[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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