Water, Coasts and Ice

Wetlands along the Gulf Coast are crucial for reducing hurricane-induced flooding and as habitat for diverse wildlife, but are threatened by rising sea levels, climate change, and coastal development. Using remote sensing data, future climate data, and numerical models, researchers from this South Central CASC-supported project will collaborate with local expert groups to create data and maps abou

Project Overview Declining winter ice cover in the Great Lakes can affect how winds and waves influence coldwater fish reproduction on reefs, as ice cover may shield fish from these forces. Researchers supported by this Midwest CASC project will measure water movement and ice cover in Lake Erie to model future scenarios, helping fishery managers in the region make habitat restoration and fish stoc

The US Virgin Islands are vulnerable to sea level rise, intense storms, and unpredictable rainfall brought by climate change. These changes influence the health of freshwater streams (known as “ghuts”), sedimentation, erosion and water quality (“grit”), as well as aquatic communities and ecosystems (“gills”) that are unique to the islands and important for indigenous peoples’ heritage, local fishe

Project Overview Climate change and human activities are threatening many sensitive aquatic species in prairie streams across the Great Plains region. Researchers supported by this North Central CASC project will combine and analyze data collected independently by Great Plains states to identify thresholds of environmental change that may lead to species loss and changes in aquatic communities. Th

Climate and economic stressors are causing large numbers of people to emigrate from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, even while new development continues. To provide a tool to help managers and policymakers make informed decisions about development and conservation, researchers for this Southeast CASC-supported project will co-produce a land change model that can simulate future scenarios

Project Overview: Native Yellowstone cutthroat trout and mountain whitefish in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYA) are ecologically and socio-economically important species, but are threatened by drought, rising water temperatures, habitat loss, and non-native species. Researchers supported by this North Central CASC project will use climate data and extensive population records to assess the

Climate change threatens many functions of wetlands and habitat connectivity for migratory shorebirds who use wetlands across the Southern Great Plains. Researchers supported by this South Central CASC project will survey stakeholders in the region, project climate impacts on wetland-dependent birds, and create tools for conservation planning (e.g., ranking wetland importance to shorebirds). Resul

Declining water levels in the Great Salt Lake are part of a larger trend of decreasing water availability in the Southwestern U.S. that presents significant challenges for people, animals, and ecosystems. One challenge is that as some lakes dry, newly exposed sediment containing heavy metals can become toxic dust that blows into populated areas. Increased air pollution and other effects of drying

Project Overview The Fort Berthold Indian Reservation faces challenges in maintaining stream health due to recent extreme weather events, oil and gas development, and row crop expansion. Researchers supported by this North Central CASC project will assess how these changes affect stream health while providing career development for undergraduate researchers from Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College (NHSC

The Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center, or PI-CASC (pronounced “pie-cask”), supports regional climate expertise tailored to the unique challenges faced by island communities and ecosystems. PI-CASC serves communities on Hawaiʻi and the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands, supporting resilience and adaptation in the face of climate change.

Water levels in the Great Lakes are fluctuating in ways that we have not seen in the past, with both historically low- and high-water levels occurring in the last decade. Expectations are that larger and more frequent water-level fluctuations will occur in response to climate change. The increased variability in lake levels has implications for the management of invasive plants found in the coasta

The Bonnet Carré spillway (BCS) is a flood-control structure along the Lower Mississippi River designed to prevent flooding in the city of New Orleans by diverting excess water into the nearby Lake Pontchartrain estuary. Alarmingly, the BCS was opened as many times over the past decade (2011–2020) as it had been over the six prior decades combined (1951–2010), with devastating effects on the estua