JEN9841: /* Responses to climate change in New Jersey */ fixed typo, added information
'''Climate change in New Jersey''' is of concern due to its effects on the ecosystem, economy, infrastructure, and people of New Jersey.
[[File:New Jersey Köppen.svg|alt=|thumb|450x450px|New Jersey map of Köppen climate classification.]]
==Temperature==
"The statewide average temperature in 2012," 56.0 °F, "was the highest in 118 years of records." This was 2.8 °F above the 1981-2010 mean.<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013"></ref>
As of 2013, "[n]ine of the ten warmest calendar years on record have occurred since 1990 and the ve warmest years have occurred since 1998, consistent with the long-term upward trend of 2.2°F per century."<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" />
==Precipitation==
According to the EPA, as of 2016, "[a]verage annual precipitation in New Jersey has increased 5 to 10 percent in the last century, and precipitation from extremely heavy storms has increased 70 percent in the Northeast since 1958."<ref name="EPA New Jersey"></ref>
Similarly, according to a 2013 Rutgers Climate Institute study, "[s]ince 1895, annual precipitation has increased at a rate of 4.1 inches (or about 9%) per century."<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" />
As of 2013, 2011 was the wettest year on record.<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" />
Heavy precipitation events have been increasing in New Jersey, as is also the case "throughout the northeastern United States."<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" />
==Ecosystems==
Many coastal species are already changing their distributions.<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" /> If the sea level rises two feet along the coast of New Jersey, "[w]etlands along Delaware Bay in Cumberland County" are "likely to be lost" due to such rise.<ref name="EPA New Jersey" /> Many species rely on tidal marshes which would be threatened as marshes erode. Such species include [[blue crab]], [[perch]], [[weakfish]], [[flounder]], and [[rockfish]] (which "rely on the tidal marshes in Delaware Bay to hide from predators"), as well as sea turtles and shorebirds (which feed on species that inhabit the marshes).<ref name="EPA New Jersey" />
"In Barnegat Bay and Little Egg Harbor, the rising sea is already eroding and submerging small marsh islands, which are important nesting areas that protect common terns, black skimmers, and oystercatchers from land-based predators."<ref name="EPA New Jersey" />
"Changing temperatures could also disrupt ecosystems. For example, if water temperatures exceed 86°F during summer, eelgrass could be lost, which would remove a key source of food for many fish."<ref name="EPA New Jersey" />
Higher acidity in the water also threatens certain species, like scallops and suf clams; this could lower their populations, threatening New Jersey's commercial fishing industry.<ref name="EPA New Jersey" />
"Water temperature data from the late 1980s to early 2000s, collected at Rutgers University Marine Field Station, demonstrate milder winter temperatures in recent years while in this same period larvae of multiple fish species of southern origin became more abundant and those of northern species declined in richness and abundance."<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" />
==Coastline==
===Sea level rise===
The sea level along the Jersey coast is rising faster than the global average, where the global average, since the early 1990s, has risen 1.2 inches per decade.<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" /> "At [[Atlantic City]], where records extend back to 1912, sea level has risen by an average rate of 1.5 inches per decade over the period of record."<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" /> "Sea level is rising more rapidly along the New Jersey shore than in most coastal areas because the land is sinking. If the oceans and atmosphere continue to warm, the sea is likely to rise eighteen inches to four feet along the New Jersey shore in the next century."<ref name="EPA New Jersey" />
The sinking of New Jersey results from the fact that "[i]ce sheets that covered New Jersey during that last Ice Age pushed the Earth’s crust down into the mantle below and that sinking continues today."<ref name="NJ deadlier NJ.com"></ref>
Rutgers scientist project that by 2030, "sea level is projected to rise by 7 to 16 inches, with a best estimate of 10 inches. in 2050, the range is 13 to 28 inches with a best estimate of 18 inches, and by 2100 the range is 30 to 71 inches with a best estimate of 42 inches."<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" />
"The [[United States Geological Survey]] estimates that barrier islands of the New Jersey shore from Bay Head to Cape May would be broken up by new inlets or lost to erosion if sea level rises three feet by the year 2100, unless people take actions to reduce erosion."<ref name="EPA New Jersey" />
===Storms===
