Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Rising sea levels will impact key coastal marine ecosystems, coral reefs,
mangroves, and salt marshes, through inundation and enhanced coastal
erosion rates.
Regional impacts will be influenced by local vertical land
movements and will be exacerbated where the inland migration of ecosys-
tems is limited by coastal development and infrastructure. {5.2}
Infrastructure Impacts
Climate change impacts on infrastructure—including transportation,
buildings, and energy—are primarily driven by changes in the frequency
and intensity of temperature extremes and heat waves, heavy rainfall and
snow events, and sea level rise.
Many impacts are directly tied to changes
in climate thresholds, such as number of days above or below a certain
temperature, or amount of rainfall accumulated in a 24-hour period, rather
than mean temperatures. Extreme events confront infrastructure with condi-
tions outside the range for which they were built; to the extent that these
extreme events increase in a given region, vulnerability of infrastructure will
increase. Studies clearly document substantial economic damages from past
extreme events, but it is currently difficult to generalize any relationships
between temperature change and the magnitude and/or cost of impacts
across regions and sectors. {5.5}
Local conditions can magnify the susceptibility of infrastructure to
climate-related impacts.
High-risk locations include the Arctic and low-
lying coastlines. Climate change impacts have already been observed in
high-latitude and high-elevation areas built on permanently frozen ground.
Impacts include increasing coastal erosion and shoreline damage from
storms as sea ice retreats; and land-based impacts including a shorter land
travel season and formation of cracks and sinkholes in the ground from
melting permafrost. A significant amount of infrastructure is located in
low-elevation regions at risk of flooding due to sea level rise and storm
surge. Infrastructure in coastal areas includes cities, power stations, water
treatment plants, roads and highways, homes and buildings, and oil and
gas lines. {5.5}
Climate change is expected to increase electricity demand and affect
production and reliability of supply.
Observed correlations between daily
mean near-surface air temperature and electricity demand suggest warmer
summer temperatures, and more frequent, severe, and prolonged extreme
heat events could increase demand for cooling energy. Increases in peak
demand could be most severe in already heavily air-conditioned regions. At
the same time, high temperatures combined with drought can threaten the
