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Explore the changing climate of New Jersey and its impact on transportation with insights from climate experts at Rutgers University. Learn about past climate trends, future projections, and strategies for addressing climate change in the state.
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New Brunswick, April 16, 2007John Munson/The Star-Ledger New Jersey's Changing Climate With a Transportation Spin North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority Climate Working Group Dr. David A. RobinsonChair, Department of Geography & New Jersey State ClimatologistRutgers University September 28, 2010
Office of the NJ State ClimatologistOur mission: Monitor Understand Inform http://climate.rutgers.edu/stateclim
1. Traveling through NJ....or not 2. What drives our weather & climate? 3. Is NJ's climate changing? If so, why? 4. What will the future bring? 5. Addressing climate change 6. Keeping a watchful eye
Weather & climateimpact all aspects of life in NJ • Transportation • Agriculture/horticulture • Ecology • Water resources • Public health & safety • Energy • Commerce
Yes, transportation to be sure
Indian Trails in the 1600s Mapping NJ, 2009
Present Road Network Mapping NJ, 2009
Rail lines: 1876 Mapping NJ, 2009
1. Traveling through NJ....or not2. What drives our weather & climate? 3. Is NJ's climate changing? If so, why? 4. What will the future bring? 5. Addressing climate change 6. Keeping a watchful eye
Weather - Climate “Players”
Diversity at home Altitude Latitude Surface Conditions Land-Water Contrasts Ocean Currents
1. Traveling through NJ....or not 2. What drives our weather & climate? 3. Is NJ's climate changing? If so, why? 4. What will the future bring? 5. Addressing climate change 6. Keeping a watchful eye
Climate past
Climate Observations Past 12 months of NJ's climate
Natural and anthropogenic forcings and 20th century temperatures Meehl, G.A., et al., 2004
1. Traveling through NJ....or not 2. What drives our weather & climate? 3. Is NJ's climate changing? If so, why?4. What will the future bring? 5. Addressing climate change 6. Keeping a watchful eye
New Jersey's future climate • Rising temperatures • Steady or increasing precipitation • Increasing variability and extremes - storms, flood, drought, heat……. • Rising sea level
More warming in the pipeline Future emissions Additional “zero-emission” warming (aka “commitment”) Warming to date
Changes in heat index • The heat index combines the effects of temperature and humidity to estimate human comfort. • Results are from simulations with three global climate models with two emissions scenarios, representing the low and high ends of the IPCC range. • Under the high emissions scenario, Tri-State summers at the end of the 21st century are projected to be similar to those in Savannah, Georgia today.
Effects of climate change on water resources: more floods and droughts? Delaware River, Sept. 2004 Easton-Phillipsburg BridgeJune 2006 Spruce Run Reservoir, March 2002
A recent view of global mean sea level changes Reconstructing sea level from paleo and projected temperatures 200 to 2100 AD Grinsted, Moore and Jevrejeva,Climate Dynamics, 2009
Elevations below 10 feet in gray
1. Traveling through NJ....or not 2. What drives our weather & climate? 3. Is NJ's climate changing? If so, why? 4. What will the future bring?5. Addressing climate change 6. Keeping a watchful eye
Managing climate change Knowledge:Develop a better understanding of the details of future climate change. Mitigation:Reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Adaptation:Increase the resilience of society to climate change. Leadership:Raise public awareness of the challenges posed by climate change and the need to mitigate and adapt.
1. Traveling through NJ....or not 2. What drives our weather & climate? 3. Is NJ's climate changing? If so, why? 4. What will the future bring? 5. Addressing climate change6. Keeping a watchful eye
NJ Weather & Climate Network http://climate.rutgers.edu/njwxnet
Dry north, Central icing, Southern rain: Sunday evening 12/2/07 Red numbers2: rain 4: snow 6: freezing rain 7: drizzle
Custom Quick Look Information
Augmenting automated precipitation observations Daily observations by trained volunteers of all ages
Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) http://cocorahs.org
Thanks drobins@rci.rutgers.edu http://climate.rutgers.edu