brightening

Ecosystemprocesses

Land biogeophysics

andbiogeochemistry

Urban environments

Water security

Governance and peace

Terrestrial systems

Land use changes

Food security

Ecosystemservices

Human health and

living standards

Air quality

Human infrastructure

Ocean restoration

Building the Structure of the Framework

• The first three large-scale components of the framework are identified in more or less a classical distinction between research areas involved in climate research.

• We identified a significant need for education and outreach on climate change and intervention for the sake of:– Communicating outwardly about research projects– Educating the public about climate intervention– Outreach to policymakers and general public– Outreach and communication to stakeholder communities for usable science

Large-scale components of the Research Environment

Human Dimensions and

Drivers of Change

Impacts and Adaptation

Education and

Outreach

Engineering and Physical Processes

• Demographic, economic and technological change

• Social and ethical considerations

• Governance• Economic and

political scenarios• Climate and

intervention scenarios

• Ecological and societal impacts

• Adaptation• Thresholds and

tipping points• Resilience planning• Weather and

extreme events• Food and Water

• Stakeholder outreach• Public communication• Policy maker

communication• Public education• Communication best

practices

• SRM and CDR potential

• Interactions of combined approaches

• Design and engineering

• Limitations and uncertainties

• Climate impacts• Range of outcomes

• Demographic, economic and technological change

• Social and ethical considerations

• Governance• Economic and

political scenarios• Climate and

intervention scenarios

• Ecological and societal impacts

• Adaptation• Thresholds and

tipping points• Resilience planning• Weather and

extreme events• Food and Water

• Stakeholder outreach• Public communication• Policy maker

communication• Public education• Communication best

practices

• SRM and CDR potential

• Interactions of combined approaches

• Design and engineering

• Limitations and uncertainties

• Climate impacts• Range of outcomes

CCIS Research Framework: Overall Interdisciplinary Environment

Human Dimensions and

Drivers of Change

Impacts and Adaptation

Education and

Outreach

Engineering and Physical

Processes

Facilitating, advancing, and integrating interdisciplinary research collaborations

Demographic, economic and

technological changeSocial and ethical

considerationsGovernance

Economic and political scenarios

Climate and intervention scenarios

EcologicalSocietal

Vulnerable communities

Adaptation effortsThresholds and tipping

pointsResilience planning

Weather and extreme events

Stakeholder outreachPublic communication

Policy maker communicationPublic education

Communication best practices

SRM potentialCDR potentialInteractions of

combined approachesDesign and engineering

Limitations and uncertainties

Climate impactsRange of outcomes

• Overlap areas are required for idea exchange to facilitate identification ofresearch question priorities and working groups

• We envisage forming working groups centered around collectively-definedand prioritized interdisciplinary research questions that span contributions ofall four components, occurring within components and the high degreeinterdisciplinary overlap areas.

• The entire landscape of research happens within a sphere of knowledgeexchange and interdisciplinary communication (black circle).

The Need for Crosscutting Research Projects

Understanding the Framework’s Significance

The purpose of the framework is to facilitate and advance communication within andbetween these disparate groups.

Development of the details involves:• The examination and development of the interdisciplinary areas• Identification of major science questions and priorities responsive to policy

makers, stakeholder communities, and the general public.• Identification of working groups responsive to major scientific questions• Development of communication and collaboration structure within and between

working groups

The established framework is a proposed structure, with content to be filled in bythe community, based on their needs, priorities and interests.

Example of Crosscutting Science Questions

• How can we sustain the Arctic sea-ice using mitigation, SRM and CDR, withoutnegatively impacting other parts of the global climate?

• What impact does stratospheric aerosol injection have on vegetation growth rates(precipitation, energy, etc.), and what consequences do these impacts have onfood security in vulnerable regions?

• How does afforestation for carbon sequestration, used alongside otherintervention strategies such as SRM, impact ecological diversity and function oftargeted landscapes?

• What portfolio of climate interventions (mitigation, SRM, and CDR) would beneeded to prevent reaching run-away tipping points?

Example: Science Responsive to Knowledge User Priorities

• How does afforestation for carbon sequestration, used alongside other interventionstrategies such as SRM, impact ecological diversity and function of targetedlandscapes?

• Consulting with impacted communities to determine what metrics they needed toevaluate diversity and function impacts—community sees importance of sustainingbiodiversity of flowering plant species in targeted area. Also concerned aboutincreased fire risk, air pollution, and loss of hunting areas for seasonal game.

• Usable knowledge for the community would require considering how to provide dataresponsive to these metrics for their evaluation of impacts. This is the considerationof the use purposes of scientific research knowledge products.

Breakout Sessions: Constructing Interdisciplinary Working Groups

1. Review big picture research environment and framework components.

2. Identify and prioritize science questions.

3. Examine interdisciplinary collaborations.

Breakout Sessions 1 —Thursday

• Identify the most urgent, high-level climateintervention science questions that requireinterdisciplinary collaborations.

• Prioritize these questions to serve as the basisfor the second day’s breakout sessions and asinitial program working groups.

• Describe how best to organize and coordinateworking group activities within an overallprogram structure that facilitates collaborationon the questions

Breakout Sessions 2 —Friday

• Identify existing research efforts (small projectsup to large programs) that are currentlyresponding to this priority question.

• Identify gaps in knowledge and/or researchactivities that prevent us from fully answeringthe question.

• Describe new collaborations or researchprojects that could be developed to more fullyanswer the question.

Homework Assignment

Please take some time to digest the idea of a program that uses this frameworkand working groups to facilitate and support interdisciplinary collaboration byexamining your own research projects...

1) Where your work is positioned within the suggested framework components?

2) What are some of the most important high-level science question(s) related to your workand for which this framework could facilitate research?

We would like to see your ideas on a google sheet that you are assigned to.

Thinking about Interdisciplinary Questions

• Interdisciplinary questions are those that are concerned with complex systems, orinteractions between various systems within a broad landscape. (How one systemcausally interacts with another complex system.)

• Interdisciplinary questions can be developed by thinking about what contributionsyour research needs to answer larger-scale questions.

• Interdisciplinary questions are often focused on societal impacts of certaincomplex problems or scientific research.

• Large-scale interdisciplinary questions can be broad, and broken down into morefocused sub-questions.