Global Change

There is increasing recognition that human activities are altering the global environment. Key questions include the degree to which the global environment is affecting:

1. Long-term climate change associated with increases in atmospheric greenhouse gases
2. Seasonal-to-interannual climate variability and its prediction
3. Depletion of stratospheric ozone and increase in harmful UV-B radiation
4. Land use and land cover change
5. Distribution patterns of biota
6. Changes in hydrologic cycles
7. The impacts of global environmental change on humans and ecosystems, and how contemporary society should respond to affect or adapt to the long-term risk