Climate Change
Climate change - that which occurs naturally and is associated with human activities - can significantly affect coastal ecosystems, rendering them more vulnerable to damage caused by other stressors. Altered sea level conditions, water temperatures, currents, and stratification can lead to other changes in salinity, tides and erosion.
Impacts associated with climate change and climate variability are not easily distinguished from those associated with other forces that stress the marine ecosystem. Moreover, the pressures resulting from climate only add to other existing pressures.
Scientists continue to study the causes and effects of climate change and climate variability, and they have noted that corals, wetlands, and estuaries are increasingly stressed by climate change and human activities.
Specifically, NCCOS scientists have been studying the warmer bottom water temperatures along the subtidal continental shelf off North Carolina and how these temperatures have led to a dramatic increase in the numbers of tropical reef animal species off the coast. These conditions may indicate changes in an area’s species composition, which is a possible result of global warming.
NCCOS studies also seek to better understand the relationship of human–induced and natural climate change forces so that potential impacts on critical coastal ecosystems can be predicted and, where possible, mitigated.
For instance, studies are being conducted on how climate change may lead to rising sea level, as well as how climate change may result in land subsidence. The rate of subsidence could accelerate substantially in the near future. The combined impacts of rising sea level and continued land subsidence would reduce the amount of coastal land available for human use. These conditions could also harm coastal economies, impair wetland functions in abating floods and propagating fish, harm coral reefs and shellfish beds, and increase the incidence of invasive species.
NCCOS research in conjunction with the work of the National Geodetic Survey will help biologists, sociologists, economists and land use planners make more informed decisions about their coastal communities and resources.
For more information on NCCOS projects involving Climate Change and Long–Term Use, open the NCCOS Project Explorer (opens in a new window).
