[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 241 (Thursday, December 15, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 90784]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30102]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Notice of Availability of Draft Scientific Assessment for Public 
Comment

AGENCY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on 
Behalf of the United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP)

ACTION: Notice of availability of draft scientific assessment for 
public comment.

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SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is 
publishing this notice on behalf of the United States Global Change 
Research Program (USGCRP) to announce the availability of a draft 
assessment, the Climate Science Special Report, for a 45-day public 
review, collected comments will be carefully reviewed by the relevant 
chapter author teams. Following revision and further review, a revised 
draft will undergo final Federal interagency clearance.
    Context: The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) is 
mandated under the Global Change Research Act (GCRA) of 1990 to conduct 
a quadrennial National Climate Assessment (NCA). Under its current 
decadal strategic plan (http://go.usa.gov/3qGU4), USGCRP is building 
sustained assessment capacity. The sustained assessment supports the 
Nation's ability to understand, anticipate, and respond to risks and 
potential impacts brought about by global environmental change. As part 
of the ongoing NCA process, a Climate Science Special Report is being 
developed to inform the assessment. The last NCA from 2014 (NCA3: 
http://nca2014.globalchange.gov) and the process to develop it provided 
a foundation for subsequent activities and reports. This special report 
provides an update to the physical climate science presented in the 
2014 National Climate Assessment (NCA). Specifically, the special 
report updates Chapter 2 and Appendices 3 and 4 of the 2014 NCA (http://www.globalchange.gov/nca3-downloads-materials). The report provides 
updated climate science findings and projections, and is an important 
input to the authors of the next quadrennial NCA, expected in 2018.

DATES: Comments on this draft scientific assessment must be received by 
11:59 p.m. ET on 28 January 2017.

ADDRESSES: The draft USGCRP Climate Science Special Report can be 
accessed via the USGCRP Open Notices page (http://www.globalchange.gov/notices) or directly at the USGCRP Review and Comment System (https://review.globalchange.gov/). Registration details can be found on the 
review site home page, and review instructions on a dedicated special 
report page where comments from the public will be accepted 
electronically. Comments may be submitted only via this online 
mechanism.
    All comments received through this process will be considered by 
the relevant chapter authors without knowledge of the commenters' 
identities. When the final assessment is issued, the comments and the 
commenters' names, along with the authors' responses, will become part 
of the public record and made available on http://www.globalchange.gov. 
Information submitted by a commenter as part of the registration 
process (such as an email address) will not be disclosed publicly.
    Instructions: Response to this notice is voluntary. Responses to 
this notice may be used by the government for program planning on a 
non-attribution basis. NOAA therefore requests that no business 
proprietary information or copyrighted information be submitted in 
response to this notice. Please note that the U.S. Government will not 
pay for response preparation, or for the use of any information 
contained in the response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    USGCRP Contact: David Dokken; telephone 202-419-3473; or email: 
[email protected].
    NOAA Contact: David Fahey; telephone 303-497-5277; or email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Climate Science Special Report is a 
product of the USGCRP, organized and led by an interagency team. The 
draft assessment was written by Federal and non-Federal authors 
identified via an Open Call for nominations (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/03/31/2016-07208/united-states-global-change-research-program). An interagency Federal steering 
committee selected authors based on their demonstrated subject matter 
expertise, relevant publications, and knowledge of specific topics 
designated in an outline included in the special report prospectus 
(https://downloads.globalchange.gov/cssr/USGCRP_CSSR-Prospectus_FINAL.pdf). The draft assessment responds to the 1990 
Congressional mandate to periodically produce National Climate 
Assessments and to assist the nation in understanding, assessing, 
predicting, and responding to human-induced and natural processes of 
global change. The report adheres to the Information Quality Act 
requirements (http://www.cio.noaa.gov/services_programs/info_quality.html) for quality, transparency, and accessibility as 
appropriate for a Highly Influential Scientific Assessment (HISA).

    Dated: Tuesday, December 6, 2016.
Dan Barrie,
Program Manager, Assessments Program, NOAA Climate Program Office.
    Dated: December 9, 2016.
Jason Donaldson,
Chief Financial Officer, Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 2016-30102 Filed 12-14-16; 8:45 am]
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