Donald F. Boesch
The first National Assessment, completed in 2000, provided a detailed understanding of the consequences of climate change for the nation and examined the possible coping mechanisms that exist to adapt to climate change. The assessment included regional activities, sectoral activities and a broad synthesis. The five sectoral assessments include agriculture, coastal areas and marine resources, forests, human health and water resources. I co-chaired (with Dr. Don Scavia, Federal co-chair) the panel that undertook the Coastal Areas and Marine Resources Assessment.
Our report, The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change on Coastal Areas and Marine Resources, was published as NOAA Coastal Ocean Program Decision Analysis Series #21 and may be viewed and downloaded from the NOAA website (Adobe Acrobat Reader required). The Overview report of the National Assessment, Climate Change Impacts on the United States: The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change, is also accessible via the web.
Please consult other reports addressing coastal and marine consequences of climate change, such as those produced by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.