The USGS develops state-of-the-art science to assess the effects of climate change on wildfire patterns. Although fire is an essential part of forest and rangeland health, hotter and drier conditions resulting from climate change are making wildfires grow more intense and destructive across much of the U.S.

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USGS fire science is invaluable for fire management across the country and will only become more important as wildfire risk increases. From forecasting fire danger to studying how invasive species influence fire risk and severity to studying the short- and long-term environmental effects of wildfires, USGS science helps before, during and after fires. 

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The USGS is a leader in snow and avalanche science and examines the effect of climate on avalanche behavior. On an annual basis in the western United States, avalanches cause more fatalities than earthquakes and all other forms of slope failure combined.    

As the climate changes, temperatures are increasing and mid-winter rain events are becoming more common, causing increased avalanche frequency.  By analyzing the behavior of avalanches and the specific weather and climate factors that contribute to them, USGS scientists advance understanding of wet snow avalanches to better inform avalanche forecasting efforts, hazard mitigation, and land-use planning in avalanche terrain.  

This science is critical in Glacier National Park, where avalanches impact the spring opening operations of the Going-to-the-Sun Road, a major attraction where visitors contribute $344 million to surrounding communities, park managers rely on USGS expertise to provide on-site avalanche forecasting.   

 

The USGS helps communities prepare for and respond to storms, flooding and coastal change. Climate change impacts along our coasts can vary tremendously, depending on the type of coast, sea-level rise and the degree to which extreme waves and wind impact infrastructure or cause stress to natural coastal ecosystems. The USGS provides forecasts and assessments of coastal change at both short and long-term timeframes. These include convenient, map-based access to storm-surge and other data related to specific hurricanes and coastal storms as well as longer term trends in shoreline change.

Nationwide, the USGS maintains the USGS National Water Dashboard interactive map to access real-time water data from over 13,500 stations nationwide. When extreme events occur, the flood inundation mapper, also provides emergency management personnel and residents with maps and information that are critical for flood-response activities, such as evacuations and road closures, as well as for post-flood recovery efforts.

USGS science is benefiting communities from Puerto Rico to Alaska, and places in between. In Puerto Rico, USGS provides maps of the probabilities of coastal change induced by hurricanes so that government officials, emergency managers and the public can prepare in advance, saving lives and property. To help communities in California assess vulnerability due to coastal flooding today and into the future, the USGS developed the Coastal Storm Modeling System (CoSMoS). This one-of-a-kind tool accounts for dynamic flood processes that increase water levels, including breaking waves, river discharge, storm surge, seasonal variability, tides, and changes in sea level. In Alaska, where climate is changing faster than anywhere else in the nation, seven decades of coastal change science are informing human adaptation activities that include relocating villages and infrastructure and managing habitat for many species.