Broken Brick Initiative

Category: Global Change, Local Impact

Read more about the local impacts of global climate change.

  • Southern Sea Otters and Climate Vulnerability

    Point Lobos is a State Natural Reserve of ecological and cultural significance along the Central Coast of California. The Southern Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris nereis), one of the staple species within the Reserve, is listed as a  ‘threatened’ species under the Federal Endangered Species Act and a ‘depleted’ species under the Marine Mammal Protection Action (Otter Project n.d.). Population numbers have increased since their discovery off of the Big Sur coast in 1938 but continue to struggle (ibid). There exist an estimated 2,700 otters in the wider Point Lobos region (California State Parks 2018: 4-47).

    The continuation of Southern Sea Otters is threatened by the impacts of climate change. In particular, the impacts associated with increasing coastal ocean temperatures. The region has experienced sea surface temperature increases at a rate of 0.2°F per decade from 1920-2014 (OEHHA 2019).

    Southern Sea Otters have strong ecological links to the Giant Kelp Forest (Macrocystis pyrifera) – a widely acknowledged special plant community in the Point Lobos Marine Zone (AECOM 2013: 3-53). Southern Sea Otters are a keystone species for the Giant Kelp Forests and contribute to its continuation by controlling the population of grazers, in particular, Purple Sea Urchins (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) that feed on the Kelp. In turn, Southern Sea Otters seek shelter from storms and predators in the Giant Kelp Forest (AECOM 2013: 3-54).

    Rising coastal ocean temperatures is having adverse impacts on the growth rates of the Giant Kelp Forest (NOAA n.d.; Bland 2017). Consequently, the Forests have experienced degradation and decline in recent years along the Central Coast of California (NOAA n.d.; Bland 2017). Thus, due to the interconnected and reciprocal nature of this ecological relationship, enhanced Kelp Forest exposure to the impacts of climate change will result in the enhanced vulnerability of Southern Sea Otters.

    Further, warming coastal ocean temperatures is resulting in the rise of Great White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) to the region (Blohowiak 2020: 5). Great White Shark bites, once responsible for only 5% of Sea Otter deaths, now account for 50% of deaths (ibid). Most Shark bites are occurring in regions where Kelp canopy cover has declined (Copenhaver 2018). Therefore, increasing coastal ocean temperatures is not only increasing the Shark population in the region – the primary cause of Sea Otter deaths – it is also decreasing Kelp canopy cover – the primary source of shelter for Sea Otters. When compounded, these climate impacts render Southern Sea Otters greatly exposed to climate change.

    Finally, ‘Harmful Algae Blooms’ will increase under climate change (Langridge 2018: 67; OEHHA 2019). These blooms are having adverse health impacts on the neurological systems of Sea Otters exposed to the toxins released from the algae (Lee 2021; Langridge 2018: 67).

    Keystone Species: A species that exerts greater influence in the ecosystem than its biomass would suggest.

    Harmful Algae Blooms: The rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in freshwater or marine water systems.

    References

    AECOM, 2013. Existing Conditions and Resources Inventory Report: Point Lobos State Natural Reserve.

    Bland, A. 2017. As Oceans Warm, the World’s Kelp Forests Begin to Disappear. [online] Yale Environment 360. Available at: https://e360.yale.edu/features/as-oceans-warm-the-worlds-giant-kelp-forests-begin-to-disappear [Accessed 10 March 2021].

    Blohowiak, D., 2020. Sea Otters: Fascinating, individualistic and still much threatened. Point Lobos Magazine, [online] (Spring 2020), pp.3-6. Available at: https://www.pointlobos.org/sites/default/files/uploads/magazine/Point-Lobos-Magazine-Spring2020.pdf[Accessed 10 March 2021].

    California State Parks, 2018. Preliminary General Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Report. Carmel Area State Parks.

    Copenhaver, A., 2018. Sea otters’ perilous path to recovery. [online] Monterey Bay Aquarium. Available at: https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/stories/sea-otters-perilous-path-to-recovery [Accessed 18 March 2021].

    Langridge, R., 2018. Central Coast Region Report. California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment.

    Lee, K., 2021. Informational Interview on Point Lobos SNR.

