(1) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration (referred to in this section as ‘‘NOAA’’) 
and its Office of Ocean and Atmospheric Research 
undertakes research, including scientific research, 
computer modeling and other forms of analysis, and 
uses satellite, airborne, and ground-based systems to 
monitor atmospheric chemistry and dynamics, in-
cluding radiative forcing gases and stratospheric 
ozone as well as the chemical compounds and atmos-
pheric conditions that affect its concentration. 
(2) The NOAA Earth System Research Labora-
tory, the NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Lab-
oratory, and the NOAA Air Resource Laboratory are 
actively involved in observations, modeling, and mon-
itoring that enhance the scientific understanding of 
atmospheric chemistry and dynamics, drivers of ra-
diative forcing of climate change in the atmosphere, 
the health of the stratosphere, including ozone and 
the processes affecting its concentration in the strat-
osphere, and cloud aerosol interactions and their cli-
mate effects. 
(3) There are significant risks posed by the po-
tential introduction of material into the stratosphere 
from natural events such as volcanic eruptions, in-
creased air and space traffic, and proposals to inject 
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material to temporarily reduce global radiative forc-
ing of climate that currently are the subject of a 
forthcoming report by the National Academies of 
Sciences. 
(4) To monitor and assess these risks requires 
significant improvements to observations of the 
abundances and chemistry of the stratospheric gases 
and particles and the reflectivity of the stratosphere 
to establish the baseline state of the stratosphere 
and its trend over time and to develop enhancements 
to stratospheric models used for predicting climate 
impacts of material introduced into the stratosphere 
by natural or other means. 
(5) Under the Weather Modification Reporting 
Act of 1972 (15 U.S.C. 330 et seq.), NOAA is re-
sponsible for oversight of any activities undertaken 
to modify weather, which includes research or test-
ing activities related to modifying the atmosphere to 
affect local, regional, or global climate (defined as 
atmospheric climate intervention under such Act). 
(6) The Montreal Protocol, finalized in 1987, 
and ratified by the United States in 1988, has prov-
en to be innovative and successful in protecting the 
Earth’s ozone layer, and is the only environmental 
treaty to achieve universal ratification by all coun-
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tries in the world. The United States has been a 
leader within the Protocol throughout its existence. 
Hence, the Protocol should remain the governing 
global agreement to protect the stratospheric ozone 
layer. 
SEC. 3. STRATOSPHERE AND CLIMATE INTERVENTION RE-
SEARCH PROGRAM. 
Section 4001 of the America COMPETES Act (33 
U.S.C. 893) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘atmospheric research’’ 
and inserting ‘‘atmospheric and climate inter-
vention research’’; and 
(B) by inserting ‘‘and observational, moni-
toring, forecasting,’’ after ‘‘advanced tech-
nologies’’; and 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘and at-
mospheric’’ and inserting ‘‘, ATMOSPHERIC, 
AND CLIMATE INTERVENTION’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(C) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 
(D) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(4) to improve measurement and assessment 
capabilities for understanding proposed atmospheric 
interventions in climate, including, as a priority, the 
effects of proposed interventions in the stratosphere 
and in cloud-aerosol processes; 
‘‘(5) within the Office of Ocean and Atmos-
pheric Research of the National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration, to undertake research, includ-
ing scientific research, and develop increased obser-
vations, improved models, new analyses, computing 
and related technologies, and risk assessment to im-
prove understanding and prediction of— 
‘‘(A) the chemistry and dynamics of the 
stratosphere; 
‘‘(B) Earth’s radiation budget; and 
‘‘(C) the impacts of changes in atmos-
pheric aerosol forcing on the Earth’s energy 
balance and climate; 
‘‘(6) to expand the use of cloud computing, 
space-based and ground-based remote sensing capa-
bilities, and other commercially available tech-
nologies to accelerate research; and 
‘‘(7) within the Office of Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Research, to assess and advise the Secretary 
with respect to reports submitted under the Weather 
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Modification Reporting Act of 1972 (15 U.S.C. 330 
et seq.) relating to atmospheric climate intervention 
experiments, and, as determined appropriate by the 
Office, make available to the public findings and 
data relating to such reports.’’. 
Æ 
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