CAP/RISA News

NOAA, in partnership with FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has created a set of map services to help stakeholders consider risks from future sea level rise in planning for reconstruction following Hurricane Sandy. The RISA program and the Consortium for Climate Risk in the Urban Northeast (CCRUN) RISA team in New York City played major roles in the development of the two reports that informed the mapping tools.

NOAA-funded researchers co-authored an article for Nature Climate Change on the importance of fostering knowledge networks for climate adaptation. The authors discuss how the Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments Center, one of eleven Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments centers funded by NOAA’s Climate Program Office, are experimenting with this model.

A paper by University of Washington researchers and co-authors at eight institutions across the West aims to explain this wide range, and provide policymakers and the public with a framework for comparison. The study, funded by NOAA through its Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments program and its National Integrated Drought Information System was published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

In an era of increasing climate instability, the southwestern region in the United States faces strained water resources, greater prevalence of tree-killing pests and potentially significant alterations of agricultural infrastructure. Such threats and challenges, as well as others, are detailed in the Assessment of Climate Change in the Southwest United States, a new book published by Island Press. 

A feature article published online on the Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s website describes the Southeast Climate Consortium’s role in helping farmers in the Southeast use climate forecasting tools to make better decisions.

Arizona and New Mexico will receive $3.5 million in grants from NOAA over five years to help them prepare for and adapt to climate variability and change. Seven smaller grants for one- and two-year projects were also awarded this week. 

For over 15 years, NOAA’s Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) program has been supporting research teams that conduct interdisciplinary and regionally relevant research to inform resource management, planning’ and public policy. The program’s new 2012 annual report contains a description of the major activities and accomplishments of the RISAs in 2012.