Region 6: South

Projected impacts may include:

Increased intensity of storms, leading to increased coastal erosion and loss of barrier islands and wetlands
Intense coastal zone development places coastal floodplains at risk to flooding from sea level rise, storm surge, and extreme precipitation events
Higher summer heat; reduced winter cold stress
Ocean acidification leading to coral reef die-off
Decreased water quality
Shifts in species distributions due to temperature changes

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 South.
Climate-related coastal activities
Listings of climate-related activities in the South, 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.