Global mean sea level rise of ~3 mm/year during the last decade was likely the highest rate since 1900, and continues to accelerate. It is therefore critical that coastal communities begin to develop adaptive responses to changing shorelines. We will update local sea level rise projections along the Northeast US coastline using a probabilistic model of future sea level distribution, combined with analysis of local trends and extreme sea level events from tide gauge records, to create regionally-appropriate projections. A similar approach has already been successfully implemented for the state of Massachusetts. This project builds on previous work to improve the scale and continuity of the ice-sheet analysis, and spatially extending the framework to assess the vulnerability of the entire Northeast coastline

Our National Parks are vulnerable to climate change in a number of ways, requiring changes in the way we manage our parks.  This project uses decision support tools (e.g., scenario planning, vulnerability assessments) and climate science to help park managers adapt their management practices to climate change. Park managers are asking what changes they can expect that uniquely affect their park and to what degree.  With this information, they can use Scenario Planning and other decision support tools to consider new management strategies or modifications to existing strategies that help the park face these climatic changes.  Other parks need to first identify which of their assets (e.g., natural resources, infrastructure, etc) are vulnerable to climate change, in which case they also need to know how the climate is changing unique to their park in order to conduct a climate change vulnerability assessment

This project compiled, synthesized, and communicated tailored climate change information to NE CASC stakeholders, including Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCC), state and federal agencies, and tribal communities. Our mission is to make climate science actionable by getting to know our stakeholders and the decisions they face, and delivering climate information that is directly relevant to their decisions and priorities. Our project team served as a resource to answer individual inquiries related to climate model projections in order to aid climate change adaptation. Additionally, our team contributed to the development of a synthesis document to help the Midwest and Northeast states prepare their threatened wildlife for climate change through their State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs)