National Climate Assessment:
Midwest Technical Input Report

At the request of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, GLISA and the National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment formed a Midwest regional team to provide technical input to the National Climate Assessment (NCA). In March 2012, the team submitted their report to the NCA Development and Advisory Committee. The following white papers comprised the chapters of the report, focusing on the potential impacts, vulnerabilities, and adaptation options to climate variability and change across many sectors. The white papers were subject to review by at least two external reviewers and revised to reflect reviewer comments.

Midwest Technical Input Report White Papers

	Historical Climate » Jeff Andresen, Steve Hilberg, and Ken Kunkel Over the past century, the Great Lakes region has become warmer and wetter. Extreme precipitation events have intensified and become more frequent. Read the full report »
	Future Climate » Julie Winkler, Ray Arritt, and Sara Pryor Temperatures are projected to increase in the Great Lakes region throughout the coming century, and most models project an increase in precipitation during winter whereas the sign of the projected change in precipitation for summer is uncertain. Read the full report »
	Water Resources » Brent Lofgren and Drew Gronewold Increased evapotranspiration effectively competes with increased precipitation to determine Great Lakes lake levels. While most studies have projected declines in lake levels, one recent study has projected lake levels will rise in the future. Read the full report »
	Forestry » Stephen D. Handler, Christopher W. Swanston, Patricia R. Butler, Leslie A. Brandt, Maria K. Janowiak, Matthew D. Powers, and P. Danielle Shannon Climate change will directly impact forest ecosystems in the Midwest through changes in temperature and precipitation, and will indirectly amplify existing stressors to forests. Ecosystem services provided by forests, such as forest products and recreational opportunities, may also be affected by climate change. Read the full report »
	Biodiversity » Kim Hall The rapid rate of changes in the climate of the Midwest suggest that many wild species and natural systems will experience climate change as a major stressor. Read the full report »
	Transportation » John Posey Climate changes have the potential to affect all forms of transportation. In the Great Lakes region, impacts on shipping and land transportation are the primary concerns. Read the full report »
	Energy » Janice A. Beecher and Jason A. Kalmbach Both climate change and climate change policy are intrinsically important to the energy sector. Climate change policies are already affecting planning and investment decisions as utilities comply with regulations related to climate change. Read the full report »
	Agriculture » Jerry Hatfield Some crops may see opportunities in the near-future for increased yield due to a longer growing season and increased carbon dioxide concentrations, while others will suffer from increases in nighttime minimum temperatures and changes in the seasonality of temperature and precipitation. Read the full report »
	Tourism and Recreation » Sarah Nicholls Warm weather recreation and tourism activities may see potential opportunities for growth, while winter and autumn tourism and recreation will suffer as the winter season shortens and temperatures increase. Read the full report »
	Coastal Systems » Scudder Mackey Climate stressors on the Great Lakes and nearshore coastal systems include, changing water level regimes, changing storm patterns and precipitation, and altered thermal regimes. These stressors have the potential to significantly alter the physical integrity of Great Lakes nearshore and coastal systems. Read the full report »