Responding to the challenges posed by climate change is a major societal challenge facing the Nation and the world. NSF’s Climate Research Investment (CRI) is a Foundation-wide activity that supports production of new knowledge that can lead to a more sustainable planet. CRI’s goal is to support a broad and basic research portfolio, building upon previous NSF efforts, which can provide insight into the fundamental processes underlying climate change and related impacts. It focuses on interdisciplinary research and education that deepens our current understanding of complex interactions that influence climate, including expanded observing capabilities, modeling and simulation, and fundamental research on ways to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of a changing climate. CRI will support novel approaches to these questions by spanning disciplines. Investments will address a number of topics, including smart adaptation and mitigation science, regional and decadal-scale climate modeling, ecosystem vulnerability, the carbon and water cycles, ocean acidification, abrupt climate change, and weather extremes. In Fiscal Year 2010, CRI will focus on basic research related to water sustainability, ocean acidification, biodiversity, and regional and decadal modeling. Future CRI efforts will continue to explore these and other climate-related, basic research topics. NSF is also collaborating with Federal agency partners on CRI and other climate-related research topics.

FY 2010 CRI Solicitations

• Water Sustainability and Climate (CRI-WSC) (NSF 10-524)
  
  The goal of the Water Sustainability and Climate (WSC) solicitation is to understand and predict the interactions between the water system and climate change, land use, the built environment, and ecosystem function and services through place-based research and integrative models.
  
  Deadlines: March 15, 2010 Letter of Intent; April 15, 2010 Full Proposal
  
  
• Ocean Acidification (CRI-OA) (NSF 10-530)
  
  In recognition of the need for basic research concerning the nature, extent and impact of ocean acidification on oceanic environments in the past, present and future, the goal of this solicitation is to understand a) the chemistry and physical chemistry of ocean acidification; b) how ocean acidification interacts with processes at the organismal level; and c) how the earth system history informs our understanding of the effects of ocean acidification on the present day and future ocean.
  
  Deadlines: March 29, 2010 Letter of Intent; April 26, 2010 Full Proposal
  


• Decadal and Regional Climate Prediction Using Earth System Models (ESM): PENDING
  


• Dimensions of Biodiversity: UNDER DEVELOPMENT