Topic: Life, Earth, and the Environment

50 Years of Ocean Discovery: National Science Foundation 1950-2000 (2000) - This book describes the development of ocean sciences over the past 50 years, highlighting the contributions of the National Science Foundation (NSF)...

Abrupt Climate Change: Inevitable Surprises (2002) - The climate record for the past 100,000 years clearly indicates that the climate system has undergone periodic—and often extreme—shifts, sometimes in...

Analysis of Global Change Assessments: Lessons Learned - Global change assessments inform decision makers about the scientific underpinnings of a range of environmental issues, such as climate change,...

Antarctic Treaty System: An Assessment: Proceedings of a Workshop Held at Beardmore South Field Camp, Antarctica, January 7-13, 1985 (1986) - The international agreements covering Antarctica are models of cooperation and joined purpose. Convening at the Beardmore South Field Camp, near the...

Arctic Ocean Research and Supporting Facilities: National Needs and Goals (1995) - The Arctic is a region of greater economic and environmental importance than is suggested by its relatively small area and remoteness. Because of the...

A Scientific Strategy for U.S. Participation in the GOALS (Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System) Component of the CLIVAR (Climate Variability and Predictability) Programme (1998) - The impetus for GOALS stemmed from the success of TOGA, the Tropical Oceans and Global Atmosphere program, which established the existence of...

Assessment of the Benefits of Extending the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission: A Perspective from the Research and Operations Communities, Interim Report - Launched jointly in 1997 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Tropical...

Atmospheric Change and the North American Transportation Sector: Summary of a Trilateral Workshop (1998) - In March 1997 a workshop was held in Washington D.C. that convened a wide variety of experts from Canada, Mexico, and the United States to examine...

Biodiversity Conservation in Transboundary Protected Areas (1996) - Recognizing the increasing rate of species loss on a global scale and that neither pollution nor ecosystems respects political boundaries,...

Building Ocean Science Partnerships: The United States and Mexico Working Together (1999) - Building Ocean Science Partnerships describes a set of potential ocean science projects for cooperative research between scientists from the United...

Challenges in Ocean Policy (2001) - This brief document calls attention to two significant ocean issues – nutrient pollution and sustainable fisheries – that are likely to require...

Chemical Reference Materials: Setting the Standards for Ocean Science (2002) - The accuracy of chemical oceanographic measurements depends on calibration against reference materials to ensure comparability over time and among...

China and Global Change: Opportunities for Collaboration (1992) - Given China's current and potential impacts on the global environment and the contributions Chinese science can make to global change research,...

Clean Coastal Waters: Understanding and Reducing the Effects of Nutrient Pollution (2000) - Environmental problems in coastal ecosystems can sometimes be attributed to excess nutrients flowing from upstream watersheds into estuarine...

Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) - The U.S. National Committee (USNC) for the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) functions as a bridge between the scientific and...

Conference on Human Health and Global Climate Change: Summary of the Proceedings (1996) - Observed changes in the Earth's climate over the past 100 years appear to be consistent with theoretical models of greenhouse warming. These models...

Conserving Biodiversity: A Research Agenda for Development Agencies (1992) - The loss of the earth's biological diversity is widely recognized as a critical environmental problem. That loss is most severe in developing...

Decision Support Systems for Seasonal to Interannual Climate Forecasting - The U.S. National Academy of Sciences hosted an international workshop, “Decision Support Systems for Seasonal to Interannual Climate Forecasting” on...

Determination of High-Resolution Structures for the Post-Genomic Age (2001) - The U.S. National Research Council sponsored an intensive lab course for researchers from Central/Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States....

DIVERSITAS: An Integrated Program of Biodiversity Science - In 1989, the National Research Council’s U.S. National Committee for the International Union of Biological Sciences (USNC/IUBS) proposed that the...

Down to Earth: Geographical Information for Sustainable Development in Africa (2002) - In 1992, world leaders adopted Agenda 21, the work program of the 1992 U.N. Conference on Environment and Development. This landmark event provided a...

Ecological Risks: Perspectives from Poland and the United States (1990) - The various chapters of this book were developed to illustrate the current state of knowledge about ecological risks in Poland and the US. The...

Effects of Trawling and Dredging on Seafloor Habitat (2002) - Concerns over the potential ecological effects of fishing have increased with the expansion of fisheries throughout the marine waters of the United...

