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Effects of Global Change on U.S. Urban Areas: Vulnerabilities, Impacts, and AdaptationHuman settlements, both large and small, are where the vast majority of people on the Earth live. Expansion of cities both in population and areal extent, is a relentless process that will accelerate in the 21st century. As a consequence of urban growth both in the United States and around the globe, it is important to develop an understanding of how urbanization will affect the local and regional environment. Of equal importance, however, is the assessment of how cities will be impacted by the looming prospects of global climate change and climate variability. The potential impacts of climate change and variability has recently been annunciated by the IPCC's "Climate Change 2007" report. Moreover, the U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) is preparing a series of "Synthesis and Assessment Products" (SAPs) reports to support informed discussion and decision making regarding climate change and variability by policy matters, resource managers, stakeholders, the media, and the general public. We are authors on a SAP describing the effects of global climate change on human settlements. This paper will present the elements of our SAP report that relate to what vulnerabilities and impacts will occur, what adaptation responses may take place, and what possible effects on settlement patterns and characteristics will potentially arise, on human settlements in the U.S. as a result of climate change and climate variability. We will also present some recommendations about what should be done to further research on how climate change and variability will impact human settlements in the U.S., as well as how to engage government officials, policy and decision makers, and the general public in understanding the implications of climate change and variability on the local and regional levels. Additionally, we wish to explore how technology such as remote sensing data coupled with modeling, can be employed as synthesis tools for deriving insight across a spectrum of impacts (e.g. public health, urban planning for mitigation strategies) on how cities can cope and adapt to climate change and variability. This latter point parallels the concepts and ideas presented in the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Decadal Survey report on "Earth Science Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond" wherein the analysis of the impacts of climate change and variability, human health, and land use change are listed as key areas for development of future Earth observing remote sensing systems.
Document ID
20070031957
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Quattrochi, Dale A.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Wilbanks, Thomas J.
(Oak Ridge National Lab. TN, United States)
Kirshen, Paul
(Tufts Univ. Providence, RI, United States)
Romero-Lnkao, Patricia
(National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder, CO, United States)
Rosenzweig, Cynthia
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Ruth, Matthias
(Maryland Univ. College Park, MD, United States)
Solecki, William
(City Univ. of New York NY, United States)
Tarr, Joel
(Carnegie-Mellon Univ. Pittsburgh, PA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
May 22, 2007
Subject Category
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Meeting Information
Meeting: AGU Joint Conference/American Geologist Union
Location: Acapulco
Country: Mexico
Start Date: May 22, 2007
End Date: May 25, 2007
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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