The Atmospheric Composition focus area consists of research on the composition of Earth’s atmosphere, particularly of the troposphere and stratosphere, in relation to climate forcing, atmospheric ozone and aerosols, solar effects, air quality, and surface emissions of radiatively and chemically active source gases and particulates.

Our weather system includes the dynamics of the atmosphere and its interaction with the oceans and land and involves phenomena ranging from local or microphysical processes lasting minutes to global-scale events predictable up to two weeks prior.

NASA’s role in climate variability study is centered around providing the global scale observational data sets on oceans and ice, their forcings, and the interactions with the entire Earth system.

The Water and Energy Cycle focus area studies the distribution, transport and transformation of water and energy within the Earth System, with the long-term goal to improve hurricane prediction, quantify tropical rainfall and eventually begin to balance the water budget at global and regional scales.

This Focus Area deals with the cycling of carbon in reservoirs and ecosystems as it changes naturally, is changed by humans, and is affected by climate change.

NASA’s Earth Surface and Interior focus area supports research and analysis of solid-Earth processes and properties from crust to core. This includes providing the space geodetic observations and products foundational to many space missions.