Skip to main content
Find Us on Social Media Click here to open the "Find Us on Social Media" submenu Down arrow
Facebook Twitter Vimeo
Upcoming Events
Join our Email List
Caltech Logo
Resnick Sustainability Institute
  • Research
    • Sunlight to Everything
    • Climate Science
    • Water Resources
    • Ecology and Biosphere Engineering
    • Research Library
    • Resource Centers Open Resource Centers Submenu
      • Water and Environment Lab (WEL)
      • Ecology and Biosphere Engineering Facility (EBEF)
  • Programs
    • Grants Open Grants Submenu
      • RSI Explorer Grant Proposal Submissions
      • RSI Impact Grant Proposal Submissions
      • 2023 Research Grants
      • 2022 Research Grants
      • 2021 Research Grants
      • 2020 Research Grants
    • Fellowships
    • Entrepreneurship Open Entrepreneurship Submenu
      • Charge Up! Series
      • Resource OpenSource
    • Student Initiatives
    • Visiting Scholars
    • Past Programs Open Past Programs Submenu
      • Solar Decathlon
      • FLOW
      • Caltech-Taiwan Energy Exchange
      • SISCA
      • Resonate Awards
      • Sustainable Vehicle Club
  • People
    • Steering Committee
    • Building Committee
    • Education Committee
    • RSI Director
    • Staff
    • Resnick Fellows
    • Resnick Scholars
    • Alumni
  • Events
    • Event Calendar
    • Webinars
    • Lectures
    • Climate School
    • Resnick Symposium Open Resnick Symposium Submenu
      • 2023 Symposium
      • 2019 Symposium
      • 2018 Symposium
      • 2017 Symposium
      • 2016 Symposium
    • Workshops and Forums Open Workshops and Forums Submenu
      • Summer Workshop on Computer Vision for Ecology
      • Rhizosphere Workshop
      • Water Resilience
      • Earth Abundant PV
      • Grid 2020
      • LA Clean Energy Economy
      • Smart Grid
      • Critical Materials
      • Energy and Infrastructure
    • RSI Research Seminar Series
  • News
  • Library
    • Publications
    • Theses
    • Research Highlights
    • Presentations and Talks
    • Reports
    • Patents
    • Videos
  • About
    • History
    • Facility
    • Contact
Open search form
Menu Main Menu
Close
  • Research Click here to open the "Research" Submenu
  • Programs Click here to open the "Programs" Submenu
  • People Click here to open the "People" Submenu
  • Events Click here to open the "Events" Submenu
  • News
  • Library Click here to open the "Library" Submenu
  • About Click here to open the "About" Submenu
Find Us on Social Media
Facebook Twitter Vimeo
Upcoming Events
Join our Email List
Research
Back
  • Sunlight to Everything
  • Climate Science
  • Water Resources
  • Ecology and Biosphere Engineering
  • Research Library
  • Resource Centers
    • Water and Environment Lab (WEL)
    • Ecology and Biosphere Engineering Facility (EBEF)
Programs
Back
  • Grants
    • RSI Explorer Grant Proposal Submissions
    • RSI Impact Grant Proposal Submissions
    • 2023 Research Grants
    • 2022 Research Grants
    • 2021 Research Grants
    • 2020 Research Grants
  • Fellowships
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Charge Up! Series
    • Resource OpenSource
  • Student Initiatives
  • Visiting Scholars
  • Past Programs
    • Solar Decathlon
    • FLOW
    • Caltech-Taiwan Energy Exchange
    • SISCA
    • Resonate Awards
    • Sustainable Vehicle Club
People
Back
  • Steering Committee
  • Building Committee
  • Education Committee
  • RSI Director
  • Staff
  • Resnick Fellows
  • Resnick Scholars
  • Alumni
Events
Back
  • Event Calendar
  • Webinars
  • Lectures
  • Climate School
  • Resnick Symposium
    • 2023 Symposium
    • 2019 Symposium
    • 2018 Symposium
    • 2017 Symposium
    • 2016 Symposium
  • Workshops and Forums
    • Summer Workshop on Computer Vision for Ecology
    • Rhizosphere Workshop
    • Water Resilience
    • Earth Abundant PV
    • Grid 2020
    • LA Clean Energy Economy
    • Smart Grid
    • Critical Materials
    • Energy and Infrastructure
  • RSI Research Seminar Series
Library
Back
  • Publications
  • Theses
  • Research Highlights
  • Presentations and Talks
  • Reports
  • Patents
  • Videos
About
Back
  • History
  • Facility
  • Contact
Open search form
NASA Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 Collecting Climate Data from Space
Credit: NASA/JPL
Left: 0:01 / 0:23 OCO-2 Animation: Using Instruments Right:Plankton Blooms viewed from Space
Credit: NASA/JPL; NASA/N.Kuring (R)
NASA's Methane Source Finder, a tool that provides methane data for the state of California
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Climate Science

prev next
Related Pages open sidebar menu
Close
Research
  • Sunlight to Everything
  • Climate Science
  • Water Resources
  • Ecology and Biosphere Engineering
  • Research Library
  • Resource Centers Open Resource Centers Submenu Close Resource Centers Submenu
    • Water and Environment Lab (WEL) Open Water and Environment Lab (WEL) Submenu Close Water and Environment Lab (WEL) Submenu
      • Mass Spectrometry Resources at Caltech
    • Ecology and Biosphere Engineering Facility (EBEF)

Climate

Mission

Supporting science and engineering to diagnose, adapt to, and mitigate against climate change.

Overview

Through this initiative, we aim to advance our understanding of how the climate will change and how we can mitigate and adapt. We aim to reduce the uncertainty around the next century of climate change to inform sound policy decisions through development of new methods and improved models to help populations assess, prepare for, and respond to climate change risks.

Diagnosis

Quantifying the forcing of climate change (e.g. emissions of methane from agriculture and natural gas production, land use change in tropical regions, emissions of carbon dioxide from the growing megacities) is essential for informing efforts to reduce the rate of global warming. New methods, models, and improved use of data are needed to improve these forecasts.

Mitigation

Given the current trajectory of Earth's climate, there is a pressing need to develop methods to reduce climate forcing by reducing emissions of methane, removal and burial of carbon dioxide, and possibly by engineering increases in the reflectivity of Earth.

Adaptation

Given increasing temperature, flooding, drought, and sea level, there a pressing need to develop technologies and approaches for adaptation (creating resiliency in built and natural systems).

Paul O. Wennberg
  • Climate Science Initiative Lead; R. Stanton Avery Prof. of Atmospheric Chemistry and Environmental Science and Engineering; Executive Officer for Environmental Science and Engineering; Director, Ronald and Maxine Linde Center for Global Environmental Sci.

Paul O. Wennberg

Methane and carbon dioxide concentrations are increasing rapidly driving the Earth’s climate. Using remote sensing from space and the ground, we seek to quantify the underlying processes that drive these changes – both their emissions and sinks. We are working to evaluate whether atmospheric remote sensing of CO2 and methane can be used to accurately estimate emissions from individual cites and broader regions.

Read More About Paul O. Wennberg   >
Caltech Torch
Caltech Logo
California Institute of Technology
map marker
1200 East California Boulevard
Pasadena, California 91125
Privacy Notice Site Content Copyright © 2023