In sum, the type of research undertaken by C4 is typical of the "big science" that could not be accomplished by a researcher at a single academic center but requires the kind of interdisciplinary, multi-institutional collaboration and integration afforded by endeavors like the National Science Foundation's Science and Technology Centers. C4 exemplifies the synergy that occurs when chemists, physicists, oceanographers, meteorologists work together across disciplinary boundaries, and theoreticians pair with observationalists to refine concepts and models that enhance our ability to comprehend, and thus predict, how Earth will respond to the forces of nature and humankind.