Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MIT has several entities involved in climate research. The Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change [2] is a cross-cutting program that melds work from MIT's Center for Global Change Science [3] and the MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research [4].

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Earth Institute at Columbia University [9]

A major research institute with over 200 scientists focusing on all earth sciences, especially strong on climate-related topics.

Hadley Centre for Climate Change [11]

The Hadley Centre is part of the British government's meteorological agency (known as the Met Office), which, although owned by the Ministry of Defence, was put on a commercial footing in 1996. Wikipedia. [12] Press Contact. [13]

Scripps Institution of Oceanography [16]

Scripps' reputation for oceanography research is unrivaled. But few people realize how important a role the oceans play in climate. Located at the University of California at San Diego, Scripps does extensive research on climate. Wikipedia. [17] Press Contact. [18]

National Center for Atmospheric Research [21]

NCAR is perhaps the greatest U.S. climate research institution. It draws not merely post-docs, but prominent researchers from around the U.S. and around the globe. It is federally funded via the National Science Foundation and administered by a consortium of universities (UCAR).

Journalists might want to remember that there are many major scientific research institutions studying climate change across the many disciplines needed to describe and understand it. Many of these are attached to universities -- but others are consortiums of labs or partnerships between federal and private entities. There are too many to list, but below you will find some of the weightiest. Whenever possible, we have listed contact info for the director and a link to the faculty directory, so you can go straight to the source.

U.S. National Assessment of Climate Change [24]

This comprehensive study of the vulnerabilities and potential impacts of climate change on the U.S. was mandated by the Global Change Research Act of 1990. It includes studies looking specifically at 19 different U.S. regions. Assembled by hundreds of experts from academia and elsewhere, it was completed in the late Clinton administration and partly suppressed by the Bush administration.

Climate Crash: Abrupt Climate Change and What It Means for Our Future [26]

(National Academies, 2005) The fossil record of ancient climate suggests that some climate change happens abruptly, rather than gradually as our basic models predict. This report explores some of the many processes, like ocean currents, which could cause abrupt change. One implication is that our generation could discover that we have less time than we think to address manmade greenhouse warming.