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Monitoring Climate Change
The following resources provide guidance on coastal monitoring and indicators of climate change. A climate change indicator is a discrete metric that can be used to measure the pace of climate change and its impact on health and/or the natural or built environment.
EPA and others are working to collect, review, describe, and disseminate additional information on climate change indicators. As new information is developed, the list of resources below will be expanded.
NOAA National Climate Impact Indicators
The National Climate Impact Indicators program was established to enhance the understanding of weather and climate's effects on socioeconomic sectors of the United States. Development of climate indices is ongoing, including the Moisture Stress Index and the Residential Energy Demand Temperature index.
EPA Climate Change Effects on Stream and River Biological Indicators: A Preliminary Analysis (Final Report)
This report provides a preliminary assessment of how biological indicators are likely to respond to climate change, how well current sampling schemes may detect climate-driven changes, and how likely it is that these sampling schemes will continue to detect impairment.
EPA 2008 Report on the Environment
This report describes how environmental indicators are being used to assess trends in the condition of the Nation's environment, and how this information can aid resource managers in the protection of human health and ecological resources.
Cleanair-Coolplanet Climate Change Indicators in the Northeast U.S. (PDF) (40 pp, 1.98MB)
This report provides snapshots of climate change indicators in the Northeastern United States, including relative sea level rise, precipitation changes, average annual temperature, and timing of high spring flow and river ice-out.
Other Indicator Resources
The resources listed below provide information pertaining to the development of environmental indicators for coastal areas. Although climate change is not the focus, these documents may assist coastal managers in developing indicators more broadly.
EPA Indicator Development for Estuaries
This manual presents a stepwise process for developing regional-specific indicators for estuaries. Case studies of the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program, the New Hampshire National Estuary Program Indicator Development Process, and the Northeast Coastal Indicator Workshop are provided as examples of how other programs have approached indicator development by following this process.
EPA National Coastal Condition Reports
These reports describe the ecological and environmental conditions in U.S. coastal waters. They summarize the condition of ecological resources in the coastal waters of the United States and highlight several federal, state, tribal, and local programs that assess coastal ecological and water quality conditions.