    NOAA, n.d. Impacts on Kelp Forests | Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. [online] Available at: https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/visit/ecosystems/kelpimpacts.html [Accessed 15 March 2021].

    OEHHA, 2019. Coastal Ocean Temperature: Ocean waters along the California coast are warming. [online] Available at: https://oehha.ca.gov/epic/impacts-physical-systems/coastal-ocean-temperature [Accessed 19 March 2021].

    Otter Project, n.d. About Sea Otters. [online] Available at: http://www.otterproject.org/about-sea-otters/[Accessed 11 March 2021].

  • Arctic Health Affects the World

    The Arctic climate significantly impacts the rest of the world. It creates feedback loops, which are the impact of an initial force on a system which might amplify (positive) or diminish (negative) the initial force. One ongoing example is the current melting of permafrost and the release of methane gas, the methane traps more heat in the atmosphere, which causes more permafrost melt. With increased methane in the atmosphere, Arctic feedback loops have the potential to speed up global flooding, ice melt, and other climate change impacts. Ice melt is already flooding across the globe: Boston, Bangladesh, Wuhan, and many other coastal cities. 

    Furthermore, the Arctic regulates global climates through the northern jet stream. Warmer temperatures will destabilize the jet stream, disrupting southern climates, and raise the Earth’s temperature while threatening food systems. Freshwater from ice melt may even disrupt ocean circulation patterns and cool down the northern Atlantic ocean. Vegetation zones will shift, resulting in biodiversity loss and southern species migrating north. In a bleak vision of the future, it is possible that viruses, zoonotics, and diseases preserved in the ice and permafrost could be revived with the potential to start devastating pandemics. 

    Feedback loop: an input that speeds up or slows down an output 

    Positive feedback loop: input that amplifies an output

    Negative feedback loop: input that slows down an output

    Jet stream: air current in the Arctic that affects weather systems

    Ocean circulation patterns: large scale movement of water 

    Further Reading: 

    Francis, J. A., & Vavrus, S. J. (2015). Evidence for a wavier jet stream in response to rapid Arctic warming. Environmental Research Letters, 10(1), 014005. Complicated paper that suggests extreme weather in mid latitudes is likely caused by changes in the jet stream related to global warming. Could explain heat waves and cold snaps from atmospheric blocking. 

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – Ocean Acidification: The Other Carbon Dioxide Problem. Available at: https://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/story/Ocean+Acidification An overview of the chemical reactions that occur when excess carbon dioxide is dissolved in ocean water, leading to an increase in ocean acidification. Links on this webpage lead to other articles about the ecosystem impacts of ocean acidification and up-to-date observations of ocean acidification around the world.

    Koven, C. D., Ringeval, B., Friedlingstein, P., Ciais, P., Cadule, P., Khvorostyanov, D., … Krinner, G. (2011, September 6). Permafrost carbon-climate feedbacks accelerate global warming. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(36). This article explores how feedback accelerates climate change. As permafrost is expected to melt, further greenhouse gases will be emitted to the atmosphere, contributing more to warming

    References:

    “National Snow and Ice Data Center.” Climate Change in the Arctic | National Snow and Ice Data Center,

    nsidc.org/cryosphere/arctic-meteorology/climate_change.html

    “Six Ways Loss of Arctic Ice Impacts Everyone.”

    WWF, World Wildlife Fund, www.worldwildlife.org/pages/six-ways-loss-of-arctic-ice-impacts-everyone

    Wadhams, Peter, et al. “The Global Impacts of Rapidly Disappearing Arctic Sea Ice.” Yale E360, e360.yale.edu/features/as_arctic_ocean_ice_disappears_global_climate_impacts_intensify_wadhams

  • Hurricanes and Louisiana: Coastal Forests

    Cypress trees in swamp in Atchafalaya Basin by Danita Delimont

    The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season resulted in 3 billion-dollar hurricanes, with Hurricane Laura costing $1.6 billion in losses in agriculture and forestry alone, according to the LSU AgCenter. Valued at over $7 billion, agriculture and forestry are one of the most important industries in Louisiana, and as more Category 4 and 5 storms are projected, due to climate change, these sectors are left vulnerable in the years to come. While damages to agriculture were minimal, high winds uprooted trees and resulted in extensive damage to forestry. 

