Climate change effects are not expected to be equally distributed. Changes in precipitation, temperature, and sea-level will be “spotty” – some places will see decreases, some will see increases, and increases will be higher in some places than in others.
US EPA has developed a Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool (CREAT) to relate anticipated effects in a particular location. The CREAT tool has broader application than our focus for this blog. Our focus is the CREAT Scenario-Based Projected Changes Map. This is a great tool for helping clients with tree management and selection decisions based on expected future conditions.
The map provides climate change projection data in grid cells that are 1/2-degree latitude and longitude, approximately 32 x 32 miles, for the continental United States.
Click on a grid cell for data tables that provide three climate change scenarios of model projections in two time periods (2035 and 2060).
Screen shot of map results for mid-Chesapeake Bay
The map can be accessed here. You can bookmark so you can open it on your phone or tablet in the field when helping clients manage their landscapes.
Many thanks to US EPA for providing this valuable tool.