Enabling Ocean Research in the 21st Century: Implementation of a Network of Ocean Observatories (2003) - As the importance of the oceans to society grows, so does the need to understand their variation on many temporal and spatial scales. This need to...

End Points for Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste in Russia and the United States (2003) - This report provides an analysis of the management of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in Russia and the United States, describing...

Environmentally Significant Consumption: Research Directions (1997) - This book demonstrates that the relationship of consumption to the environment needs careful analysis by environmental and social scientists and...

Evaluating Human Genetic Diversity (1997) - This book assesses the scientific value and merit of research on human genetic differences- including a collection of DNA samples that represents the...

Exploration of Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments: Environmental and Scientific Stewardship - Antarctica is renowned for its extreme cold; yet surprisingly, radar measurements have revealed a vast network of lakes, rivers, and streams several...

Exploration of the Seas: Interim Report (2003) - Seventy percent of our blue planet is covered by oceans. Although progress has been made in understanding the role of oceans in climate change,...

Exploration of the Seas: Voyage into the Unknown (2003) - In the summer of 1803, Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on a journey to establish an American presence in a land of...

From Monsoons to Microbes: Understanding the Ocean’s Role in Human Health (1999) - This report offers a deeper look into the oceans that surround us, often nuturing yet sometimes harming humankind. This book explores the links among...

Future Needs in Deep Submergence Science: Occupied and Unoccupied Vehicles in Basic Ocean Research (2004) - Deep-diving manned submersibles, such as Alvin, which gained worldwide fame when researchers used it to reach the wreck of the Titanic, have helped...

Global Change and Our Common Future: Papers from a Forum (1989) - Global Change and Our Common Future includes 22 edited presentations from the Forum on Global Change and Our Common Future. The Forum, sponsored by...

Global Environmental Change: Research Pathways for the Next Decade (1999) - How can we understand and rise to the environmental challenges of global change? One clear answer is to understand the science of global change, not...

Global Ocean Science: Toward an Integrated Approach (1999) - During recent years, large-scale investigations into global climate change and other highly visible issues have taken the lion's share of declining...

GOALS (Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System) for Predicting Seasonal-to-Interannual Climate: A Program of Observation, Modeling, and Analysis - This book lays out a science plan for a major, international, 15-year research program. The past 10 years have seen significant progress in studies...

Human Interactions with the Carbon Cycle: Summary of a Workshop (2002) - The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) has identified the global carbon cycle as a major program element. An interagency Carbon Cycle...

Hurricane Hugo, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Charleston, South Carolina, September 17-22, 1989 (1994) - This volume provides an account of the 1989 Hurricane Hugo for historical purposes, evaluates the physical phenomena involved and the performance of...

Illuminating the Hidden Planet: The Future of Seafloor Observatory Science (2000) - Shipboard expeditionary science has led to remarkable advances in oceanography. To further advance oceanographic science, long time-series...

Industrial Ecology: U.S.-Japan Perspectives (1994) - The US National Academy of Engineering convened a three-day US-Japan Workshop on Industrial Ecology in March 1993. The purpose was to exchange...

Intellectual Property Rights and U.S.-Japan Competition in Biotechnology: Report of a Workshop (1991) - This report covers major insights from a one-day workshop on “Intellectual Property Rights and US-Japan Competition in Biotechnology” organized but...

International Astronomical Union (IAU) - The International Astronomical Union (IAU) promotes and coordinates worldwide cooperation in astronomy. The IAU, through its 11 Scientific Divisions...

International Capacity Building for the Protection and Sustainable Use of Oceans and Coasts - The study will identify barriers to effective management of coastal and marine resources encountered in coastal nations, particularly in the...

International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) (Commission of IMU) - The U.S. National Commission on Mathematics Instruction (USNC/MI) plans, recommends, and encourages projects in areas of international importance in...

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) - The U.S. Committee for the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) performs the National Academies duties as the National Member...

International Mathematical Union (IMU) - The U.S. National Committee for Mathematics (USNC/Math) represents the United States in the International Mathematical Union (IMU), and promotes the...

International Perspectives: The Future of Nonhuman Primate Resources, Proceedings of the Workshop Held April 17-19, 2002 (2003) - The future of nonhuman primate (NHP) resources is a concern of scientists, veterinarians, and funding authorities. An April 2002 workshop brought...

