Coastal Sector Assessment Report Released
- NOAA 01-011
- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- January 19, 2001
- Contact:
- Connie Barclay, (301) 713-3066
- Don Scavia, (301) 713-3060
Report Examines Impacts of Climate Change on Coastal
Areas and Marine Resources
Coral Reefs, Wetlands, Shoreline Communities and Fisheries Under
Threat Due To Potential Impacts Of Climate Change
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's National Ocean Service released a new report titled,
"The Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Coastal and Marine Resources,"
that concludes that climate changes in this century may have serious
implications for U.S. coastal and marine resources.
NOAA scientists are concerned. With a coastline of over 95,000 miles
and a dependency on the essential goods and services that it provides,
the adaptation of the marine environment to climate change is important.
According to scientists, climate change will add to the stresses already
occurring to coastal and marine resources, as a result of increasing
coastal populations, development pressure and habitat loss, over fishing,
nutrient enrichment, pollution and invasive species.
"While there are still important uncertainties associated with the
assessment, it is clear that critical coastal ecosystems -- like corals,
wetlands and estuaries -- are becoming increasingly stressed by human
activities," said Margaret Davidson, acting assistant administrator for
NOAA's National Ocean Service. "The climate-related stresses described
in the report will certainly add to their vulnerability."
The report, prepared as part of the U.S. Global Change Research
Program's National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate
Variability and Change, compiles scientific studies by representatives of
government, the private sector and academia, to evaluate the implications
of both existing climate variability and future climate change on U.S.
coastal and marine resources.
"Looking at the findings of this important report, scientists believe
it is critical that we integrate human activities with climate changes,
in order to minimize future impacts on coastal and marine resources,"
said NOAA Administrator D. James Baker. "It is very important for those
Americans, who are or will likely be effected by climate impacts, to be
aware of the risks and potential consequences that future change will
pose to their communities and their livelihoods."
The report highlights key issues of climate change -- shoreline
erosion and human communities, threats to estuarine health, coastal
wetland survival, coral reef die-offs, and stresses on marine fisheries.
It also addresses that coral reefs are already under severe stress from
human activities and high ocean temperatures associated with severe El
Niño/southern oscillation events. According to the report, corals
have experienced unprecedented increases in the extent of bleaching,
emergent coral diseases, and widespread die-offs in recent years.
The direct impact of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide on ocean
chemistry is likely to severely inhibit the ability of coral reefs
to grow and persist in the future, further threatening these already
vulnerable ecosystems.
Globally averaged, sea-level will continue to rise, and the
developed nature of many coastlines will make both human settlements and
ecosystems more vulnerable to flooding and inundation. Barrier islands
are especially vulnerable to the combined effects of sea-level rise and
uncontrolled development that hinders or prevents migration. Ultimately,
choices will have to be made between the protection of human settlements
and the protection of coastal ecosystems such as beaches, barrier islands
and coastal wetlands.
Increases in precipitation and runoff are likely to intensify stresses
on estuaries in some regions, by intensifying the transport of nutrients
and contaminants to coastal ecosystems. As rivers and streams also
deliver sediments, which provide material for soil in wetlands and sand
in beaches and shorelines, dramatic declines in stream flows could,
on the other hand, have negative effects on these systems.
Changes in ocean temperatures, currents and productivity will affect
the distribution, abundance and productivity of marine populations,
with unpredictable consequences to marine ecosystems and fisheries.
Increasing carbon dioxide levels could also trigger abrupt changes
in thermohaline ocean circulation, circulation driven by differences
in the density of sea water, controlled by the effects of temperature
and salinity. This can result in massive and severe consequences for
the oceans and for global climate. Extreme and ongoing declines in the
thickness and extent of Arctic sea ice will have enormous consequences
for Arctic ecosystems.
"Most coastal resource management programs are not yet taking
climate change into account in their goals and plans," said Donald F.
Boesch, Ph.D., the other co-chair of the assessment and president of
the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. "With the
scientific consensus that there is now clear evidence of a changing
climate, these programs should clearly begin to take into account
the environmental changes that are possible over the next several
decades."
The report is available electronically here.
