Climate Adaptation Science Centers
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From the expansion of invasive species to wildfire, from drought to sea-level rise, climate change creates new and evolving challenges for ecosystems across the nation. The USGS National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs) is a partnership-driven program that teams scientific researchers with natural and cultural resource managers and local communities to help fish, wildlife, waters, and lands across the country adapt to changing conditions.
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The CASCs fund scientific projects that generate research, data sets, and tools that natural and cultural resource managers can use to help fish, wildlife, ecosystems, & local communities survive and thrive in a changing climate.
Project ExplorerMeet the CASCs
Our network is comprised of the National CASC and nine regional CASCs, covering the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawai'i, the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands, and the U.S. Caribbean.
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Our bi-weekly Climate Adaptation Insights Newsletter shares our latest news on webinars, events, publications, and other items of interest from the National and Regional CASCs.
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A Legacy Continues with Landsat 9 Launch
Landsat 9 is a partnership between NASA and USGS. The satellite will continue the Landsat program’s mission to capture repeat snapshots of Earth to monitor, understand and manage natural resources.
Increased Investment in Aquatic Foods Can Reduce Global Food Insecurity and Tackle Malnutrition
A new Nature publication co-authored by National CASC Fish Biologist Abigail Lynch suggests that aquatic food sources, including fish, shellfish, mollusks, and seaweed, are an under-valued source of micronutrients and fatty acids.
A Whole New (Fiery) World
As a wildfire approached Tonto National Monument in Arizona, archaeologists and firefighters rushed to cover the park’s 700-year-old cliff dwellings with fire resistant aluminum wrapping.
Publications
Identifying climate-resistant vernal pools: Hydrologic refugia for amphibian reproduction under droughts and climate change
Vernal pools of the northeastern United States provide important breeding habitat for amphibians but may be sensitive to droughts and climate change. These seasonal wetlands typically fill by early spring and dry by mid-to-late summer. Because climate change may produce earlier and stronger growing-season evapotranspiration combined with...
Cartwright, Jennifer M.; Morelli, Toni Lyn; Campbell Grant, Evan H. COVID-19 influences on US recreational angler behavior
Recreational angling in the United States (US) is largely a personal hobby that scales up to a multibillion-dollar economic activity. Given dramatic changes to personal decisions and behaviors resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, we surveyed recreational anglers across the US to understand how the pandemic may have affected their fishing...
Midway, Stephen R.; Lynch, Abigail; Peoples, Brandon K.; Dance, Michael A.; Caffey, Rex Divergent, plausible, and relevant climate futures for near- and long-term resource planning
Scenario planning has emerged as a widely used planning process for resource management in situations of consequential, irreducible uncertainty. Because it explicitly incorporates uncertainty, scenario planning is regularly employed in climate change adaptation. An early and essential step in developing scenarios is identifying “climate futures”—...
Lawrence, David J.; Runyon, Amber N.; Gross, John E.; Schuurman, Gregor W.; Miller, Brian W.