Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center staff contribute to 4th National Climate Assessment
Ocean and coastal ecosystems in the northeast are being affected by large changes in a variety of climate-related environmental conditions.
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Research Geologist, Dr. Erika Lentz, co-authored the Northeast chapter for the Fourth National Climate Assessment. This assessment was written to help inform decision-makers, utility and natural resource managers, public health officials, emergency planners, and other stakeholders by providing a thorough examination of the effects of climate change on the United States.
The northeastern coastal landscape is composed of uplands and forested areas, wetlands and estuarine systems, mainland and barrier beaches, bluffs, headlands, and rocky shores, as well as developed areas, all of which provide a variety of important services to people and species. (bottom) Future impacts from intense storm activity and sea level rise will vary across the landscape, requiring a variety of adaptation strategies if people, habitats, traditions, and livelihoods are to be protected.
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