About the Climate Change Institute

CCI 50th Anniversary Brochure

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The Climate Change Institute (CCI) is one of the oldest climate research units in the United States and likely the first with a multi- and inter-disciplinary focus. CCI is a global leader in climate change research and in combination with its UM academic unit partners it offers a robust array of graduate and undergraduate research programs.

CCI integrates transformational field, laboratory and modeling activities to understand the physical, chemical, biological and socio-cultural components of the climate system of the past and present, to better predict future changes in climate and their impacts here in Maine and across the globe. Institute investigations span the last 2 million years to the present – a time of multi-millennial to centennial scale climate changes punctuated by abrupt (annual to decadal) shifts in climate. CCI investigations inform predictions for future climate change based upon an understanding of the full dynamic range of the natural climate system and the evolving dramatic influence of human activity.

CCI has a legacy of major scientific contributions to understanding the timing, causes, and mechanisms of natural and human-forced climate change, and on the effects of physical and chemical climate changes on the biological, economic, social, and political conditions of humans and the ecosystem.

The Climate Change Institute is committed to fostering safe, diverse, equitable, and inclusive work, research, and funding environments that value mutual respect and personal integrity. We fully support the mission and core values outlined by the President’s Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

https://umaine.edu/president/committees/presidents-council-on-diversity-equity-and-inclusion/

 

University of Maine Land Acknowledgement: The University of Maine recognizes that it is located on Marsh Island in the homeland of the Penobscot Nation, where issues of water and territorial rights, and encroachment upon sacred sites, are ongoing. Penobscot homeland is connected to the other Wabanaki Tribal Nations — the Passamaquoddy, Maliseet, and Mi’kmaq — through kinship, alliances and diplomacy. The university also recognizes that the Penobscot Nation and the other Wabanaki Tribal Nations are distinct, sovereign, legal and political entities with their own powers of self-governance and self-determination.

The Climate Change Institute respects the rights and cultures of the many countries and peoples where we conduct research.