Climate Change Projected to Affect Restoration of Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay Program’ Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee releases report outlining probable impacts and making recommendations for action
Annapolis, Md. (October 27, 2008) -- The Chesapeake Bay ecosystem will be significantly impacted by climate change during the next century according to a new, independent report released by the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee.
Climate Change and the Chesapeake Bay: State-of-the-Science Review and Recommendations details the potential consequences of climate change for the Chesapeake Bay over the next 100 years and explains the need to adapt restoration and resource management to account for the environmental changes.
The report was written by the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC), a group of prominent scientists and other experts who provide guidance on measures to restore and protect the nation’s largest estuary and its 64,000-square mile watershed.
“The Chesapeake Bay Program partners are making long-term decisions that are expected to yield results for decades, “said Dr. Christopher Pyke, director of climate change services at CTG Energetics and an author of the report. “Climate change is likely to alter the cost and effectiveness of many of these activities, so consequently it is an immediate concern for efforts to protect and restore water quality and living resources.”
The STAC report found that the Chesapeake Bay will be affected by increasing carbon dioxide concentrations, rising sea levels and elevating water temperatures. Increases in the amount and intensity of precipitation, strength of tropical storms, and fluctuations in sea level are also projected. The extent of these changes will be determined, in part, by human activities in the watershed, choices about emissions of greenhouse gases and preparations for changing conditions.
The report outlines several consequences of these anticipated climate changes, including:
- Increased coastal flooding and submergence of wetlands
- Growth of harmful algae
- Loss of underwater grasses
- Conditions that favor warm-water fish and shellfish
"It is difficult to imagine any aspect of the Bay – be it biological, chemical or physical – that will be unaffected by climate change, particularly if society continues the current rate of greenhouse gas emissions,” said Dr. Raymond Najjar, associate professor of meteorology at Penn State University and an author of the report
To factor climate change into restoration efforts and resource management, STAC scientists included recommendations to the Chesapeake Bay Program and its partners in the report. The need to develop a climate change action plan is among the critical steps identified by STAC.
“The Chesapeake Bay Program understands the urgent need to respond to climate change and is grateful for the outstanding analysis provided by the STAC report,” said Jeffrey Lape, director of the Chesapeake Bay Program. “The Chesapeake Bay Program recognizes that our near-term efforts to restore the watershed and Bay will complement efforts to address the long-term issues caused by climate change. We have already begun to consider the report’s recommendations and will be evaluating how to adapt restoration efforts and resource management accordingly.