2015 AAAS Annual Meeting (12-16 February 2015)

February 12 - 16, 2015

Climate Change and Big Data

In the wake of the Climate Data Initiative by the U.S. government, the use of big data linked to climate change for the benefit of society has gained greater attention. This development opens possibilities for increased interaction among climate scientists, social scientists, and data scientists and stronger collaboration between universities, government, and industry. This symposium seeks to understand the role of big data in the study of climate change and advance the interaction of academics and industry. In this light, the panel starts by examining the current status of climate change research that uses big data in the areas of land, ocean, and the coast. How do climate scientists use big data? What are some of the advantages and pitfalls? Social scientists in the panel discuss the use of big data to understand behavioral change as well as the consequences of big data applications for climate change adaptation. Data scientists versed in weather insurance and real-time modeling speak to the process of building big data applications by analyzing key issues related to the monitoring of a continuous stream of information, timely decision-making, data access across borders, and privacy. The symposium concludes with discussion of societal benefits and risk management from a global perspective and ways to combine traditional academic research with applications provided by industry.