AGU Town Hall: Building on Successes: Strategic Planning and Implementation for the Next Decade of the U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program and North American Carbon Program

Title: Building on Successes: Strategic Planning and Implementation for the Next Decade of the U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program and North American Carbon Program

The U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program (US CSSP), represents 14 federal agencies and departments with research and funding portfolios encompassing carbon and pertinent biogeochemical cycles across land, water, air and society. The Program incorporates broad coordinated community input such as from the U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Plans (1999, 2011). While the 1999 Plan laid out the framework for the Program, researchers and program managers have been using the 2011 Plan to expand and enhance our understanding of the carbon cycle from local to regional to global scales in the last decade. The North American Carbon Program (NACP) serves as an essential venue for facilitating carbon cycle science research focused on North America. As a core program of the US CSSP, NACP also uses the 2011 Plan to inform research implementation, scientific collaboration, and syntheses. In this open forum, we will discuss the goals and implementation strategies designed to deliver the next generation of the NACP. The Carbon Cycle Interagency Working Group (CCIWG) leadership of the CCSSP, the leads of the 2011 Plan, and the NACP Science Leadership Group, will brainstorm research progress since 2011, seeking public feedback on strategic planning needs and priorities for the next 5-10 years. The CCIWG will also discuss pertinent U.S. research funding programs, observation networks and coordination capabilities and opportunities across agencies and internationally.