Download or read book Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure written by Climate Change Science Program and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2014-07-02 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate affects the design, construction, safety, operations, and maintenance of transporta- tion infrastructure and systems. The prospect of a changing climate raises critical questions regarding how alterations in temperature, precipitation, storm events, and other aspects of the climate could affect the nation's roads, airports, rail, transit systems, pipelines, ports, and waterways. Phase I of this regional assessment of climate change and its potential impacts on transportation systems addresses these questions for the region of the U.S. cen- tral Gulf Coast between Galveston, Texas and Mobile, Alabama. This region contains multimodal transportation infrastructure that is critical to regional and national transportation services.
Download or read book Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure written by U. S. Department Transportation and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2015-02-08 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The U.S. Department of Transportation's Center for Climate Change and Environmental Forecasting is conducting a comprehensive, multi-phase study of climate change impacts on transportation in the Central Gulf Coast region. This study, formally known as Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure: Gulf Coast Study, is the first such study of its magnitude in the United States and thus represents an important benchmark in our understanding of what constitutes an effective transportation system adaptation planning effort. This report presents the findings of the first task of Phase 2 of this study-identifying critical transportation assets. While confidence in global climate change projections has been steadily increasing over recent years, investigations into the potential impacts of projected changes on a regional scale have been scarce. The exact risks that climate change poses to transportation systems are not yet well known. As many of the nation's infrastructure components, such as rail lines, highways, bridges, and ports, are expected to last for up to 100 years, it is important that their design and long-term operations consider factors that could affect their resilience and effectiveness over their life span, such as changing environmental conditions due to climate change. The Gulf Coast Study was initiated to better understand climate change impacts on transportation infrastructure and to identify potential adaptation strategies. This study area was selected as the study's focal point due to its dense population and complex network of transportation infrastructure, as well as its critical economic role in the import and export of oil, gas, and other goods. The Gulf Coast Study includes two phases: Phase 1 - The study assessed likely changes in temperature and precipitation patterns, sea level rise, and increasing severity and frequency of tropical storms. Phase 1 then explored how these changes could impact transportation systems. Phase 2 - The purpose of Phase 2 is to provide a more detailed assessment of the vulnerability of the most critical components of the transportation system to weather events and long-term changes in climate. This work is being conducted on a single metropolitan area-the Mobile, AL region -with the intention of making the processes used in the study replicable to other areas.
Download or read book Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure written by U.s. Department of Transportation and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2015-02-07 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite increasing confidence in global climate change projections in recent years, projections of climate effects at local scales remain scarce. Location-specific risks to transportation systems imposed by changes in climate are not yet well known. However, consideration of these long-term factors is highly relevant for infrastructure components, such as rail lines, highways, bridges, and ports, that are expected to provide service for up many years. To better understand climate change impacts on transportation infrastructure and to identify potential adaptation strategies, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Center for Climate Change and Environmental Forecasting is conducting a comprehensive, multiphase study of climate change impacts on transportation in the Central Gulf Coast region. This study, formally known as Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure: Gulf Coast Study, is the first such study of its magnitude in the United States and represents an important benchmark in the understanding of what constitutes an effective transportation system adaptation planning effort. The Gulf Coast region was selected as the focal point due to its dense population and complex network of transportation infrastructure, as well as its critical economic role in the import and export of oil, gas, and other goods. The study is funded by the U.S. DOT Center for Climate Change and Environmental Forecasting and managed by FHWA. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has provided support for much of the climate science work. The Gulf Coast Study includes two phases: Phase 1— The study assessed likely changes in temperature and precipitation patterns, sea level rise, and increasing severity and frequency of tropical storms. Phase 1 then explored how these changes could impact transportation systems. Phase 2 — The purpose of Phase 2 is to provide a more detailed assessment of the vulnerability of the most critical components of the transportation system to weather events and long-term changes in climate. This work is being conducted on a single metropolitan area—the Mobile, AL region —with the intention of making the processes used in the study replicable to other areas.