International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) - The U.S. National Committee for the International Union for Quaternary Research (USNC/INQUA) promotes the advancement of Quaternary sciences in the...

International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) - The U.S. National Committee (USNC) for the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) represents the interests of U.S....

International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) - The U.S. National Committee for the International Union of Biological Sciences (USNC/IUBS) serves as the focal point of U.S. participation in the...

International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) - The International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) serves to build global interaction among research communities and promote the advances in...

International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) - The International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) serves to build global interaction among research communities and promote advances in...

International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) - The U.S. National Committee for the Geological Sciences (USNC/IUGS) promotes the advancement of geological sciences in the United States and...

International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS) - The U.S. National Committee (USNC) for the International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS) represents the United States in the IUMS, a member...

International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS) - The U.S. National Committee (USNC) for the International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS) represents the United States in the IUPS, a...

International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS) - The International Union for Psychological Science (IUPsyS) serves to build global interaction among research communities and promote advances in...

International Union of Pure and Applied Biophysics (IUPAB) - The U.S. National Committee for the International Union of Pure and Applied Biophysics (USNC/IUPAB) serves as the focal point of U.S. participation...

International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) - The U.S. Liaison Committee (USLC) for the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) is the mechanism through which the U.S. physics...

International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) - The U.S. National Committee for Soil Science (USNC/SS) represents the interests of the U.S. soil science community in the International Union of Soil...

Lead in the Americas: A Call for Action (1996) - The participants in this conference came to two general conclusions. The first was definite and specific: lead exposure, it its various forms,...

Making Climate Forecasts Matter (1999) - El Nino has been with us for centuries, but now we can forcast it, and thus can prepare far in advance for the extreme climatic events it brings. The...

Malaria Control During Mass Population Movements and Natural Disasters (2002) - Admittedly, the world and the nature of forced migration have changed a great deal over the last two decades. The relevance of data accumulated...

Marine Biotechnology in the Twenty-First Century: Problems, Promise, and Products (2002) - Dramatic developments in understanding the fundamental underpinnings of life have provided exciting opportunities to make marine bioproducts an...

Marine Mammals and Low-Frequency Sound: Progress Since 1994 (2000) - In 1994, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency requested that the NRC evaluate the results of the Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate’s...

Mexico City's Water Supply: Improving the Outlook for Sustainability (English and Spanish Version 1995) - This book addresses the technical, health, regulatory, and social aspects of ground water withdrawals, water use, and water quality in the...

(NAS Colloquium) Carbon Dioxide and Climate Change (1997) - Human consumption of energy has accelerated rapidly because of increasing human population coupled with increasing per capita energy consumption. Is...

(NAS Colloquium) Plants and Population: Is There Time? (1999) - This Colloquium was organized to shed light on how the world will feed its still expanding population in a sustainable way while maintaining enough...

(NAS Colloquium) The Future of Evolution (2000) - This Colloquium was organized to discuss the effect of current trends on the evolutionary process. Topics addressed include biological diversity,...

Nature and Human Society: The Quest for a Sustainable World (1997) - From earliest times, human beings have noticed patterns in nature: night and day, tides and lunar cycles, the changing seasons, plant succession, and...

New Research on Population and Environment - With support from NICHD and the Hewlett Foundation, the National Research Council’s Com-mittee on the Human Dimensions of Global Change (CHDGC), with...

Ocean Drilling Research: An Arctic Perspective (1999) - The organizers of the 1999 Conference on the Scientific Objectives of Ocean Drilling in the 21st Century requested input from the scientific...

Ocean Noise and Marine Mammals (2003) - For the 119 species of marine mammals, as well as for some other aquatic animals, sound is the primary means of learning about the environment and of...

Oil in the Sea III: Inputs, Fates, and Effects (2003) - Even a small amount of oil in the sea can have severe effects on marine life. Changes in regulations and industry practices following the Exxon...

One Earth, One Future: Our Changing Global Environment (1990) - Written for nonscientists, One Earth, One Future can help individuals understand the basic science behind changes in the global environment and the...

Opportunities and Priorities in Arctic Geoscience (1991) - There is broad agreement in the scientific community that the solid earth beneath the Arctic Ocean basin contains answers to major unsolved problems...

