Federal funding of $3 million awarded by NOAA to Scripps Oceanography for readying authorities to confront perils and extraordinary occurrences

The Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego has been awarded a five-year grant worth $3 million from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This grant is part of NOAA's Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) Program, which aims to improve decision-making for hazards and extreme events in California and Nevada.

The California-Nevada Applications Program (CNAP) at Scripps Oceanography has a long history of providing climate science to stakeholders in the California and Nevada region. Since 1999, CNAP has been part of the RISA program, working hand-in-hand with scientists and decision-makers to bridge the gap between research and decision-making.

The new grant will focus on climate-driven impacts related to water resources, natural resources, and coastal resources. The focus areas include wildfire warnings and health impacts, sea-level rise and flooding, precipitation events in the Great Basin, climate information for underserved farmers, communication and coordination of the CA/NV Drought Early Warning System, and research projects related to extreme precipitation, seasonal to sub-seasonal forecasting, and incorporation of new evaporative demand data into water management in Southern Nevada.

CNAP has developed collaborations with key users in California and Nevada, including State of California officials, a consortium of agency scientists and managers who study and manage wildfire, the California Energy Commission, and has taken a leading role in the California Climate Assessments.

The RISA Program consists of a network of 11 teams across the country, each working hand-in-hand with stakeholders and decision-makers to ensure research and information is responsive and able to effectively support responses to extreme events. The interagency National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) co-funds drought components of these awards.

NOAA's Climate Program Office helps improve understanding of climate variability and change to enhance society's ability to plan and respond. The RISA Program provides science, data, and information that Americans want and need to understand how climate conditions are changing. Over the past 20 years, the RISA Program has been producing actionable weather and climate research, helping to reduce damages from droughts, floods, forest fires, and other extreme weather impacts.

Without NOAA's long-term climate observing, monitoring, research, and modeling capabilities, we couldn't quantify where and how climate conditions have changed, nor could we predict where and how they're likely to change. This grant to Scripps Oceanography is a testament to NOAA's commitment to providing the scientific foundation necessary for effective decision-making in the face of a changing climate.

A total of $7.5 million was awarded to four research institutions. Alongside Scripps Oceanography, the University of California San Diego-led climate research program, in partnership with Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nev., was one of the recipients. The other institutions were not specified in the information provided.

The RISA Program is a part of NOAA's Climate Program Office, within NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. The program's work is crucial in helping Americans understand and prepare for the impacts of a changing climate.

Federal funding of $3 million awarded by NOAA to Scripps Oceanography for readying authorities to confront perils and extraordinary occurrences