Identifying New Community-Driven Science Themes for NSF’s Support of Paleoclimate Research: Proceedings Of A Workshop

By: Ocean Studies Board and Polar Research Board and Board on Earth Sciences and Resources and Division on Earth and Life Studies and Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate and National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

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Synopsis: Sediments, ice, corals, and trees are just some of the natural storehouses of information that help tell the complicated history of Earth’s climate. Paleoclimate researchers use these “proxies,” in combination with numerical models, to gain understanding of the magnitudes, rates, and drivers of past climate variability with the goal of informing understanding of current and future change in Earth’s climate system. The Paleo Perspectives on Climate Change (P2C2) program of the National Science Foundation (NSF) has advanced paleoclimate research through proxy development, data-model comparisons, and synthesis work, and has facilitated interdisciplinary collaboration that has contributed to the growth of the field. This new publication highlights discussions at a June 2021 workshop that focused on identifying potential future paleoclimate research directions to further advance understanding of past climate and better inform the public and decision makers about the expected future.