An integrated climate change assessment for the Northeast United States

Authors

Peter C. Frumhoff, Union of Concerned Scientists, Cambridge, MA
James J. McCarthy, Harvard University
Jerry M. Melillo, The Ecosystems Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole
Susanne C. Moser, NCAR
Donald Wuebbles, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Cameron P. Wake, University of New Hampshire - Main CampusFollow
Erika Spanger-Siegfried, Union of Concerned Scientists, Cambridge, MA

Abstract

The papers in this Special Issue are the primary technical underpinnings for the Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment (NECIA), an integrated regional-scale assessment of projected climate change, impacts and options for mitigation and adaptation across the US Northeast. The consequences of future pathways of greenhouse gas emissions on projected climate and impacts across climate-sensitive sectors is assessed by using downscaled projections from three global climate models under both higher (Alfi) and lower (B1) emissions scenarios. The findings illustrate that near-term reductions in emissions can greatly reduce the extent and severity of regionally important impacts on natural and managed ecosystems and public health in the latter half of this century, and increase the feasibility that those impacts which are now unavoidable can be successfully managed through adaptation.

Department

Earth Sciences, Earth Systems Research Center

Publication Date

6-2008

Journal Title

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change

Publisher

Springer

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1007/s11027-007-9138-x

Document Type

Article

Recommended Citation

P. C. Frumhoff et al., "An integrated climate change assessment for the northeast United States," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, vol. 13, no. 5-6, pp. 419–423, Oct. 2007.