The global assimilation of information for action (GAIA) initiative: understanding the impact of climate change on national security and public health

Global Assimilation of Information for Action (GAIA) is a new initiative at The Johns Hopkins University connecting decision-makers with the research community. GAIA's focus is on the near- and long-term effects of weather, climate, and climate disruption on society and national security. The GAIA initiative, http://gaia.jhuapl.edu, makes use of collaborative tools to bring together decision makers to address focused problems in settings that range from symposia and workshops to specific socio-political-economic "games" to explore how decisions can be made and risks assessed. GAIA includes a suite of visualization tools, documentation, analyses, and social networking capabilities. Here, we will discuss the GAIA collaboration and recent GAIA projects, in particular the development of climate change national security gaming scenarios and studies in public health, and how the GAIA project can aide in assessing national security and public health concerns.

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