This award provides support for several international activities directed by the International Council for Science that are closely aligned with the strategic goals of the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) and with several NSF programs on Global Change Research. This award will help support US leadership in international science activities and to enable collaborations that are mutually beneficial for US science and international partners in areas of global strategic importance. These activities will principally focus on two global environmental research activities in the World Climate Research Program. This program seeks to provide fundamental knowledge about the climate system and to address key challenges in the global environmental change.