Santa Barbara County residents love their coastline, from the small-town beaches of Carpinteria to Santa Barbara’s waterfront to camping hotspots like Jalama Beach and dramatic Guadalupe Dunes. But drastic changes are in store in coming decades as temperatures and sea levels rise, bringing massive impacts to local ecology and human systems.
To help local coastal and land use managers prepare, a multidisciplinary team of researchers has synthesized projected changes to the Santa Barbara coast that are expected as a result of the warming climate, as well as options for adaptation. The new study is published in the journal Ocean and Coastal Management.
The paper specific to the Santa Barbara area is a joint effort between researchers at UC Santa Barbara, California Sea Grant, U.S. Geological Survey, UMass Amherst, Northeastern University and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.
Building on research conducted through the Santa Barbara Area Coastal Ecosystem Vulnerability Assessment, which drew upon long term datasets collected by the Santa Barbara Coastal Long Term Ecological Research Program (National Science Foundation) and was incorporated into the Fourth California Climate Change Assessment, the new study specifically examined the impacts of climate change on watersheds, coastal hazards, wetlands and sandy beach ecosystems. It also includes specific recommendations for adaptation aimed at policymakers and managers.
«What’s new about this study is its consideration of multi-faceted climate changes of physical and biological elements of the Santa Barbara coastal region,» said lead author Monique Myers, a California Sea Grant extension specialist based in Santa Barbara, with appointments at both Scripps Institution of Oceanography and at UC Santa Barbara. «Further, we identify actions that local governments can take to balance the needs of ecosystems and human populations in the face of climate change. While climate change is a global problem, there is a lot we can do at the local level to protect our communities and natural environment.»
Key impacts include:
Temperature: The number of extremely hot days will likely double by 2050|and could increase by a factor of 10 by 2090. More frequent and intense heat waves will be detrimental to both health and ecosystems, and increase demand for water and energy for air conditioning.
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Materials provided by University of California — Santa Barbara. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.