    Southern states provide 63% of total timber harvested in the U.S., generating $251.1 billion annually and supplying 2% of all jobs in those states.[1] With more intense hurricanes due to climate change, this industry is most vulnerable during the Atlantic hurricane season, as saltwater intrusion and flooding kill trees and expand salt marshes into coastal forests. The alteration of the ecological make-up of these coastal forests is detrimental to both local economies and our environment. The preservation of mangrove forests is especially important due to their role as carbon sinks, habitats for endangered species, and shoreline buffers. Additionally, these windstorms also select for shorter and younger trees, given the vulnerability of taller and older trees to survive them, further destabilizing the ecology of coastal forests.[1] Climate change will only continue to intensify tropical storms and threaten the agriculture and forestry economy of the southern coast. 

    Salt marsh: costal wetland subject to frequent flooding and serves as a buffer between land and ocean through absorption of wave energy during storms.

    Storm surges: a rising of the sea resulting from atmospheric pressure changes and wind associated with a storm

    Mangrove forests: a region of trees and shrubs in coastal intertidal zone

    To learn more about the impact of hurricanes on forest ecosystems: Analyzing Hurricane Impacts on Forest Ecosystem Services on the Gulf (noaa.gov)

    To learn more about the agriculture and forestry economy of Louisiana: 2015 ag summary pages 1-30pdf.pdf (lsuagcenter.com)

    To learn more about mangroves: Mangroves | Smithsonian Ocean (si.edu)

    References:

    [1] Sharma, A., Ojha, S.K., Dimov, L.D., Vogel, J.G., & Nowak, J. (2020). Long-term effects of catastrophic wind on southern US coastal forests: Lessons from a major hurricane. PLoS ONE 16(1).

    Her, Y.G., Smyth, A. Fletcher, P., Bassil, E., Stingl, U., Brym, Z., & Qiu, J. Hurricane impacts on florida’s agriculture and natural resources. IRAS Extension.

    Jaiphong, T., Tominaga, J., Watanabe, K., Suwa, R., Ueno, M., & Kawamitsu, Y. (2017). Changes in photosynthesis, growth, and sugar content of commercial sugarcane cultivars and erianthus under flood conditions. Plant Production Science 20:1.

  • New York City: Heat Waves and Heat Islands

    New York City
    New York City, by Bruce Emmerling, Creative Commons

    In the summer of 2019, a dangerously strong heatwave fell over New York City and much of the United States. The brutal heat combined with an oppressive level of humidity forced the city of New York to create portable water fountains in heavily trafficked pedestrian areas, 500 cooling centers, and mandated that residents set their thermostats no lower than 78 °F. The main cause behind the 2019 heatwave in New York city, and similar ones around the world in recent years, is the greenhouse effect exacerbated by anthropogenic climate change. As atmospheric temperatures rise, the frequency and intensity of heatwaves is also expected to increase.

    The rise in temperature is especially prominent in urban environments, such as New York City, because of the heat island effect. Man-made structures such as asphalt roads, concrete buildings, and other artificial materials, absorb more solar radiation than natural surfaces like plants or soil, which causes them to re-emit more heat. As a result, highly developed environments, like New York City, are hotter on average than suburban or rural areas with more greenspace and vegetation. Heatwaves, like many other climate change induced phenomena, are expected to increase with global temperatures. With the increases in heat wave frequency, associated heat related illness such as heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and hyperthermia. Along with the health effects, more heat waves are going to increase the pressure placed on electricity providers as people shelter inside their homes with their air conditioning units on. Some of the economic effects of worsening heat waves consist of drops in worker productivity, by as much as up to 28% depending on the industry. The various costs of heatwaves need to be taken into account as they become more frequent, rendering some regions of the globe uncomfortable and others, uninhabitable.

    Heat Wave: A period of abnormally hot weather that lasts two or more days. Abnormally hot means that the temperatures need to be above the historical average for the area in question.

    Heat Islands: Urban areas that experience higher temperatures than the surrounding less developed areas.

