Hosted by the National Park Service In late 2018, the U.S. Global Change Research Program released Volume II off the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4), providing the most current information on the implications of climate change across 10 regions of the United States. But what does it mean for the National Park System? This roundtable discussion focuses squarely on parks in the Northwest region of the NCA4. Featuring: Charles Luce Chris Lauver Karen Kopper Crystal Raymond Patrick Crain Scott Beason

Hosted by the National Park Service In late 2018, the U.S. Global Change Research Program released Volume II off the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4), providing the most current information on the implications of climate change across 10 regions of the United States. But what does it mean for the National Park System? This roundtable discussion focuses squarely on parks in the Alaska region of the NCA4. Featuring: Jeremy Littell Leigh Welling Philip Hooge Susanne Green

Hosted by the National Park Service In late 2018, the U.S. Global Change Research Program released Volume II off the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4), providing the most current information on the implications of climate change across 10 regions of the United States. But what does it mean for the National Park System? This roundtable discussion focuses squarely on parks in the Northeast region of the NCA4. Featuring: Ellen L. Mecray Amanda Babson Julia Washburn Brian Goeken Marilou Ehrler

Hosted by NOAA in collaboration with USGCRP Human activities are a significant contributor to the rise in global sea levels, which have risen about 7-8 inches since 1900 with about 3 of those inches occurring since 1993. By 2100, global sea levels are very likely to rise by 1.0-4.3 feet above year 2000 levels depending upon future emissions of greenhouse gases, though emerging science regarding Antarctic ice sheet stability suggests that a rise above 8 feet is physically possible. The amount of relative rise will not be uniform along the U.S. coastlines due to changes in Earth's gravitational...

Hosted by NOAA in collaboration with USGCRP Earth’s climate system is highly interconnected, meaning that changes to the global climate influence the United States climatically and economically. In much the same way as European and Asian financial markets affect the U.S. economy, changes to ice sheet mass and energy flows in the far reaches of the planet affect our climate. Life on Earth is sensitive to climate conditions; human society is especially susceptible due to the climate-vulnerable, complex, and often fragile systems that provide food, water, energy, and security. Observed changes to...

Hosted by NOAA in collaboration with USGCRP The presentation addresses estimates of different cumulative carbon budgets in light of future global warming objectives — with a particular focus on the now, oft-cited 2°C goal, its origin, and the chances of meeting such an objective. About the speaker: Benjamin DeAngelo has over 20 years of experience bridging science and policy for the stewardship of the global environment. Ben is the Deputy Director of the Climate Program Office within NOAA's research arm, and serves as the U.S. head of delegation for the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program...

Hosted by NOAA in collaboration with USGCRP Diverse lines of evidence suggest that the further the climate system is 'pushed' through increases in greenhouse gas concentrations, the greater the potential for rapid changes that are difficult to model or otherwise foresee. Several examples will be presented within a risk management framework, ranging from a) the probable to b) the low probability but catastrophic should they occur. About the author: Radley Horton’s research focuses on climate extremes, tail risks, climate impacts, and adaptation. Radley was a Convening Lead Author for the Third...

Hosted by NOAA in collaboration with USGCRP Droughts, floods, and wildfire have significant negative effects throughout much of the United States. Volume I of the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) - aka the Climate Science Special Report (CSSR) - has a chapter that details how climate change exacerbates the risks of such major events. These aspects of climate change are complicated due to the interaction of the changes in temperature and precipitation. Droughts are classified by a hierarchy of meteorological, agricultural, hydrological, or socio-economic types. The effect of global...

Hosted by NOAA in collaboration with USGCRP Climate change detection and attribution is the process of assessing whether certain observed changes in the climate, including certain extreme events, are unlikely to be due to natural variability alone and whether the changes or events can be attributed to some known forcing mechanism such as increasing greenhouse gases. Based on IPCC AR5 (and reinforced by new record global temperatures since IPCC AR5), it is extremely likely that more than half of the global mean temperature increase since 1951 was caused by human influence on climate. The record...

NOAA's State Climate Summaries provided here were initially produced to meet the demand for state-level climate information in the wake of the Third U.S. National Climate Assessment. Annually updated versions provide new information and extend the historical climate record for each state. The summaries cover assessment topics directly related to NOAA’s mission, specifically historical climate variations and trends, future climate model projections of climate conditions during the 21st century, and past and future conditions of sea level and coastal flooding.