As sea level rises, potential storm surge rises as well, threatening coastal homes and infrastructure.<ref name="EPA New Jersey" /> "Wind speeds and rainfall intensity during hurricanes and tropical storms are likely to increase as the climate warms. Rising sea level is likely to increase flood insurance rates, while more frequent storms could increase the deductible for wind damage in homeowner insurance policies."<ref name="EPA New Jersey" />
[[Hurricane Sandy]], which struck New Jersey in 2012, was made particularly dangerous because of the storm surge it caused.<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" /> "Recent studies find little evidence of an increase in the number of hurricanes and tropical storms in the North atlantic during the past century, but there is evidence of an increase in the frequency and intensity of intense tropical cyclones during the period since 1970."<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" /> "A recent NOAA study projects that the return period for coastal inundation equivalent to that from Sandy would decrease to less than 20 years by the end of the century if sea level rise in New Jersey is at the high end of the expected range."<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" />
==Responses to climate change in New Jersey==
In 2011, the New Jersey Climate Change Alliance was formed at [[Rutgers University]].<ref name="Rutgers Alliance About Us"></ref> The organization "is a collective of organizations and individuals that share the goal of advancing science-informed climate change strategies and policy at the state and local levels in New Jersey."<ref name="New Jersey Climate Change Alliance"></ref> "The Alliance is facilitated by Rutgers University through the Rutgers Climate Institute and the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy."<ref name="New Jersey Climate Change Alliance" />
The Rutgers Climate Institute at Rutgers University states that it "is a University-wide effort to address one of the most important issues of our time through research, education and outreach."<ref name="Rutgers Climate Institute"></ref> The Institute facilitates collaboration across different academic departments and focuses on outreach.<ref name="Rutgers Climate Institute" />
==See also==
* [[Climate of New Jersey]]
* [[Effects of Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey]]
==References==
==External links==
*[https://ift.tt/2XoyeDY Rutgers Climate Institute]
*[https://ift.tt/2JoihUx New Jersey Climate Change Alliance]
[[Category:Climate change in the United States by state]]
[[File:New Jersey Köppen.svg|alt=|thumb|450x450px|New Jersey map of Köppen climate classification.]]
==Temperature==
"The statewide average temperature in 2012," 56.0 °F, "was the highest in 118 years of records." This was 2.8 °F above the 1981-2010 mean.<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013"></ref>
As of 2013, "[n]ine of the ten warmest calendar years on record have occurred since 1990 and the ve warmest years have occurred since 1998, consistent with the long-term upward trend of 2.2°F per century."<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" />
==Precipitation==
According to the EPA, as of 2016, "[a]verage annual precipitation in New Jersey has increased 5 to 10 percent in the last century, and precipitation from extremely heavy storms has increased 70 percent in the Northeast since 1958."<ref name="EPA New Jersey"></ref>
Similarly, according to a 2013 Rutgers Climate Institute study, "[s]ince 1895, annual precipitation has increased at a rate of 4.1 inches (or about 9%) per century."<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" />
As of 2013, 2011 was the wettest year on record.<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" />
Heavy precipitation events have been increasing in New Jersey, as is also the case "throughout the northeastern United States."<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" />
==Ecosystems==
Many coastal species are already changing their distributions.<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" /> If the sea level rises two feet along the coast of New Jersey, "[w]etlands along Delaware Bay in Cumberland County" are "likely to be lost" due to such rise.<ref name="EPA New Jersey" /> Many species rely on tidal marshes which would be threatened as marshes erode. Such species include [[blue crab]], [[perch]], [[weakfish]], [[flounder]], and [[rockfish]] (which "rely on the tidal marshes in Delaware Bay to hide from predators"), as well as sea turtles and shorebirds (which feed on species that inhabit the marshes).<ref name="EPA New Jersey" />
"In Barnegat Bay and Little Egg Harbor, the rising sea is already eroding and submerging small marsh islands, which are important nesting areas that protect common terns, black skimmers, and oystercatchers from land-based predators."<ref name="EPA New Jersey" />
"Changing temperatures could also disrupt ecosystems. For example, if water temperatures exceed 86°F during summer, eelgrass could be lost, which would remove a key source of food for many fish."<ref name="EPA New Jersey" />
