T001:
Assessment of Climate Impacts on Oceans and Marine Resources of the United States


Session ID#: 28475

Session Description:
The 4th US National Climate Assessment (NCA4) has been asked to evaluate the risks to the United States from a changing climate and to consider vulnerabilities and opportunities to adapt. This tutorial will provide an overview of the assessment process and will present draft key findings related to oceans and marine resources. One of the emerging themes from the entire assessment is the heightened vulnerability of coastal communities to climate change. Many coastal communities, including island communities in the continental US and US territories, are highly dependent on marine ecosystems that are changing rapidly. These communities also face rising sea level, and the challenges are compounded for communities that are isolated geographically or culturally. Recent marine heatwaves, including the 2012 North Atlantic heatwave and the 2014/15 “Blob” in the North Pacific also reveal the complex connections between people and changing ocean conditions. Abrupt warming resulted in changes in the seasonality and productivity of key fisheries, expanded harmful algal blooms, and revealed unexpected interactions between fisheries and protected species. Improved seasonal and long-range forecasting provides an opportunity to anticipate changing conditions, and alongside new management strategies, these tools are being developed to help build resiliency within coastal communities.
Primary Presenter:  Andrew J Pershing, Gulf of Maine Research Institute, Portland, ME, United States
Presenter:  Roger Griffis, NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, Silver Spring, MD, United States
Index Terms:

1616 Climate variability [GLOBAL CHANGE]
1630 Impacts of global change [GLOBAL CHANGE]
1635 Oceans [GLOBAL CHANGE]
1637 Regional climate change [GLOBAL CHANGE]
Cross-Topics:
  • ES - Ecology and Social Interactions
  • F - Fisheries
  • OC - Ocean Change: Acidification and Hypoxia
  • PC - Past, Present and Future Climate

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