Building an integrated U.S. National Climate Indicators System

Kenney, Melissa A.; Janetos, Anthony C.; Lough, Glynis C.

doi:10.1007/s10584-016-1609-1

Cited by 38 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The proposed Arctic Ocean climate change indicator is responsive to the criteria used for the US National Climate Indicators System (Kenney et al 2016). For example, in our analysis we provided a solid scientific basis for the new indicator and thus we argue that it is scientifically relevant and defensible, and is based on sustained data sourses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Stability of the arctic halocline: a new indicator of arctic climate change

Polyakov

Pnyushkov

Carmack

2018

Environ. Res. Lett.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this study, we propose a new Arctic climate change indicator based on the strength of the Arctic halocline, a porous barrier between the cold and fresh upper ocean and ice and the warm intermediate Atlantic Water of the Arctic Ocean. This indicator provides a measure of the vulnerability of sea ice to upward heat fluxes from the ocean interior, as well as the efficiency of mixing affecting carbon and nutrient exchanges. It utilizes the well-accepted calculation of available potential energy (APE), which integrates anomalies of potential density from the surface downwards through the surface mixed layer to the base of the halocline. Regional APE contrasts are striking and show a strengthening of stratification in the Amerasian Basin (AB) and an overall weakening in the Eurasian Basin (EB). In contrast, Arctic-wide time series of APE is not reflective of these inter-basin contrasts. The use of two time series of APE-AB and EB-as an indicator of Arctic Ocean climate change provides a powerful tool for detecting and monitoring transition of the Arctic Ocean towards a seasonally ice-free Arctic Ocean. This new, straightforward climate indicator can be used to inform both the scientific community and the broader public about changes occurring in the Arctic Ocean interior and their potential impacts on the state of the ice cover, the productivity of marine ecosystems and mid-latitude weather.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Stability of the arctic halocline: a new indicator of arctic climate change

Polyakov

Pnyushkov

Carmack

2018

Environ. Res. Lett.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…While 'indicator' has been defined in various ways in the literature, this study will follow the definition of Kenney et al (2016) by regarding indicators as 'reference tools that can be used to regularly update status, rates of change, or trends of a phenomenon using measured data, modeled data or an index'. We apply the notion of indicators to capture the state of the Arctic environment through observational data series that span various components of the Arctic system.…”

Section: Key Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Key indicators of Arctic climate change: 1971–2017

Box

Colgan

Christensen

et al. 2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

585

408

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Key observational indicators of climate change in the Arctic, most spanning a 47 year period demonstrate fundamental changes among nine key elements of the Arctic system. We find that, coherent with increasing air temperature, there is an intensification of the hydrological cycle, evident from increases in humidity, precipitation, river discharge, glacier equilibrium line altitude and land ice wastage. Downward trends continue in sea ice thickness (and extent) and spring snow cover extent and duration, while near-surface permafrost continues to warm. Several of the climate indicators exhibit a significant statistical correlation with air temperature or precipitation, reinforcing the notion thatincreasing air temperatures and precipitation are drivers of major changes in various components of the Arctic system. To progress beyond a presentation of the Arctic physical climate changes, we find a correspondence between air temperature and biophysical indicators such as tundra biomass and identify numerous biophysical disruptions with cascading effects throughout the trophic levels. These include: increased delivery of organic matter and nutrients to Arctic near-coastal zones; condensed flowering and pollination plant species periods; timing mismatch between plant flowering and pollinators; increased plant vulnerability to insect disturbance; increased shrub biomass; increased ignition of wildfires; increased growing season CO 2 uptake, with counterbalancing increases in shoulder season and winter CO 2 emissions; increased carbon cycling, regulated by local hydrology and permafrost thaw; conversion between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems; and shifting animal distribution and demographics. The Arctic biophysical system is now clearly trending away from its 20th Century state and into an unprecedented state, with implications not only within but beyond the Arctic. The indicator time series of this study are freely downloadable at AMAP.no.

show abstract

“…The development of new datasets can and will facilitate the identification of flood risk areas in coastal communities and support the selection of priority shoreline areas for conservation and/or restoration. Moreover, collaborative decision-driven scientific tools have the potential to support the design of targeted adaptation strategies with known risk-reduction potential [80,81].…”

Section: Adapting To Sea-level Risementioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the Knowledge and Data Landscape of Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in the Chesapeake Bay Region: A Systematic Review

Teodoro

Nairn

2020

Climate

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Climate change is increasingly threatening coastal communities around the world. This article reviews the literature on climate change impacts and adaptation in the Chesapeake Bay region (USA). We reviewed both climate impacts and adaptation literature (n = 283) published in the period 2007–2018 to answer the questions: (i) how are indicators of climate impacts measured and reported by different types of authors (e.g., scientists, government, and NGOs), document types (e.g., academic articles or reports), and geographic focus (e.g., State, region, county, or municipal level)? (ii) what are the current approaches for measuring the most pressing climate impacts in the Chesapeake Bay? We found that scientists produce the most amount of data but are increasingly shifting towards engaging with practitioners through reports and online resources. Most indicators focus on the Chesapeake Bay scale, but data is most needed at the local level where adaptive policies are implemented. Our analysis shows emerging approaches to monitoring climate hazards and areas where synergies between types of authors are likely to increase resilience in the 21st century. This review expands the understanding of the information network in the Chesapeake Bay and explores the institutional landscape of stakeholders involved in the production and consumption of environmental and social change data. The analysis and insights of this review may be extended to similar regions around the planet experiencing or anticipating similar climate hazards to the Chesapeake Bay.

show abstract

Building an integrated U.S. National Climate Indicators System

Cited by 38 publications

References 11 publications

Stability of the arctic halocline: a new indicator of arctic climate change

Stability of the arctic halocline: a new indicator of arctic climate change

Key indicators of Arctic climate change: 1971–2017

Understanding the Knowledge and Data Landscape of Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in the Chesapeake Bay Region: A Systematic Review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About