Opportunities for Environmental Applications of Marine Biotechnology: Proceedings of the October 5-6, 1999 Workshop (2000) - The overall goals of the workshop were to examine opportunities for marine biotechnology, to discuss where things stood in the field of environmental...

Our Common Journey: A Transition Toward Sustainability (1999) - World human population is expected to reach upwards of 9 billion by 2050 and then level off over the next half-century. How can the transition to a...

People and Pixels: Linking Remote Sensing and Social Science (1998) - Space-based sensors are giving us an ever-closer and more comprehensive look at the earth's surface; they also have the potential to tell us about...

Planning Climate and Global Change Research: A Review of the Draft U.S. Climate Change Science Program Strategic Plan (2003) - The report reviews a draft strategic plan from the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, a program formed in 2002 to coordinate and direct U.S....

Poland's Transition to a Market Economy: Prospects for Energy Efficiency and Conservation (1994) - This is a report of the proceedings from a National Research Council workshop with the Polish Academy of Sciences on Strategies for Industrial Energy...

Population Growth and Economic Development: Policy Questions (1996) - This book addresses nine relevant questions: Will population growth reduce the growth rate of per capita income because it reduces the per capita...

Public Participation in Environmental Assessment and Decision Making - This is a study of public participation processes in environmental assessment and policy making. The first stage of the study examined the burgeoning...

Readiness Issues Related to Research in the Biological and Physical Sciences on the International Space Station (2001) - The Space Studies Board, in cooperation with the National Academy of Public Administration, agreed to organize a study of the status of life and...

Rebuilding the Unity of Health and the Environment: A New Vision of Environmental Health for the 21st Century (2001) - This is a summary of the workshop “Rebuilding the Unity of Health and the Environment: A New Vision of Environmental Health for the 21st Century.” ...

Report of the Observer Panel for the U.S.-Japan Earthquake Policy Symposium (1997) - From September 16–18, 1996, a U.S.-Japan Earthquake Policy Symposium was held at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC. Hosted by the...

Research Strategies for the U.S. Global Change Research Program (1990) - This book recommends research priorities and scientific approaches for global change research. It addresses the scientific approaches for documenting...

Review of NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise Research Strategy for 2000-2010 (2000) - The Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration deals with space missions and research aimed at observing and...

Review of the NARSTO Draft Report: An Assessment of Tropospheric Ozone Pollution- A North American Perspective (2000) - The report reviews NARSTO's recent report on atmospheric science issues associated with management of airborne particulate matter (PM) to achieve air...

Science for the Sustainability Transition (2002) - This is a collection of reports about sustainable development conveniently compiled onto one CD-ROM....

Scientific Data for Decision Making Toward Sustainable Development: Senegal River Basin Case Study Summary of a Workshop (2003) - Scientific databases relating to the environment, natural resources, and public health on the African continent are, for various reasons, difficult...

Sounding Out the Ocean's Secrets (Chinese version, 2000-2001 ) - Early 19th century investigators realized that the speed of sound in water is different from its speed in air. The US Naval officers using sound to...

Sounding Out the Ocean's Secrets (Spanish version, 2003) - Early 19th century investigators realized that the speed of sound in water is different from its speed in air. The US Naval officers using sound to...

Strengthening Science-Based Decision Making - The National Academies have formed a partnership to develop and strengthen the linkages between scientists and decision-makers in developing...

Strengthening Science-Based Decision-Making for Sustainable Management of Groundwater - The US National Academies and the Mexican Academy of Sciences hosted a workshop, entitled “Strengthening Science-Based Decision-Making for...

Strengthening Science-Based Decision-Making to Reduce Risks from Persistent Organic Pollutants - The State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) of China, the U.S. National Academies, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration...

Sustainable Agriculture and the Environment in the Humid Tropics (1993) - Rain forests are rapidly being cleared in the humid tropics to keep pace with food demands, economic needs, and population growth. Without proper...

Sustaining Marine Fisheries (1999) - Fluctuations and declines in marine fish populations have caused growing concern among marine scientists, fisheries managers, commercial and...

The Drama of the Commons (2002) - The "tragedy of the commons" is a central concept in human ecology and the study of the environment. It has had tremendous value for stimulating...

