Water, Coasts and Ice
Water, Coasts and Ice
Warming temperatures and shifting weather patterns are causing major changes in water and ice availability, sea levels, and aquatic nutrient cycles across the country. CASC-supported scientists are examining how water, ice, and coastal ecosystems and communities across the United States are being affected by climate change. Browse our projects below or use our Project Explorer database to explore our science on this topic.
Filter Total Items: 163
Projected Climate and Land Use Change Impacts on Aquatic Habitats in the Midwestern United States (Regional Assessment)
The overall goal of the Midwestern regional-scale assessment was to identify river reaches in the Glacial Lakes Partnership regions (focusing on Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin) that are most vulnerable to potential impacts of projected climate and land use changes. Because fish assemblages are strongly influenced by river water temperature and flow regimes, which are in turn affected...
Projected Climate and Land Use Change Impacts on Aquatic Habitats of the Lower Colorado River Basin (Regional Assessment)
Previous climate change research for the Colorado River Basin has used down-scaled climate models to predict impacts to hydropower and the potential ability to meet mandated water releases. The Lower Colorado River Basin (LCRB) has one of the most imperiled fish faunas in the nation with about half of the native fish species listed as Threatened or Endangered under the Federal Endangered...
Projected Climate Change for the Conterminous United States (National Assessment)
One goal of the National Scale Assessment included identifying regions and associated river reaches across the United States that are most vulnerable to projected climate and land use changes. As an initial attempt to characterize river system vulnerability, we followed the definition posed by Kasperson et al. (2006) that incorporates exposure of systems to stresses like climate and land...
Projected Vulnerability of Brook Trout to Climate and Land Use Changes in the Eastern U.S. (Regional Assessment)
Throughout its native range in the Eastern U.S., the brook trout is a culturally and economically important species that is sensitive to warming stream temperatures and habitat degradation. The purpose of this assessment was to determine the impacts that projected future land use and climate changes might have on the condition of stream habitat to support self-sustaining brook trout...
Science to Inform Future Management of the Nation's Fisheries and Aquatic Habitat
Fisheries and aquatic habitats throughout the United States are in dire need of protection or restoration because human activities have resulted in severe degradation of those habitats. Further, future climatic changes will continue to affect human land-use, temperature, and water flows. Natural resource managers need to identify and prioritize habitats so that limited time and funding...
Impact of Changes in Streamflow and Temperature on Endangered Atlantic Salmon
Coastal rivers draining into the Gulf of Maine are home to the endangered Gulf of Maine Distinct Population Segment of Atlantic salmon. The Gulf of Maine population began to decline significantly by the late 19th century, leading to the closure of the commercial Atlantic salmon fishery in 1948. In recent years, populations have again begun to decrease again. State and federal fisheries...
Projected Impacts of Future Climate on Bird Conservation in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions
Tens of millions of migratory birds are dependent on wetland and riparian stopovers in arid and semiarid regions of North America. Global climate change would superimpose even greater stress on these ecosystems as indicated by climate change model predictions of higher temperatures and less precipitation in the southwestern United States. In partnership with the University of Arizona...