the significance of the carbon

            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
             For long term plans, see Carbon Cycle chapter of the Strategic Plan for the Climate Change Science Program (2003) posted on CCSP web site.
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             Carbon Cycle Science Home Page.
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             The Carbon Cycle. Basic background information from NASA's Earth Observatory Reference section.
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             Human Interactions with the Carbon Cycle. Summary of a Workshop. .
             By Paul C. Stern for the National Research Council, Committee on the Human Dimensions of Global Change, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2002).
             See the .
             Carbon Cycle.
             Science Plan.
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             USGCRP-supported research on the global carbon cycle focuses on: (1) identifying the size and variability of the dynamic reservoirs and fluxes of carbon within the Earth system and how carbon cycling might change and be changed in the future; and (2) providing the scientific underpinning for evaluating options being considered by society to manage carbon sources and sinks to achieve an appropriate balance of risk, costs, and benefits. Specific programs and projects focus on: North American and ocean carbon sources and sinks; the impact of land-use change and resource management practices on carbon sources and sinks; projecting future atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane concentrations and changes in landbased and marine carbon sinks; and the global distribution of carbon sources and sinks and how they are changing. .
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             The USGCRP budget includes $252 million in FY 2003 for research and observations related primarily to the Global Carbon Cycle.The USGCRP Global Carbon Cycle program endeavors to identify 1) the size and variability of the dynamic reservoirs and fluxes of carbon within the Earth system and how carbon cycling might change and be changed in the future, and 2) provide the scientific underpinning for evaluating options being considered by society for managing carbon sources and sinks to achieve an appropriate balance of risk, costs, and benefits.