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Environmental Monitoring

Monitoring environmental change informs sound policy and resource management. The National Academies advance methods for tracking soil, water, air, and ecosystem health to support evidence-based decision-making. 

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Paleoenvironmental Data 101: Using Earth’s Past to Prepare for the Future

Announcement

While data collected by modern instruments can provide information on decades of Earth’s extreme events, paleoenvironmental data found in natural archives such as ice cores and tree rings can extend that record by hundreds, thousands, or millions of years into the past. Drawing on a new National Academies report, this interactive webpage offers an introduction to different paleoenvironmental archives and how they are being used to develop a deeper understanding of disasters in the past and plan for a more resilient future.

May 4, 2026
Rock core samples at the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland. Used on the cover of: A Synthesis Center for Paleoenvironmental Records of Extreme Events

Clinicians Should Focus on Symptom Evaluation and Continuity of Care Following Jet Fuel Releases in Oahu, Says New Report Examining Health Risks from Potential Exposures

News Release

A new National Academies report recommends guidance for clinicians caring for individuals who were potentially exposed to drinking water contaminated by jet fuel accidently released on Oahu, Hawaii, in November 2021. The report also calls for continued environmental oversight of the drinking water system, health research, surveillance of the exposed community, and other efforts to rebuild trust.

Mar 19, 2026
Aerial view of Pearl Harbor and Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, USA. From front to back - Pearl City Penninsula, (front right) Middle Loch with remnants of WWII mothball fleet, Ford Island, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Honolulu International Airport with Hickam Field to right, Honolulu, and Diamond Head. Photographed August 9, 2012, by 2018 the mothball fleet was gone.

Guidance for Federal Conservation Programs on PFAS on Agricultural Lands Offered in New Report

News Release

A new report examines the scope of PFAS challenges in agriculture and identifies steps that land conservation agencies at the U.S. Department of Agriculture could take to reduce the impacts of these “forever chemicals” on natural resources and agricultural productivity.

Feb 13, 2026
A wheat harvest in Brownsburg, Indiana (NRCS photo by Brandon O’Connor)

Featured work

Review of the Long-Term Operations of the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project: Cycle 2

Consensus/Advisory Activity

In Formation

Developing a Strategy to Evaluate the 5th National Climate Assessment

Consensus/Advisory Activity

Completed

Atmospheric Methane Removal: Development of a Research Agenda

Consensus/Advisory Activity

Completed

Modernizing Probable Maximum Precipitation Estimation

Consensus/Advisory Activity

Completed

Compounding Disasters in Gulf Coast Communities, 2020-2021: Impacts, Findings, and Lessons Learned

Consensus/Advisory Activity

Completed

Advancing a Systems Approach to Studying the Earth: A Strategy for the National Science Foundation

Consensus/Advisory Activity

Completed

Review of the draft Fourth National Climate Assessment

Consensus/Advisory Activity

Completed

Indicators for Understanding Global Climate Change

Consensus/Advisory Activity

Completed

America's Climate Choices: Panel on Informing Effective Decisions and Actions Related to Climate Change

Consensus/Advisory Activity

Completed

America's Climate Choices

Consensus/Advisory Activity

Completed

Featured Publications

Units

Standing Committee for Earth Observations, Data, and Information Systems

Standing Committee

In Formation

Center for Health, People, and Places (CHPP)

Oversight Unit

In Progress

Polar Research Board

Standing Committee

In Progress

Gulf Research Program

Oversight Unit

In Progress

Earth Systems and Resources Program Area

Oversight Unit

In Progress
Tide area looks like a Earth, Rock fragments like a continent.

Transportation Research Board (TRB)

Oversight Unit

In Progress
Cargo train transportation - Freight railway. Used for TRB

Life Sciences and Biotechnology Program Area

Oversight Unit

In Progress
Magnified body's raw materials, stem cells

Climate Crossroads

Oversight Unit

In Progress

Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine

Roundtable/Forum

In Progress

Committee on Geological and Geotechnical Engineering

Standing Committee

In Progress
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