Download or read book Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure written by U.s. Climate Change Science Program and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2015-02-06 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report is one in a series of 21 Synthesis and Assessment Products (SAPs) produced between 2004 and 2009, aimed at providing current assessments of climate change science in the U.S. to inform public debate, policy, and operational decisions. This SAP investigates risks to transportation systems in the Gulf Coast from climate change, and assesses the steps managers and policy makers can take to ensure the safety and resilience of those transportation systems. The findings represent the first phase of a three phased research effort. The ultimate goal of this research is to provide knowledge and tools that will enable transportation planners and managers to better understand the risks, adaptation strategies, and tradeoffs involved in planning, investment, design, and operational decisions. The objective of Phase I was to conduct a preliminary assessment of the risks to and vulnerabilities of transportation in the region, based upon the collection and integration of regional data including: physiography and hydrology, land use and land cover, past and projected climate, current population and trends, and transportation infrastructure. Phase II will conduct an in-depth assessment of risks to transportation in the Mobile Alabama region, reporting on implications for long-range plans and impacts on safety, operations, and maintenance. This phase will also develop a risk assessment methodology and identify techniques to incorporate environmental and climate data in transportation decisions. Phase III will identify and analyze adaptation and response.
Download or read book Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure written by U. S. Department Transportation and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2015-02-07 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The U.S. Department of Transportation conducted a comprehensive, multi-phase study of the Central Gulf Coast region to better understand climate change impacts on transportation infrastructure and identify potential adaptation strategies. This region is home to a complex multimodal network of transportation infrastructure, and it plays a critical economic role in the import and export of oil and gas, agricultural products, and other goods. Phase 1 of this Gulf Coast Study examined the impacts of climate change on transportation infrastructure at a regional scale. Phase 2 focused on a smaller region, enhancing regional decision makers' ability to understand potential impacts on specific components of infrastructure and to evaluate adaptation options. An important goal of Phase 2 was to develop methodologies that could be used by other transportation agencies to evaluate vulnerability and adaptation measures. With that goal in mind, the project team developed transferrable methodologies and pilot tested them on the transportation system in Mobile, Alabama. This study evaluated the impacts on six transportation modes (highways, ports, airports, rails, transit, and pipelines) from projected changes in temperature and precipitation, sea level rise, and the storm surges and winds associated with more intense storms. The project resulted in findings in Mobile's transportation vulnerability, as well as approaches for using climate data in transportation vulnerability assessments, methods for evaluating vulnerability and adaptation options, and tools and resources that will assist other agencies in conducting similar work.
Download or read book Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure written by U.s. Department of Transportation and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2015-02-07 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite increasing confidence in global climate change projections in recent years, projections of climate effects at local scales remains scarce. Location-specific risks to transportation systems imposed by changes in climate are not yet well known. However, consideration of these long-term factors are highly relevant for infrastructure components, such as rail lines, highways, bridges, and ports, that are expected to provide service for up to 100 years. To better understand climate change impacts on transportation infrastructure and to identify potential adaptation strategies, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is conducting a comprehensive multiphase study of climate change impacts in the Central Gulf Coast region. This region was selected as the study's focal point due to its dense population and complex network of transportation infrastructure, as well as its critical economic role in the import and export of oil, gas, and other goods. The study is funded by the USDOT Center for Climate Change and Environmental Forecasting and managed by FHWA. The Gulf Coast Study has two distinct study periods: Phase 1 (2003 to 2008) examined the impacts of climate change on transportation infrastructure at a regional scale; and Phase 2 is focusing on a smaller region, enhancing regional decision makers' ability to understand potential impacts on specific critical components of infrastructure, and to start evaluating adaptation options. This report, the Task 2 report, lays the climate data foundation upon which a vulnerability assessment will be conducted in the next task. In future steps of the project, a vulnerability screen will be conducted along with an assessment of the highly critical assets identified previously under Task 1, as reported in the Task 1 final report Assessing Infrastructure for Criticality in Mobile, AL. This report explores potential changes in five primary climate variables: temperature, precipitation, streamflow, sea level rise, and storm surge in Mobile, AL, the location selected as the study area for Phase 2. To do so, Task 2 characterizes the current climate conditions in Mobile, and then uses downscaled climate projection data, as well as sea level rise and storm surge modeling, to develop plausible climate futures. The climate information discussed in this report will be used to assess how the transportation system in Mobile might be affected by climate change. Although this report does focus on Mobile, AL, the processes developed under this Task can be replicated by other transportation organizations across the country. The ultimate goal of this report is to not just identify how climate could change in Mobile, but also to develop robust methodologies, and identify existing datasets and tools, for developing these plausible climate futures. Furthermore, the work conducted under Task 2 will help inform the development of tools and resources to make these types of analyses easier for transportation agencies. To that end, the process of Task 2 is just as important as the results.