The Emergence of Zoonotic Diseases: Understanding the Impact on Animal and Human Health - Workshop Summary (2002) - Zoonotic diseases represent one of the leading causes of illness and death from infectious disease. Worldwide, zoonotic diseases have a negative...

The Eruption of Nevado Del Ruiz Volcano Colombia, South America, November 13, 1985 (1991) - On November 13, 1985, catastrophic mudflows swept down the slopes of the erupting Nevado del Ruiz volcano, destroying structures in their paths....

The Global Ocean Observing System: Users, Benefits, and Priorities (1997) - In 1989 the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission's called for a global ocean observing system (GOOS). This follow-up to a 1994 study was...

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) - The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) serves to build global interaction among research communities and promote advances in...

The March 5, 1987, Ecuador Earthquakes: Mass Wasting and Socioeconomic Effects (1997) - This book provides an account of the 1987 Ecuador earthquakes, evaluating the physical phenomena involved and the performance of structures and...

The Ozone Depletion Phenomenon (1996) - Like an infection that grows more and more virulent, the continent-size hole in Earth's ozone layer keeps getting bigger and bigger. Each year...

The Ozone Depletion Phenomenon (Chinese version, 2000-2001) - Like an infection that grows more and more virulent, the continent-size hole in Earth's ozone layer keeps getting bigger and bigger. Each year...

The Ozone Depletion Phenomenon (Japanese version, 2003) - Like an infection that grows more and more virulent, the continent-size hole in Earth's ozone layer keeps getting bigger and bigger. Each year...

The Ozone Depletion Phenomenon (Spanish version, 2003) - Like an infection that grows more and more virulent, the continent-size hole in Earth's ozone layer keeps getting bigger and bigger. Each year...

The Resistance Phenomenon in Microbes and Infectious Disease Vectors: Implications for Human Health and Strategies for Containment- Workshop Summary (2003) - The resistance topic is timely given current events. The emergence of mysterious new diseases, such as SARS, and the looming threat of bioterrorist...

The Role of Environmental NGOs--Russian Challenges, American Lessons: Proceedings of a Workshop (2001) - In June 1999, the Presidents of the National Academy of Sciences and the Russian Academy of Sciences agreed that a joint project on the role of...

The Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability - The Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability provides a forum for sharing views, information, and analyses related to sustainability....

Toward Sustainability: Soil and Water Research Priorities for Developing Countries (1991) - How can high-growth areas such as Africa, Asia, and Latin America sustain agricultural production for current and future generations? Toward...

Understanding Marine Biodiversity - The diversity of marine life is being affected dramatically by fishery operations, chemical pollution and eutrophication, alteration of physical...

Union Radio Scientifique Internationale (URSI) - The International Union of Radio Science (universally referred to as URSI) is one of the majority of Scientific Unions which adhere to the...

U.S.-U.S.S.R. Joint Meeting on Earthquake Hazards Mitigation: September 9-13, 1991, Moscow, U.S.S.R. (1992) - Devastating earthquakes have occurred frequently in both the US and USSSR. When they happened, these earthquakes caused the loss of lives, the...

Vetiver Grass: A Thin Green Line Against Erosion (1993) - For developing nations, soil erosion is among the most chronic environmental and economic burdens. Vast amounts of topsoil are washed or blown away...

Water for the Future: The West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel, and Jordan (1999) - This book is the result of a joint research effort led by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and involving the Royal Scientific Society of Jordan,...

When the Earth Moves (1999) - The development of the seismograph enabled seismologists to detect and locate earthquakes and probe the interior of the planet. This knowledge led...

When the Earth Moves (Chinese version, 2000-2001) - The development of the seismograph enabled seismologists to detect and locate earthquakes and probe the interior of the planet. This knowledge led...

When the Earth Moves (German version, 1999 ) - The development of the seismograph enabled seismologists to detect and locate earthquakes and probe the interior of the planet. This knowledge led...

When the Earth Moves (Japanese version, 2003) - The development of the seismograph enabled seismologists to detect and locate earthquakes and probe the interior of the planet. This knowledge led...

When the Earth Moves (Spanish version, 2003) - The development of the seismograph enabled seismologists to detect and locate earthquakes and probe the interior of the planet. This knowledge led...