Material from the Great Lakes Region Assessment Group

 

• Regional Assessment Group Home Page
• Workshop Reports
• Assessment Report: Great Lakes Regional Assessment Group, Preparing for a Changing Climate.  The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change.  Great Lakes Overview (Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan, October 2000).

Media Coverage of Great Lakes Overview

• Global Climate Change Threat Looms Large in Great Lakes Region.  From National Wildlife Federation, 4 December 2000.
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21 June 2002.  Bloomington, Minnesota. Climate Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems of the Great Lakes Region: The Potential Impacts and What We Can Do (workshop). Sponsors: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Wildlife Federation, Michigan State University, and the Great Lakes Regional Climate Change Assessment Team. Contact Jeanne Bisanz.  Tel: 248 851 2316.  Online registration available.

 

Related Articles from the National Assessment's Newsletter, Acclimations.

• Press Release: Great Lakes Regional Assessment Report (December 2000)
• The Future of Lake-Effect Snow: A SAD Story - Peter J. Sousounis, The University of Michigan.  (January/February 2000)
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Other Related Links:

• Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region.  Report (dtd April 2003) from the Union of Concerned Scientists. (posted 28 April 2003)

• Cimate Change, Wildlife and Wetlands, Case Study: Great Lakes and Upper Midwest [also available as PDF]. Brochure (circa September 2001) from the US Environmental Protection Agency, National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  (link updated 22 July 2008)

• Great Lakes.  The Potential Impacts of Global Warming on the Great Lakes Region.  Critical Findings for the Great Lakes Region from the First National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change.  An Overview prepared by Peter Sousounis, Ph.D. (University of Michigan) and Patty Glick (National Wildlife Federation).

• Report on potential response of terrestrial ecosystems (PDF File).  Undated document submitted by Daniel G. Brown (School of Natural Resources & Environment, University of Michigan).

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Workshop

A workshop was held at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, May 4-7, 1998 as part of the series of US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) regional climate change workshops. This series of workshops is seen as a first step in a U.S. national assessment of the potential consequences of climate variability and change. The central purpose of the workshop was to bring together individuals with different backgrounds and expertise to address the challenges that will accompany future climate variability and climate change for this unique region.

The Great Lakes region is geographically and climatologically unique. Because the Great Lakes themselves constitute 95% of the nation's fresh water supply, many of the concerns regarding the effects of climate change and variability are water-related. The workshop focus included the following sectors: climate, water ecosystems, water resources, economy/commerce, agriculture, infrastructure, land ecosystems, human health, and governance/education. Participants were asked to explore how current day stresses might be exacerbated (or ameliorated) by future climate change and variability (e.g., floods, storms, drought, heat waves). The workshop served as a scoping exercise to begin to identify stakeholders, issues, and possible coping strategies. The workshop also serves as a first step towards building a sustainable community.

 

Issues for Analyses

The Assessment considered a limited number of key sectors that are critical in the Great Lakes region. Five major areas were included in the regional assessment: Agriculture, Water Resources, Water Ecology, Land Ecology, and the Quality of Human Life. The focus was on addressing environmental and socio-economic impacts due to climate changes, recognizing that some of the current stresses in the region are complicating factors.

 

Strategy for the Assessment

The Great Lakes Assessment effort had a two tier assessment strategy and addressed "what people care about." A Level II assessment involves a compilation of existing studies and an opportunity for stakeholders to supply additional information. A Level I assessment involved the use of GCM output, other climate change scenario information, and results from previous impact studies - for most sectors, an overlay approach was used. The results from each sectoral assessment is described in case studies and detailed chapters in the assessment document. The assessment report is available via the web.

Assessment Team 

• Peter Sousounis, Program Director, Michigan State

• Jeanne Bisanz, Assistant Coordinator, Michigan State

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Agriculture

Jeffrey Andresen, Michigan State University

H.H. Cheng, University of Minnesota

Joe Ritchie, Michigan State University

G. Alagerswamy, Michigan State University

Climate

Ken Kunkel, Illinois State Water Survey

Julie Winkler, Michigan State University

Emily Grover, University of Michigan

Economics

George Albercook, University of Michigan

David Stead, Center for Environmental Studies, Economics & Science (CEPES)

J.D. Lindeberg, Center for Environmental Studies, Economics & Science (CEPES)

 

Health

Robert Gray, University of Michigan

Mark Wilson, University of Michigan

 

Land Ecology

Michael Burger, University of Michigan

Dan Brown, Michigan State University

Margaret Davis, University of Minnesota

Terry Root, University of Michigan

Water Ecology

David Allan, University of Michigan

Art Brooks, University of Wisconsin

John T. Lehman, University of Michigan

John Zastrow, University of Wisconsin

 

Water Resources

Frank Quinn, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL)

Brent Lofgren, GLERL

Thomas E. Croley II, GLERL

Raymond A. Assel, GLERL

Anthony J. Eberhardt, Buffalo District, Corps of Engineers

James R. Nicholas, USGS, Lansing, Michigan