NCA 4: Information in the Fourth National Climate Assessment – Appendix 2

The Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) synthesizes information about the impacts of climate change in the United States. As a highly influential scientific assessment (HISA), information cited within NCA4 must meet the standards of the Information Quality Act (IQA).

Identification of Literature Sources

This report assessed information from several sources, including 1) technical input reports and scientific resources collected for the Third National Climate Assessment; 2) the Climate Science Special Report and other U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) science assessments; 3) a literature database comprising over 1,000 original reports meeting IQA requirements, compiled by USGCRP staff and shared with authors; 4) a public request for information released by the U.S. Department of Commerce in 2016; 5) expert awareness of the literature from authors; 6) information provided during Regional Engagement Workshops and other engagement events; and 7) chapter-specific submissions of technical resources and relevant literature to author teams.

The vast majority of sources used in this report are from peer-reviewed scientific literature. A library of relevant and significant peer-reviewed scientific literature was developed through a survey of scientific journals and through submissions collected via a Federal Register Notice (FRN). The FRN, published by the U.S. Department of Commerce on behalf of USGCRP on August 31, 2016, called for the public to submit “recent, relevant scientific and/or technical research studies including observed, modeled and/or projected climate science information that have been peer-reviewed and published or accepted for publication in scientific journals and/or government reports.” In addition, the FRN called for submission of information outside the scientific peer-reviewed literature, such as reports produced by nonprofit communities, but it noted that all information used in the report would need to comply with the IQA.

The “Information in the Fourth National Climate Assessment – Appendix 2” publication is available as a downloadable PDF at nca2018.globalchange.gov.