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Program Domain

Earth Systems and Society

Our mission is to provide decision-relevant insight at the interface of human and natural systems to support resiliency of energy, water, agriculture, and built environments in the face of global and regional change.

Programs

Program

Climate Modeling

This program aims to develop global process-resolving models to help quantify the roles of climate feedbacks in anthropogenic climate change. Abrupt and extreme climate changes from anthropogenic warming pose some of the greatest risks to society and the environment. Understanding of the complex interactions involved with feedbacks is critical.

Christina Marie Patricola cmpatricola@lbl.gov

Background

The Earth Systems and Society (ESS) Program Domain seeks to understand how humans influence climatic, ecological, and hydrological processes across a range of scales, as well as the risks faced by human systems on a changing planet. We build upon quantitative expertise in climate and ecosystem science from across the division to:

  • Improve predictive understanding of climate and ecosystem dynamics at decision-relevant scales
  • Assess the environmental implications of alternative pathways of human development
  • Identify pathways to resiliency for water, energy, agricultural, and urban systems

ESS is one of four Program Domains within the Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division.

Program Domain Leads

Andrew D. Jones
Program Domain Lead for Earth Systems and Society

News & Events

Strengthening Wildland Fire Science and Scientific Collaboration through New Data Management Platform

June 13, 2022

  Wildfires are increasing in severity and frequency worldwide. A new report called Spreading like Wildfire: The Rising Threat of Extraordinary Landscape Fires indicates that wildfires are responsible for significant economic, environmental, and sociopolitical damage (UNEP, GRID-Arendal, 2021). They also contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions – thereby further fueling climate change.  Researchers need to…

Robinson Negron-Juarez to Receive Honorary Degree

May 26, 2022

EESA Staff Scientist Robinson Negron-Juarez will travel to Iquitos, Peru, in July to accept an Honoris Causa from the National University of the Peruvian Amazon (Universidad Nacional de la Amazonia Peruana, UNAP). Negron-Juarez joined EESA in 2013 and contributes to the NGEE-Tropics project led by EESA and to EESA’s wildfire Element. Through his research he…

Microbial Response to a Changing and Fire-Prone Arctic Ecosystem

April 27, 2022

Burning more than 1,000 square kilometers of tundra on Alaska’s North Slope, the 2007 Anaktuvuk river wildfire is one of the largest fires to occur within Arctic ecosystems. Berkeley Lab scientist Nick Bouskill led a study that used data from this disturbance event to predict ecosystem recovery as fires advance in a changing climate. (Credit:…

Study Evaluates Phosphorus Availability Underground using Plant Leaves as Biosensors

April 25, 2022

When envisioning renewable energy, sources that often come to mind are the sun, wind, batteries, and water. However, biofuel, a type of renewable energy that converts organic material from plants into liquid fuel, is an important part of a global effort to achieve net-zero emissions. Switchgrass, a deep-rooted native North American grass that grows in…

Researchers Investigate How Changes in Small-Scale Environmental Conditions Impact Microbial Structure and Function

  Just one teaspoon of soil or sediment can contain up to one billion microbes. These microorganisms in Earth’s subsurface, although invisible, largely influence the global carbon cycle through their ability to break down organic material, which releases carbon dioxide in the process. However, environmental conditions within Earth’s subsurface such as moisture, nutrient availability, and…

EESA Study Closes Knowledge Gaps of Drought Impacts on Microbial Activity

Climate change is leading to an increase in many vivid impacts, such as more frequent wildfires and floods. However, there are many effects of climate change that can’t be seen from miles away – or even seen at all. The intensity and frequency of drought is predicted to increase along with higher temperatures. Droughts can…

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