Region 10: Pacific Northwest and Alaska

Projected impacts may include:

Changes in natural ecosystems resulting from higher temperatures and possibly intensified winter precipitation
Earlier snowmelt causing reduced summer flow, increased winter flow, and earlier peak flow
Increased stress on groundwater systems leading to decreased recharge
More frequent summer droughts
Disrupted migration timing and residence of juvenile salmon in estuarine wetlands
Loss of wetland habitat
Altered species metabolism, reproduction and growth due to increases in water temperatures
Higher summer heat; reduced winter cold stress
Increased wildfire potential
Forest disruption resulting from warming and increased pest outbreaks
General increase in biological production from warming; but reduced sea ice and warming disrupts polar bears, marine mammals, and other wildlife
Damage to infrastructure resulting from permafrost melting
Retreating sea ice and earlier snowmelt alter native people's traditional life styles
Opportunities for warm season activities increase

To learn more about observed rates of sea level rise, visit NOAA’s Sea Levels Online website and click on the state(s) you are interested in.

Reports, papers, and websites
Publications and programs relevant to climate change adaptation in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.
Climate-related coastal activities
Listings of climate-related activities in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, including policies, programs, action plans, research initiatives, and more.

IPCC, 2007: Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Parry, Martin L., Canziani, Osvaldo F., Palutikof, Jean P., van der Linden, Paul J., and Hanson, Clair E. (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 1000 pp.
CCSP, 2008: Preliminary review of adaptation options for climate-sensitive ecosystems and resources. A Report by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research. Julius, S.H., J.M. West (eds.), J.S. Baron, B. Griffith, L.A. Joyce, P. Kareiva, B.D. Keller, M.A. Palmer, C.H. Peterson, and J.M. Scott (Authors). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA, 873 pp.