USGS Researcher, Michael Osland, Discusses Incorporating Climate into Coastal Wetland Vulnerability Assessments

Climate change is projected to cause significant sea level rise (SLR) impacts along the Gulf Coast. It’s ironic, then, that so much climate change planning in the Gulf focuses almost exclusively on SLR, neglecting how direct changes in temperature and rainfall could affect the region.
To address this gap, the GCPO LCC and partners have undertaken a project entitled “Establishing a Foundation for Evaluating the Ecological Implications of Climate Change along a Gradient in Macroclimatic Drivers of Coastal Wetland Ecosystems.” This project is supported by the Department of Interior South Central Climate Science Center (SC CSC). Focused on tidal wetlands in five Gulf states, this study will assess how these wetlands vary in relation to the dramatic rainfall and winter temperature gradients that occur from northwest Florida to the Texas/Mexico border.
To read more on this topic, read the profile on the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks LCC page.
To read about another related research project by Michael Osland, Ecological implications of mangrove forest migration in the southeastern United States, view here.