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Scientists from the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center lead a suite of research projects that provided foundational science to California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, released August 27.

Scientists from the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center lead a suite of research projects that provided foundational science to California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, released August 27. One of the projects is the USGS Coastal Storm Modeling System (CoSMoS), which forecasts coastal flooding under multiple storm conditions and sea-level rise scenarios. The CoSMoS team partnered with scientists in the USGS Western Geographic Science Center to translate flood projections into potential economic, land use, and infrastructure impacts. CoSMoS projections were then combined with other research to assess climate-change impacts on critical lifelines in the Los Angeles area, such as water, power, telecommunications, public health, and emergency response. USGS scientists also contributed to regional and state-level reports that synthesize the assessment findings.

Cover of a report features a photo of Yosemite with the sun just behind El Capitan, with text and graphics laid on top.
Cover of the 2018 publication, "California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment: Statewide Summary Report."

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