Proposal for a Pacific Northwest Climate Modeling Consortium

Concerns over the effects of climate change in the northwestern United States have increased rapidly during the past decade, reflecting climate research that suggests substantial impacts during the current century. In response, government agencies and resource managers have begun evaluating their vulnerabilities, developing adaptation plans, and implementing measures to reduce society’s exposure to the risks posed by climate change. For long-term infrastructure investments, decisions are being made today for structures and facilities that will be in place for 50-100 years, by which time the climate will have changed substantially. Wise and cost effective decisions require state-of-the-science predictions of the future regional climate of the region.The impacts of climate change will not be distributed evenly around the globe or in the Pacific Northwest: changes will vary from region to region and different areas will be more or less vulnerable to evolving climate. One of the great scientific challenges of this century is to develop improved projections of regional climate, with a focus on science that is actionable–ie, predictions that advance our ability to make robust decisions