U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said Feb. 8 he will create a Climate Service office to help inform businesses and communities about climate change.

NOAA on Feb. 8 also announced a new Web site, www.climate.gov.

The office will be part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and would consolidate its climate-change data and resources.

NOAA reported that the decade of 2000-2009 was the warmest decade ever, followed by the 1990s.

NOAA said the formation of the office is in response queries the agency is receiving on the issue of climate change.

“By providing critical planning information that our businesses and our communities need, NOAA Climate Service will help tackle head-on the challenges of mitigating and adapting to climate change,” said Locke. “In the process, we'll discover new technologies, build new businesses and create new jobs.”

Unifying NOAA’s climate capabilities under a single climate office will integrate the agency’s climate science and services and make them more accessible to NOAA partners and other users, according to NOAA. Planning for the office has been shaped by input from NOAA employees and recommendations of the NOAA Science Advisory Board, National Academies and National Academy of Public Adminstration.

“Working closely with federal, regional, academic and other state and local government and private sector partners, the new NOAA Climate Service will build on our success transforming science into useable climate services,” said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “NOAA is committed to scientific integrity and transparency; we seek to advance science and strengthen product development and delivery through user engagement.”

NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco unveiled a new Web site that will serve as a single point-of-entry for NOAA’s climate information, data, products and services. This climate portal will provide information about the impacts of climate on nearly every aspect of our lives from agriculture and energy to transportation.

“More and more individuals – community planners, farmers, public health officials and small business owners – are seeking reliable, user-friendly climate data and information,” said Lubchenco. “We envision this climate portal as the first step toward making the wealth of climate information at NOAA available in one easy-to-use resource.”

The site is designed to be adaptable and to respond to changes in users’ needs. Users are encouraged to offer comments and feedback; web designers will continue to update the site based on that feedback