Custom Climate Trends Primer
Price per quotation
For communities that need a Climate Trends Primer that covers climate variables beyond temperature and precipitation (such as sea level rise, permafrost, or wildfire) and meets the requirements outlined in the Climate Ready Communities Practical Guide for Building Climate Resilience, the Geos Institute will work to define and provide a quotation for a Custom Climate Trends Primer. At a more detailed level a Custom Climate Trends Primer may include:
- Historical climate data and future projections will be analyzed for the community-selected geographic area such as county, group of counties, watershed or city
- Selection of variables* (see below) presented in maps, graphs, or tables showing changes from baseline values to mid-21st century and late 21st century
- One or two emissions pathways as basis for model projections
- Higher emissions pathway (RCP 8.5) based on business as usual emissions
- Lower emissions pathway (RCP 4.5) based on aggressive reduction of emissions
- Explanations of model uncertainty, geographic resolution, information about what the models are telling us and information on climate change at the national and global scale.
- Other options
- Animated presentation for unlimited playback by the community
- Remote live presentation that is recorded and allows unlimited playback by the community
- Synthesis of scientific research on the impacts of climate projections on ecological and socioeconomic systems of interest to the community
- Training and consultation on communicating the science associated with the projections, uncertainty of climate modelling in local planning processes, and information about appropriate uses of the data. Note: consulting hours may also be used for this purpose.
*Depending on the availability of data, variables can include:
- Temperature (annual mean, maximum, and minimum, seasonal and monthly, warmest/coldest month temperature compared to baseline values)
- Precipitation (snow and/or rain, as seasonal, monthly, and annual totals and percent change from baseline)
- Humidity (relative, annual and summer heat-moisture indices)
- Sea level rise (including coastal inundation, erosion)
- Hydrology (percent change in snowpack, streamflow for specific stream gages, rivers or watersheds, runoff, and drought stress)
- Vegetation and wildfire (projected change in dominant type of vegetation, carbon stored in vegetation, area burned by wildfire, biomass consumed in wildfire, and wildfire smoke)
- Agriculture (day of the year frost begins and ends, and length of frost-free period, changes in plant hardiness zones, number of nights below freezing (freeze-days))
- Regionally specific variables such as permafrost stability, hurricane frequency or magnitude, storm surge, etc.
- Frequency and severity of extreme events (heat waves, droughts, and freezing temperatures)
