Climate Change in the Midwest Impacts, Risks, Vulnerability, and Adaptation

About this book

The research presented in this volume focuses on identifying and quantifying the major vulnerabilities to climate change in the Midwestern United States. By providing state-of-the-art spatially disaggregated information regarding the historical, current, and possible future climate within the region, the contributors assess the risks and susceptibility of the critical socio-economic and environmental systems. Key sectors discussed are agriculture, human health, water, energy and infrastructure, and the vulnerabilities that may be amplified under current climate trajectories. The book also considers the challenges and opportunities to develop local and regional strategies for addressing the risks posed by climate change in the context of developing an integrative policy for the region.

Contents

1 Climate Change Impacts, Risks, Vulnerability and Adaptation: An Introduction
2 The Midwestern USA: Socio-Economic Context and Physical Climate
3 Vulnerability and Adaptability of Agricultural Systems in the Southeast USA to Climate Variability and Climate Change
4 Uncertainty and Hysteresis in Adapting to Global Climate Change
5 Climate - Agriculture Vulnerability Assessment for the Midwestern United States
6 Potential Future Impacts of Climate on Row Crop Production in the Great Lakes Region
7 Vulnerability of Soil Carbon Reservoirs in the Midwest to Climate Change
8 Michigan's Tart Cherry Industry: Vulnerability to Climate Variability and Change
9 Climate Change Vulnerability and Impacts on Human Health
10 Intra-Urban Variations in Vulnerability Associated with Extreme Heat Events in Relationship to a Changing Climate
11 Historical and Projected Changes in Human Heat Stress in the Midwestern USA
12 Vulnerability of the Electricity and Water Sectors to Climate Change in the Midwest
13 The Drought Risk Management Paradigm in the Context of Climate Change
14 Local Adaptation to Changing Flood Vulnerability in the Midwest
15 The Response of Great Lakes Water Levels and Potential Impacts of Future Climate Scenarios
16 Vulnerability of the Energy System to Extreme Wind Speeds and Icing
17 Climate Change Impacts, Risks, Vulnerability and Adaptation in the Midwestern United States: What Next?

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Biography

S. C. Pryor is Provost's Professor of Atmospheric Science at Indiana University Bloomington and editor of Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres and of Understanding Climate Change: Climate Variability, Predictability, and Change in the Midwestern United States