Trying to save us from ourselves

Coastal Project to Address Climate Adaptation

By ecoRI News staff

Rapid climate change and an increasing range of climate impacts are already being felt along the U.S. coast, and new research suggests that Northeast coastal waters may be more vulnerable to climate change and ocean acidification than previously thought.

A team of scientists with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) recently received a $1 million grant from The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to develop science-based climate-change adaptation solutions for coastal communities and to partner with organizations to help these communities anticipate change and prepare to adapt.

The multi-pronged research project pairs WHOI scientists with regional organizations actively involved in three interrelated coastal ocean climate impacts areas that are affecting many coastal communities in southern New England: sea-level rise and coastal flooding; coastal water quality and ocean acidification; and ocean climate warming and fisheries.

“By working with organizations already established in aspects of these critical research areas, this project will have a collective impact to catalyze improved ocean management strategies and to help the public understand the changes our planet is experiencing,” said Scott Doney, a marine chemist at WHOI and the lead investigator on the project.

The project focuses specifically on the coastal waters of Buzzards Bay and adjacent ocean continental shelf off southern New England, but many of the lessons learned will be applicable broadly to coastal communities of the Northeast and entire eastern seaboard. Partnering organizations include the Buzzards Bay Coalition, the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation and The Nature Conservancy.

Additionally, scientists will work with Princeton University colleague Ning Lin, who will provide modeling for many of the most extreme historic hurricanes impacting Buzzards Bay and simulations to assess the protective services provided by coastal wetlands and potential artificial reefs in the bay.

A goal of this project is to apply emerging scientific concepts and tools to empower local communities and stakeholder groups — the general public, NGOs, businesses, the academic community, policymakers, and local, state and federal resource managers — with the information they need to make planning and infrastructure decisions to better deal with a changing climate.

Rising waters 

Future rates of sea-level rise are projected to increase significantly in the coming decades. Further, there is an expected increase in the frequency and intensity of hurricanes.

“With the MacArthur grant we will be translating the results of our studies aimed at better understanding the risk associated with future changes in sea level and tropical cyclones in the communities within Buzzards Bay,” said Jeff Donnelly, a hurricane expert in the Coastal Systems Group at WHOI. “In addition to developing tools to help translate the scientific results to decision-makers and the general public, we are partnering with The Nature Conservancy to better understand whether or not the creation of artificial reefs might mitigate the impacts of storm surge associated with hurricanes.”

Coastal water quality

Although there is rich historical data on nutrient pollution in Buzzards Bay, there has been little monitoring to date on acidification, which stands to have an impact on regional shellfish production. 

Building on an existing citizen scientist monitoring network run by the Buzzards Bay Coalition, the coastal water quality and ocean acidification work will expand new field sampling and synthesis capabilities to assess the impact of multiple stressors on coastal ecosystems.

The team will use the data to develop and test alternative management strategies to improve degraded coastal waters, identifying locations particularly vulnerable to climate-related change, and enabling better long-term planning.

Climate and fisheries

Ocean climate warming and fisheries work will develop connections between the commercial fleet, scientists and decision-makers, and will expand the capability to cost-effectively monitor changes in ocean temperature and salinity and understand how these changes impact the ecosystem.

Commercial fishermen will be provided with and trained in the use of oceanographic sampling equipment to take weekly measurements of temperature and salinity through the water column. The scientists and the fishing fleet will communicate regularly about the impacts of these physical changes through the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation, an organization that has managed numerous industry-motivated research programs and hosted meetings between scientists and the fishing community.

“Temperature changes have been large and unprecedented on both seasonal and year-to-year time scales, and this data will provide great insights into how rapidly the coastal ocean is changing,” said Glen Gawarkiewicz, a WHOI coastal oceanographer.