Download or read book Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure written by U.s. Department of Transportation and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2015-02-07 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Facility managers, transportation planners, and elected officials are increasingly concerned about the resilience of transportation infrastructure to a range of threats, including the threats posed by climate change and extreme weather. However, the information and tools necessary to understand, evaluate, and rank vulnerabilities remains scarce. This is particularly true as it relates to specific facilities and the assets that constitute a facility; even more scarce is information and data regarding adaptation (i.e., risk mitigation) measures, their efficacy in reducing risks, and the returns on investment that might be expected if adaptation strategies are adopted. Because many assets (e.g., rail lines, bridges, and piers) are expected to provide service for 100 years or longer, consideration of medium, and long-term climate threats is essential to ensuring safe and effective transportation services at all levels of authority (i.e., federal, state, county, and municipal) and for both publicly and privately managed assets. Acknowledging the importance of establishing systematic, transferrable approaches for assessing and addressing vulnerability to climate and weather risks, the USDOT's Center for Climate Change and Environmental Forecasting commissioned a comprehensive, multiphase study of climate change impacts on transportation in the Central Gulf Coast region. This study is the first such study of its magnitude in the United States and represents an important benchmark in the understanding of what constitutes an effective transportation system adaptation effort. The Gulf Coast region was selected as the focal point due to its dense population and complex network of transportation infrastructure, as well as its critical economic role in the import and export of oil, gas, and other goods. The Gulf Coast Study includes two phases: Phase 1 – investigated potential climate change risks and impacts on coastal ports, road, air, rail, and public transit systems. The study assessed likely changes in temperature and precipitation patterns, sea level rise, and increasing severity and frequency of tropical storms. Phase 1 then explored how these changes could impact transportation systems. Phase 2 – The purpose of Phase 2 is to provide a more detailed assessment of the vulnerability of the most critical components of the transportation system to weather events and long-term changes in climate. This work is being conducted on a single metropolitan area, the Mobile, Alabama region, with the intention of making the processes used in the study replicable to other areas.
Download or read book Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure written by and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 41 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure written by and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 419 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Potential Impacts of Climate Change on U S Transportation written by Division on Earth and Life Studies and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2008-07-16 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Transportation Research Board (TRB) and the Division on Earth and Life Studies (DELS) have released the pre-publication version of TRB Special Report 290, The Potential Impacts of Climate Change on U.S. Transportation, which explores the consequences of climate change for U.S. transportation infrastructure and operations. The report provides an overview of the scientific consensus on the current and future climate changes of particular relevance to U.S. transportation, including the limits of present scientific understanding as to their precise timing, magnitude, and geographic location; identifies potential impacts on U.S. transportation and adaptation options; and offers recommendations for both research and actions that can be taken to prepare for climate change. The book also summarizes previous work on strategies for reducing transportation-related emissions of carbon dioxide--the primary greenhouse gas--that contribute to climate change. Five commissioned papers used by the committee to help develop the report, a summary of the report, and a National Academies press release associated with the report are available online. DELS, like TRB, is a division of the National Academies, which include the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council.
Download or read book Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation for Coastal Transport Infrastructure written by United Nations and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 15 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Given the strategic role of seaports and of other coastal transport infrastructure as part of the global trading system and the potential for climate-related delays and disruptions across global supply chains, enhancing the climate resilience of key transport infrastructure is a matter of strategic economic importance. Legal and regulatory approaches, as well as policies and plans are going to be key to efforts at facilitating effective risk and vulnerability assessments and providing a supportive framework for adaptation action at all levels. Guidance, standards, best practices, methodologies and other tools in support of adaptation are urgently required, and targeted capacity building is going to be critical, especially for the most vulnerable countries. This includes SIDS, which depend on their ports and coastal airports for food and energy needs, external trade and - crucially - tourism, which typically accounts for a major share of GDP. Against this background and drawing on UNCTAD's related work, since 2008, this compilation of policies and practices has been prepared to contribute to bridging a knowledge gap with regards to climate change impacts and adaptation for coastal transport infrastructure. The compilation presents examples of legal and policy approaches, as well as of reports, studies and guidance to support climate risk, vulnerability and impact assessment, and the development of effective adaptation response measures for coastal transport infrastructure, with a view to informing and inspiring policy makers, national authorities, transport managers, infrastructure owners, and other interested stakeholders in their efforts.
