Climate Scenarios and Vulnerabilities in the Aleutian and Bering Sea Islands

Speakers: John Walsh (University of Alaska Fairbanks) and Nick Bond (University of Washington)

Nick Bond and John Walsh will briefly summarize the downscaling methods and output variables they are each generating from global climate models for the mid-21st century for the Aleutian and Bering Sea region.

Downscaling methods and relative uncertainty across the different output variables for both CMIP3 and CMIP5 (the most recent generation) climate models will be described in the context of climatic variability in the region. The emphasis will be on temperature, winds and sea ice.

Additionally, efforts to integrate climate information into whole-system models of ocean response will be highlighted, illustrating applications of using climate model output to project detailed oceanographic properties including ecosystem productivity and community structure.

This webinar is part of a project engaging stakeholders as well as natural and social scientists to assess the vulnerability of key resources and ecosystem services within the Aleutian and Bering Sea Islands region and there are many ways get involved in the project, including participating in workshops at the Alaska Marine Science Symposium (AMSS) and community meetings throughout the region.