Higher acidity in the water also threatens certain species, like scallops and suf clams; this could lower their populations, threatening New Jersey's commercial fishing industry.<ref name="EPA New Jersey" />
"Water temperature data from the late 1980s to early 2000s, collected at Rutgers University Marine Field Station, demonstrate milder winter temperatures in recent years while in this same period larvae of multiple fish species of southern origin became more abundant and those of northern species declined in richness and abundance."<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" />
==Coastline==
===Sea level rise===
The sea level along the Jersey coast is rising faster than the global average, where the global average, since the early 1990s, has risen 1.2 inches per decade.<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" /> "At [[Atlantic City]], where records extend back to 1912, sea level has risen by an average rate of 1.5 inches per decade over the period of record."<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" /> "Sea level is rising more rapidly along the New Jersey shore than in most coastal areas because the land is sinking. If the oceans and atmosphere continue to warm, the sea is likely to rise eighteen inches to four feet along the New Jersey shore in the next century."<ref name="EPA New Jersey" />
The sinking of New Jersey results from the fact that "[i]ce sheets that covered New Jersey during that last Ice Age pushed the Earth’s crust down into the mantle below and that sinking continues today."<ref name="NJ deadlier NJ.com"></ref>
Rutgers scientist project that by 2030, "sea level is projected to rise by 7 to 16 inches, with a best estimate of 10 inches. in 2050, the range is 13 to 28 inches with a best estimate of 18 inches, and by 2100 the range is 30 to 71 inches with a best estimate of 42 inches."<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" />
"The [[United States Geological Survey]] estimates that barrier islands of the New Jersey shore from Bay Head to Cape May would be broken up by new inlets or lost to erosion if sea level rises three feet by the year 2100, unless people take actions to reduce erosion."<ref name="EPA New Jersey" />
===Storms===
As sea level rises, potential storm surge rises as well, threatening coastal homes and infrastructure.<ref name="EPA New Jersey" /> "Wind speeds and rainfall intensity during hurricanes and tropical storms are likely to increase as the climate warms. Rising sea level is likely to increase flood insurance rates, while more frequent storms could increase the deductible for wind damage in homeowner insurance policies."<ref name="EPA New Jersey" />
[[Hurricane Sandy]], which struck New Jersey in 2012, was made particularly dangerous because of the storm surge it caused.<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" /> "Recent studies find little evidence of an increase in the number of hurricanes and tropical storms in the North atlantic during the past century, but there is evidence of an increase in the frequency and intensity of intense tropical cyclones during the period since 1970."<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" /> "A recent NOAA study projects that the return period for coastal inundation equivalent to that from Sandy would decrease to less than 20 years by the end of the century if sea level rise in New Jersey is at the high end of the expected range."<ref name="State of Climate NJ 2013" />
==Responses to climate change in New Jersey==
In 2011, the New Jersey Climate Change Alliance was formed at [[Rutgers University]].<ref name="Rutgers Alliance About Us"></ref> The organization "is a collective of organizations and individuals that share the goal of advancing science-informed climate change strategies and policy at the state and local levels in New Jersey."<ref name="New Jersey Climate Change Alliance"></ref> "The Alliance is facilitated by Rutgers University through the Rutgers Climate Institute and the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy."<ref name="New Jersey Climate Change Alliance" />
The Rutgers Climate Institute at Rutgers University states that it "is a University-wide effort to address one of the most important issues of our time through research, education and outreach."<ref name="Rutgers Climate Institute"></ref> The Institute facilitates collaboration across different academic departments and focuses on outreach.<ref name="Rutgers Climate Institute" />
==See also==
* [[Climate of New Jersey]]
* [[Effects of Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey]]
==References==
==External links==
*[https://ift.tt/2XoyeDY Rutgers Climate Institute]
*[https://ift.tt/2JoihUx New Jersey Climate Change Alliance]
[[Category:Climate change in the United States by state]]
from Wikipedia - New pages [en] https://ift.tt/2Jr46xI
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment