Climate Impacts Group

Upcoming Webinar: Climate Resilience in Flood Risk Management – Culvert Design

Join CIG’s Guillaume Mauger and the Washington Silver Jackets on Wednesday, September 19th  at 10 AM for a webinar on Climate Resilience in Flood Risk Management: Culvert Replacement. Washington state is currently mandated to replace thousands of culverts that create barriers to fish passage, resulting in a substantial reduction in available habitat. Given the scale of this investment, WA Department of Fish and Wildlife and UW Climate Impacts Group have begun to assess the potential impacts of climate change on culvert design. George Wilhere, a senior research scientist in the habitat program at WDFW, and Guillaume Mauger, a research scientist in climate science at CIG, will review recent research, describe two new online tools, and discuss potential applications. 

Upcoming Washington Wildfire Smoke & Health Symposium

Please join us on October 30, 2018 for the Wildfire Smoke Risk Communication Stakeholder Symposium. Hosted by the University of Washington ColLABorative on Extreme Event Resilience, Program on Climate Change, and Climate Impacts Group, the symposium aims to bring together the University of Washington climate and health research community with local, state, tribal, and federal practitioners working on wildfire smoke and health issues in Washington State.

The symposium will convene regional stakeholders to share lessons learned from the 2017 and 2018 wildfire seasons, and to foster academic-practice partnerships to address existing challenges related to wildfire smoke and health in Washington State. 

New Report Released on the Disproportionate Impacts of Climate Change Facing Communities in Washington State

The Climate Impacts Group, in collaboration with the UW Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, Urban@UW and Front and Center, has just release a new report that explores who is at risk in Washington state from climate impacts, and why. This report strives to clarify how communities of color, indigenous peoples and communities with lower incomes may be exposed differently to climate-related hazards in Washington state and how factors like race/ethnicity, wealth, income, level of education and health status affect the ability to cope with climate impacts, or related harm. 

Sea-level rise report contains best projections yet for Washington’s coasts

One certainty under climate change is that global ocean levels are rising. A new report led by Washington Sea Grant and the University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group provides the clearest picture yet of what to expect in Washington state. The full report is available here on the CIG site & here on the Coastal Hazards Resilience Network. 

Harriet Morgan discusses new sea level rise report on KNKX

A new report from Washington’s “Coastal Resilience Project” provides new projections of sea level rise for 171 different sites and communities around coastal Washington state. 

Upcoming webinar with CIG’s Andrew Shirk: Developing a Dynamic Spatial Tool to Support Collaborative Regional Adaptation Planning in Cascadia

Join us on July 25th for a webinar on “Developing a Dynamic Spatial Tool to Support Collaborative Regional Adaptation Planning in Cascadia“ hosted by the Great Northern Landscape Conservation Cooperative.

Date and Time: July 25, 2018 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm MDT / 11:00 am – 12:00 pm PDT

Presenters: Andrew Shirk, University of Washington Climate Impacts Group; Jen Watkins Conservation Northwest and facilitator of the Cascadia Partner Forum; and Carly Vynne, Osprey Insights

Register for webinar 

Webinar Overview: Every day we are making decisions that will affect our region—and our options—well into the future. From how we choose to grow as our population expands to what crops we plant – our decisions matter and they must respond to the needs of today and tomorrow. 

Participate in CIG- & NW CASC-supported sessions at the 2018 AGU Fall Meeting

The Climate Impacts Group and NW Climate Adaptation Science Center (NW CASC) are convening several sessions at this year’s upcoming American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in Washington D.C. Please consider submitting an abstract to share research or best practices to any of the following sessions:

Note: Abstracts are due August 1st and 23:59 PM (Eastern). 

Communication of Science: Practice, Research and Reflection

This session, run at both the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting and European Geosciences Union General Assembly, encourages critical reflection on science communication research and practice. This session provides an opportunity for science communication researchers and practitioners to share research outcomes and experiences with program design, implementation and evaluation. 

Guillaume Mauger featured by King5 discussing sea level rise, storm events and future climate

“Rising seas will threaten more than 7,000 Washington homes by 2045, according to a new report by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). Accelerating melt from the Antarctic ice sheet is predicted to cause more frequent and more powerful storms to hammer coastal communities, amounting to potentially billions of dollars of damage over the next several decades.” CIG’s Guillaume Mauger talks climate impacts, the frequency of coastal storms and the influence of the Antarctic ice sheet on sea level rise in WA state with King5’s Giuliana Viglione.

“The difference between the 100-year storm and the ten or two-year storm is pretty minor,” says Guillaume Mauger, a research scientist at the University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group. 

Ready Or Not: UW Scientist Says Assumptions About Climate Could Impact Local Infrastructure

Amy Snover was interviewed on Rhode Island Public Radio about climate impacts, infrastructure and the need to prepare for the future in a climate-smart way. 

Understanding Recent Warming in Washington State

Wondering about the new analysis that finds average temperatures in Washington have warmed more slowly than any other state in the country? Want to know why? Kim Malcolm of KUOW talked with CIG’s Joe Casola and the Seattle Times interviewed Washington State Climatologist, Nick Bond, to learn more about the role of the Pacific Ocean and why timescales matter when considering climate trends. Listen to and read their insights here:

CIG’s Deputy Director, Joe Casola, on KUOW.
WA State Climatologist, Nick Bond, in the Seattle Times.

“Bond said he’s not surprised to hear that Washington’s climate hasn’t warmed quite as much as other states in the past 3o years.