how and why our climate is changing in the hudson valley
TRANSCRIPT
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How and why our climate is changing in the Hudson Valley
Covering Climate Change in the Classroom November 19, 2014
Libby Murphy
NYS Department of Environmental Conserva5on
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Roadmap
• Hudson River Estuary Program
• Climate science basics
• Climate change in NY
• How changes will affect New Yorkers
• How to get involved
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Hudson River Estuary Program Core Mission • Ensure clean water
• Protect and restore fish, wildlife, and their habitats
• Provide water recreation and river access
• Adapt to climate change
• Conserve world-famous scenery
Ladder of stewardship: engage, inform, empower
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Basics of climate science
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Climate is the longer-term average of our weather
• Variability and shifts are constant
• Global climate change presents varying
regional and local impacts
• “You dress for the weather and build a house
for the climate”
• “Climate is what you expect, weather is what
you get”
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Our climate changes according to major earth system dynamics
• Milankovitch cycles
• Atmospheric composition
• Carbon Cycle
• Ocean-atmosphere interactions
• Feedbacks
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The Milankovitch Cycles determine amount and distribution of incoming solar radiation
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The composition of our atmosphere determines our ability to reflect and absorb solar radiation
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We have detailed records of our atmosphere from ice cores going back 800,000 years
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Recent trends: carbon dioxide and surface warming have been increasing rapidly since 1910
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This warming trend is a result of an imbalance in our carbon cycle
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Warmer temperatures change our ocean-atmosphere interactions and the distribution of our water cycle
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Feedbacks can help to amplify or dissipate climate trends
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Climate change in New York
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New York is experiencing increasing temperatures, rising sea level and changing precipitation patterns
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Our average annual temperature has risen faster than national and global averages
Since 1970:
• Global annual average temp. up nearly 1°F
• US annual average temp. up 1.8°F
• New York annual average temp. up nearly 2°F
• New York winter temperatures up almost 5°F
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Our temperature could become similar to South Carolina by end of century
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15” in NY Harbor in the past 150 years
Because the Hudson is an estuary it experiences tides and sea level rise
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74% Increase in heavy downpours between 1950-1979 and 1980-2009
Precipitation is becoming more variable and extreme in New York
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Climate change will affect New Yorkers in three major ways
Ø Heat waves
Ø Short-term drought
Ø Flooding
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Heat waves will become more frequent and severe
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We will experience more short-term droughts
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Flooding will occur more frequently and severely
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You can explore sea level rise along the Hudson using Scenic Hudson’s mapper
hNp://www.scenichudson.org/slr/mapper
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What do we do?
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We need to mitigate and adapt productively to our changing climate
• Climate mitigation = reducing the
magnitude of climate change
• Climate adaptation = reducing our vulnerability to climate change
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Resilience
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We need people of all ages to get involved
• We need many policy makers,
scientists, engineers,
entrepreneurs, and much more
• We need people involved in
local government
• We need people making smart
decisions day to day
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Recap
• Our climate system is very complex
• Global climate change presents varying regional and local impacts
• The global average temperature causing rapid changes to our climate
• Our climate is changing more rapidly in NY
• We need to prepare for our climate risks
• You can help
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Questions? Thank you. Libby Murphy Hudson River Estuary Program Phone: (845) 256-‐3016 Email: [email protected]
NYS Department of Environmental Conserva5on
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