Download or read book Impacts of Climate Change on Transportation and Infrastructure written by Iason Pavlopoulos and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate affects the design, construction, safety, operations, and maintenance of transportation infrastructure and systems. The prospect of a changing climate raises critical questions regarding how alterations in temperature, precipitation, storm events, and other aspects of the climate could affect the nation's roads, airports, rail, transit systems, pipelines, ports, and waterways. This book addresses these concerns for the region of the U.S. Central Gulf Coast between Galveston, Texas and Mobile, Alabama. This region contains multimodal transportation infrastructure that is critical to regional and national transportation services. Furthermore, this book reviews the climate changes that are anticipated during the next 50 to 100 years for the central Gulf Coast including warming temperatures, changes in precipitation patterns, and increased storm intensity. The authors hope that an increased awareness of these factors will lead to changes in today's transportation decisions and planning processes, leading to a more robust, resilient, and cost-effective transportation network in the coming decades. This book consists of public domain documents which have been located, gathered, combined, reformatted, and enhanced with a subject index, selectively edited and bound to provide easy access.
Download or read book Potential Impacts of Climate Change on U S Transportation written by Committee on Climate Change and U.S. Transportation and published by Transportation Research Board. This book was released on 2008-07-16 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While every mode of transportation in the U.S. will be affected as the climate changes, potentially the greatest impact on transportation systems will be flooding of roads, railways, transit systems, and airport runways in coastal areas because of rising sea levels and surges brought on by more intense storms, says a new report from the National Research Council. Though the impacts of climate change will vary by region, it is certain they will be widespread and costly in human and economic terms, and will require significant changes in the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of transportation systems. The U.S. transportation system was designed and built for local weather and climate conditions, predicated on historical temperature and precipitation data. The report finds that climate predictions used by transportation planners and engineers may no longer be reliable, however, in the face of new weather and climate extremes. Infrastructure pushed beyond the range for which it was designed can become stressed and fail, as seen with loss of the U.S. 90 Bridge in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
Download or read book Review of the Draft Fourth National Climate Assessment written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2018-06-18 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate change poses many challenges that affect society and the natural world. With these challenges, however, come opportunities to respond. By taking steps to adapt to and mitigate climate change, the risks to society and the impacts of continued climate change can be lessened. The National Climate Assessment, coordinated by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, is a mandated report intended to inform response decisions. Required to be developed every four years, these reports provide the most comprehensive and up-to-date evaluation of climate change impacts available for the United States, making them a unique and important climate change document. The draft Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) report reviewed here addresses a wide range of topics of high importance to the United States and society more broadly, extending from human health and community well-being, to the built environment, to businesses and economies, to ecosystems and natural resources. This report evaluates the draft NCA4 to determine if it meets the requirements of the federal mandate, whether it provides accurate information grounded in the scientific literature, and whether it effectively communicates climate science, impacts, and responses for general audiences including the public, decision makers, and other stakeholders.
Download or read book Advancing the Science of Climate Change written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2011-01-10 with total page 526 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for-and in many cases is already affecting-a broad range of human and natural systems. The compelling case for these conclusions is provided in Advancing the Science of Climate Change, part of a congressionally requested suite of studies known as America's Climate Choices. While noting that there is always more to learn and that the scientific process is never closed, the book shows that hypotheses about climate change are supported by multiple lines of evidence and have stood firm in the face of serious debate and careful evaluation of alternative explanations. As decision makers respond to these risks, the nation's scientific enterprise can contribute through research that improves understanding of the causes and consequences of climate change and also is useful to decision makers at the local, regional, national, and international levels. The book identifies decisions being made in 12 sectors, ranging from agriculture to transportation, to identify decisions being made in response to climate change. Advancing the Science of Climate Change calls for a single federal entity or program to coordinate a national, multidisciplinary research effort aimed at improving both understanding and responses to climate change. Seven cross-cutting research themes are identified to support this scientific enterprise. In addition, leaders of federal climate research should redouble efforts to deploy a comprehensive climate observing system, improve climate models and other analytical tools, invest in human capital, and improve linkages between research and decisions by forming partnerships with action-oriented programs.
