Climate Change

The OPC continues to work with the Coastal Conservancy, and Coastal Commission to promote coastal adaptation planning and science. On April 19, 2013 these entities announced the availability of grants to encourage local governments and other entities responsible for planning under the California Coastal Act. Grant funds are available to develop and adopt updated plans that conserve and protect coastal resources from future impacts from sea-level rise and related climate change impacts.

In addition, the OPC continues to engage in interagency coordination on climate change issues through the Coastal and Ocean Working Group of the California Climate Action Team (CO-CAT). On March 15, 2013 OPC staff presented an update to the State of California Sea-Level Rise Guidance Document. The purpose of the SLR Guidance is to help state agencies incorporate future sea-level rise impacts into planning decisions, and was recently updated to include the best current science, as summarized in the final report from the National Academy of Sciences, Sea-Level Rise for the Coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington.

The OPC is also an active member of  the Climate Change Action Coordination Team of the West Coast Governors’ Alliance, a tri-state (CA, OR, WA) coordinating body that addresses various ocean issues.  All of these entities helped fund the aforementioned National Academies study on Sea-Level Rise and the West Coast.

Further, the OPC has taken steps to fund key studies, assist with policy and guidance, and staff initiatives to address a wide-range of climate change topics, as listed below:

Guidance and Policy Resources

• State of California Sea-Level Rise Guidance Document | Staff Memorandum (2013) New!
• Scoping Outline of the Coastal and Ocean Chapter of the 2012 Climate Adaptation Strategy (ongoing)
• OPC Science Advisor assessing scientific understanding of
  ocean acidification, & work with state resource managers to identify key management questions related to ocean acidification (2012 – ongoing)
• Adapting to Sea Level Rise: A Guide for California’s Coastal Communities (2012)
• California Coastal Adaptation Needs Assessment Survey Report (2011)
• Sea-Level Rise Resolution | Staff Memorandum (2011)
• California Ocean Protection Council – Science Advisory Team (OPC – SAT) Position Statement on Climate Change (2011)
• State of California Sea-Level Rise Interim Guidance Document (2010-12)
• Ocean and Coastal Sector of the State Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (2009-12)
• Resolution of the California Ocean Protection Council On Climate Change (2007)

Funded Projects

• Sea-Level Rise & Adaptation
  • Local Coastal Program Sea-Level Rise Adaptation Grant Announcement Program (2013, ongoing) New!
  • Beyond Bathtub: Modeling and Responding to Sea-Level Rise and Shoreline Change – workshop report released (2012) New!
  • National Academy of Science study on Sea-Level Rise for the Coasts of California, Oregon and Washington: Past, Present and Future (2012)
  • California Seafloor Mapping Project (ongoing)
  • California Shoreline Mapping Project (ongoing)
  • San Francisco Bay Sediment and Hydrodynamic Model (SUNTANS) (ongoing)
  • The Impacts of Sea-Level Rise on the California Coast (2009)
• Ecosystem Impacts
  • San Francisco Bay Subtidal Habitat Goals Project (ongoing)
  • Ocean Acidification Exacerbated by Coastal Upwelling: Monitoring of CO2 and O2 on the California Shelf, and Studies of Their Effects on Red Sea Urchins, California Mussels and Abalone (ongoing)
  • Long-term Faunal Changes in California Nudibranchs: Climate Change and Local Ocean Health (2011)
  • Tackling Ecological Complexity and Climate Change: Matches and Mismatches in the Seasonal Cycle of California’s Marine Flora and Fauna (2010)
• Habitat Restoration: San Francisco Bay
  • San Francisco Bay Subtidal Habitat Goals Project (ongoing)
  • San Francisco Bay Eelgrass and Oyster Restoration Project (ongoing)

• Habitat Restoration: Streams and Rivers
  • CEMAR – Southern Steelhead Resources Project
  • Instream Flow Studies – Santa Maria River, Big Sur River, Shasta River

• Sediment Management
  • Klamath Dam sediment study
  • Matilija Dam sediment study
  • Tijuana Estuary sediment study

Coordination and Collaboration

• California Coast and Ocean Climate Action Team (CO-CAT) (ongoing)
• West Coast Governors Alliance on Ocean Health (ongoing)
• California Coastal Sediment Management Workgroup (CSMW) (ongoing)

Related Links

• Reports on the Third Assessment from the California Climate Change Center (Energy Commission, 2012)
• MPA Monitoring Enterprise
• California King Tides Initiative

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Over-topping Embarcadero – Mike Filippoff for the CA King Tides Initiative

page last updated 4/24/13