Two of noaas mission goals are 1. To understand and predict changes in climate, weather, ocean and coasts and 2. To share that knowledge and information with others

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded The Regents of the University of Colorado $299,971 on September 1, 2026, under the Broad Agency Announcement program (CFDA 11.015) to support research, education, and outreach addressing climate, weather, ocean, and coastal science. Work is performed in Boulder, Colorado, with completion scheduled for November 30, 2027. The award funds the recipient's participation in the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) project, which mobilizes an international network of scientists to address atmospheric chemistry research spanning climate change, air quality, and global pollution—work that originated from recommendations in a 1984 National Research Council report and formal establishment of IGAC in 1990. The BAA program supports innovative projects and research not addressed through NOAA's other competitive discretionary programs; continuation grants may be awarded annually for multi-year projects subject to funding availability and satisfactory performance.

Understanding climate and weather requires a global understanding of the atmosphere. Human emissions of pollutants and long-lived greenhouse gases into the atmosphere have caused dramatic transformations of the planet, altering air quality, climate and nutrient flows in every ecosystem. Once emitted, pollutants react and transform in the atmosphere, are transported globally, and can affect the radiative balance of the earth far beyond their initial emission point. Because of this, understanding the global atmosphere requires an international network of scientists providing intellectual leadership in areas of atmospheric chemistry that need to be addressed, promoted and would benefit from research across disciplines and geographical boundaries. Acknowledgement of this need led to the formation of the international global atmospheric chemistry (igac) project in 1990. The origins of igac date back to the 1950S when the international association of meteorology and atmospheric sciences (iamas) of the international union of geodesy and geophysics (iugg) initiated the commission on atmospheric chemistry and radiation (cacr), which was later renamed to the international commission on atmospheric chemistry and global pollution (icacgp). At the fifth icacgp symposium in 1983 a committee was appointed to explore the sponsorship of an international research program on atmospheric chemistry. At the same time a 1984 U.S. National research council report entitled global tropospheric chemistry: a plan for action [NRC, 1984] recommended the US undertake a cooperative research effort with other countries in investigating the chemistry of the global troposphere. As a result of these two simultaneous efforts, in 1988 a meeting was held in dookie, australia on the formation of the international global atmospheric chemistry (igac) project. In 1990, igac officially became a core project of the international geosphere-biosphere programme (igbp) and icacgp [galbally, 1989] with its international project office (IPO) located in and funded by the U.S.