    “New York City” by Bruce.Emmerling is marked with CC0 1.0

    Further Reading:

    Learn About Heat Islands. (2020, July 30). Retrieved February 01, 2021, from https://www.epa.gov/heatislands/learn-about-heat-islands

    Understand Urban Heat Islands. (n.d.). Retrieved February 01, 2021, from https://nihhis.cpo.noaa.gov/Urban-Heat-Island-Mapping/Understand-Urban-Heat-Islands

    Heat Waves: NOAA Climate.gov. (2021, January 15). Retrieved February 01, 2021, from https://www.climate.gov/climate-and-energy-topics/heat-waves-1

    References:

    What Is a Heat Wave? (n.d.). Retrieved February 01, 2021, from https://scijinks.gov/heat/#:~:text=A%20heat%20wave%20is%20a,averages%20for%20a%20given%20area.

    Rojas, R., & Gold, M. (2019, July 20). Dangerous Temperatures Grip New York City. Retrieved February 01, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/20/nyregion/heat-wave-nyc.html

    Summary for Policymakers. (n.d.). Retrieved February 01, 2021, from https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/spm/

    Bane, B. (2018, August 08). New study predicts warming climate will drive thousands to ER for heat illness. Retrieved February 01, 2021, from https://phys.org/news/2018-08-climate-thousands-er-illness.html#:~:text=Even%20under%20the%20most%20charitable,costing%20up%20to%20%2452%20million.

    Kiersz, A. (2019, July 19). This heat wave is going to make you – and the rest of America – less productive, by as much as 28%. Retrieved February 01, 2021, from https://www.businessinsider.com/heat-wave-effects-on-economic-productivity-2019-7

  • Hurricanes and Louisiana: A Climate Crisis

    Five hurricanes made landfall in Louisiana during the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. Three of which, Laura, Delta, and Zeta, cost billions of dollars in damage. The deadliest, Hurricane Laura, resulted in 28 deaths and totaled $19 billion in damage, according to the 2020 State of Climate report. With 50% of the population of Louisiana residing in coastal areas, climate change will exacerbate the intensity of these storms: posing a greater threat to the safety and property of residents in the years to come. 

    Climate change is projected to have great impacts on built environments in coastal regions. Storm surges, especially, pose great threats, occurring when high wind speed and low-pressure areas of cyclones force ocean water into coastal areas. Climate scientists project that maximum wind speeds and minimum pressures will intensify by the end of the 21st century; with wind speeds to increase 5% for every 1° C increase in ocean temperature, resulting in more Category 4 and 5 storms (Knuston et al., 2010; Emanuel, 2005). In a recent study by Camelo et al., (2020), inundation volumes are projected to double over the century, increasing the number of people and property threatened by storm surges. Greater inundation volumes also have environmental implications due to inland flooding and saltwater intrusion, threatening agriculture and biogeochemical cycling of coastal ecosystems. While the frequency of hurricanes will remain stable, climate change will exacerbate the intensity of tropical storms, posing greater threats to coastal communities in our near future. 

    Hurricane: A tropical cyclone with winds of 74 mph accompanied by rain, thunder, and lightning

    Storm surge: A rising of the sea resulting from atmospheric pressure changes and wind associated with a storm

    Inundation: Flooding

    To find out more about how Louisiana is preparing for hurricane season, follow Hurricane – NOLA Ready  and/or  Home – Get a Game Plan

    To find out past public policies on hurricane protection in Louisiana, see the following links:

    Hurricane Protection Strategies in the Greater New Orleans Area

    The New Orleans Protection System: What Went Wrong and Why

    Preparing for a Catastrophe: The Hurricane Pam Exercise

    References:

    Camelo, J., Mayo, T.L., and Gutmann, E.D. (2020). Projected climate change impacts on hurricane storm surge inundation in the coastal united states. Frontiers in Built Environment. 6:588049.

    Emanuel, K.A. (1987). The dependence of hurricane intensity on climate. Nature 326, 483-485.

    Emanuel, K. (2005). Increasing destructiveness of tropical cyclones over the past 30 years. Nature 436, 686-688.

    Knutson, T.R., McBride, J.L., Chan, J., Emanuel, K., Holland, G., Landsea, C., et al. (2010). Tropical cyclones and climate change. Nat Geosci. 3, 157-163.