Climate Impacts Group

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. 

Snover Shares Climate Resilience Message at Science Immersion Workshop

Amy Snover, Director of the Climate Impact Group, recently joined the Metcalf Institute’s 2018 Science Immersion Workshop in Rhode Island. As an invited expert, Amy interacted shared CIG’s message about climate resilience with journalists from around the world. Melissa Ross, host and producer of WJCT‘s First Coast Connect in Jacksonville, FL reports on her experience and what she learned, including one of CIG’s central messages: “We must challenge deeply held assumptions about the stability of the global climate that are embedded in our laws and institutions.” 

Upcoming Actionable Science Webinar: Introduction to Collaborative Research Methods (May 1st)

The Northwest Climate Science Center’s next Actionable Climate Science Skills-building Webinar is Tuesday, May 1st at 11:00 AM (PT)! Don’t miss the chance to register for “An Introduction to Collaborative Research Methods” with Alison Meadow from the University of Arizona. Space is limited!

Seattle Thinks It Knows Rain. Climate Change Begs to Differ.

This article, featuring CIG science and comment from Research Scientist Guillaume Mauger, considers climate change, extreme weather, and if Seattle’s infrastructure is ready.

This article was also published in the Pacific Standard. 

CIG Science at Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference 2018

Attending the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference April 4-6th, 2018? Be sure to check out the range of CIG science being shared at this gathering. CIG researchers will cover topics including sea-level rise in Washington, culverts and climate change, flood-plain management, changing stream temperatures, mapping and more!

Here is a complete list of presentations, posters and snapshot talks that include researchers from the Climate Impacts Group:

Oral Presentations

Sea level rise guidance for nearshore habitat restoration in Puget Sound

Harriet Morgan, Nicole Faghin, Jay Krienitz, Tish Conway-Cranos

4 April 2018 • 10:45 – 11:00 AM

Sea level rise guidance for Assessing harmful algal bloom risk in Puget Sound: a coupled modeling-data analysis approach

Dana Woodruff, Taiping Wang, Stephanie Moore, Zhaoqing Yang, Ning Sun, Jerry Borchert, Audrey Coyne, Guillaume Mauger, Valerie Cullinan

4 April 2018 • 1:30 – 1:45 PM

Space matters: incorporating mechanistically determined spatial patterns into projected impacts of climate change on stream temperature

Se-Yeun Lee, Aimee H. 

New CIG Report: Nooksack Indian Tribe Natural Resources Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment

CIG researchers Harriet Morgan and Meade Krosby recently completed an natural resources vulnerability assessment for the Nooksack Indian Tribe. Working collaboratively with the Tribe’s Natural Resource staff, CIG evaluated the climate change vulnerability of priority species and habitats for the Tribe. Information provided in this assessment offers a rigorous foundation for future climate adaptation efforts aimed at addressing climate risks to the Nooksack Tribe’s priority species and habitats. You can read more about the project here, download the assessment and explore a range of species-specific factsheets.

New Publication on the Influence of Climate Change on Stream Temperatures Across the Northwest

A team of researchers from NOAA, UW, USGS and USDA published new research using high-resolution remotely-sensed water temperature data to characterize the distribution of summer water temperature in over 7,000 miles of rivers and streams across the Pacific Northwest and northern California. This research helps to identify the potential influences of climate change on the availability of cold-water habitat for species like salmon. CIG’s Se-Yeun Lee is a collaborator on this project, which was funded by the North Pacific Landscape Conservation Cooperative.