Climate Impacts Group

In tiny Silvana, flooding is a way of life. This time the river reached a record high

The Stillaguamish River on Norman Road in Snohomish County set a record and crested at 21.34 feet on Wednesday. Homes and businesses were inundated, water spilled into farm fields, and for several hours Silvana was reachable only by boat. A UW Climate Impacts Group report is mentioned in this Seattle Times article.  

NCA5 Northwest – November 30 Webinar

Cascadia Consulting Group and the Climate Impacts Group held an informational webinar covering the Northwest Chapter of the Fifth National Climate Assessment on November 30, 2023. The webinar will focus on the significance of the report for Washington, and include information about climate action by Washington State agencies. The webinar recording is now available. Copy and paste the following passcode to access: j!8N*?27 

NW CASC University Director Meade Krosby Joins Secretary Haaland’s New Advisory Council for Climate Adaptation Science

Dr. Meade Krosby, senior scientist at the Climate Impacts Group and university director of the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center, has been chosen to serve on Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland’s new Advisory Council for Climate Adaptation Science (ACCAS). Dr. Krosby will join 18 other Council members, including representatives from state agencies, Tribal governments, universities, nonprofits and the private sector, in advising the Secretary on the operations and priorities of the Climate Adaptation Science Centers.

As a member of the Advisory Council, Meade will provide recommendations on the Climate Adaptation Science Center’ national science priorities, key partnerships and science delivery to natural and cultural resource managers. 

WA snowpack starts off strong, but El Niño warming looms

Much of Washington is accumulating snowpack faster than normal so far this fall, a small victory for a state plagued by drought all summer. The trend isn’t expected to continue, climatologists say. Early snowpack data is limited and winter doesn’t officially begin for yet another month. Karin Bumbaco, Washington deputy state climatologist, and Guillaume Mauger, a research scientist at the UW Climate Impacts Group, are quoted in this article from the Seattle Times.  

CIG and partners mark release of Fifth National Climate Assessment

Climate Impacts Group scientists were among hundreds of authors of the newly-released Fifth National Climate Assessment. The assessment, released roughly every four years by the The U.S. Global Change Research Program, assesses the effects of climate change on a wide range of sectors and for 10 geographic regions across the U.S. 

The assessment captures a range of potential impacts and aims to help decision-makers better identify and understand climate risks that could be avoided or reduced. Over a three-year period, authors synthesize individual studies, data and models and apply best expert judgment to characterize certainty.

Dr. Crystal Raymond, climate adaptation specialist at the Climate Impacts Group, and Erica Asinas, formerly a research scientist at the Climate Impacts Group and now at Urban Oceans Lab, are authors on the Northwest Chapter. 

NW CASC WEBINAR: Updating Your CV to Contextualize Your Contributions in Societally Engaged Work

Are you a researcher engaging with non-academic partners to develop science that meets real-world needs? If so, you may have noticed that the traditional format of scientific CVs, focused on comprehensive lists of publications and presentations, makes it challenging to convey the distinct skills, activities and products associated with your societally engaged research. So how do you develop a CV that accounts for these real-world contributions, yet still aligns with the traditional CV format expected in academia?

Join the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center’s interactive workshop on December 12 to find out! This work session is designed to support you in incorporating narrative elements into your CV that help contextualize your skills and experiences and better communicate your work. 

The climate crisis is pushing Washington’s prisons to the brink

Many of Washington’s 12 prisons have been pushed to the brink by public health crises and years of neglected maintenance. Climate change could send them over the edge. Meade Krosby, research scientist in the UW Climate Impacts Group, is quoted, and a UW Climate Impacts Group report is mentioned in this article by High County News.  

New funding for the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative supports work in flooding, wildfire smoke

The Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative is starting two exciting new projects this year that will support adaptation to flooding and wildfire smoke, thanks to funding from NOAA and the Department of Commerce. These projects are: 

Stories as science: Integrating lived experience and community knowledge into actionable adaptation science in Pacific Northwest and Pacific Islands regions. This project brings together researchers and storytellers from the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative, the Pacific Research on Island Solutions for Adaptation program and Tikkun Olam Productions. A recent story from the Resilience Collaborative highlights how this project aims to elevate the experiences of frontline communities while testing the oral history process as a novel method for co-producing science and guiding adaptation. 

Climate Impacts Group participating in improv/science event

At the Climate Impacts Group, we’re always interested in creative and novel ways to communicate about climate change. So when we were invited to partner with an improv troupe, we said “yes, and!” 

Dr. Guillaume Mauger, lead scientist at the Climate Impacts Group, will be presenting on his work on climate adaptation and flooding for “Mad Science,” a theater event blending science and improv comedy. Hosted by Seattle Rep and Bandit Theatre on Friday, November 10, at 5 p.m., the event will feature two environmental scientists giving short “lightning” talks, followed by an improv show based off of their talks. 

We’re excited to see what comes out of this fruitful + funny partnership! 

NCRC and partners to pilot groundbreaking co-production method

Building resilience to climate change requires many diverse areas of expertise, experiences and knowledge. Though they have historically been marginalized from climate preparedness efforts, people of color, Indigenous peoples, people with lower incomes and people whose lives depend on natural resources — known collectively as “frontline communities” — have innovative solutions for building resilience to climate change impacts. 

The Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative and partners are piloting a groundbreaking method for elevating first-hand experiences and visions of climate resilience and solutions, with the goal of incorporating community knowledge into efforts to prepare for climate impacts. Partnering with the documentary storytelling organization Tikkun Olam Productions and the Pacific Research on Island Solutions for Adaptation program, a trans-disciplinary research team will record the oral histories of frontline communities facing flooding and other climate change impacts.