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The Fourth National Climate Assessment, Chapter 25: Southwest
  • +11
  • Gregg Garfin,
  • Patrick Gonzalez,
  • David Breshears,
  • Keely Brooks,
  • Heidi Brown,
  • Emile Elias,
  • Amrith Gunasekara,
  • Nancy Huntly,
  • Julie Maldonado,
  • Nathan Mantua,
  • Helene Margolis,
  • Skyli McAfee,
  • Beth Middleton,
  • Bradley Udall
Gregg Garfin
University of Arizona

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Patrick Gonzalez
University of California, Berkeley
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David Breshears
University of Arizona
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Keely Brooks
Southern Nevada Water Authority
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Heidi Brown
University of Arizona
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Emile Elias
New Mexico State Univ
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Amrith Gunasekara
California Department of Food and Agriculture
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Nancy Huntly
Utah State University
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Julie Maldonado
Livelihoods Knowledge Exchange Network
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Nathan Mantua
NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center
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Helene Margolis
University of California Davis
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Skyli McAfee
Retired
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Beth Middleton
University of California Davis
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Bradley Udall
Colorado State University
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Abstract

Chapter 25 of the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) is an assessment of climate change and variability, climate-related risks, impacts and adaptation in the U.S. Southwest. The chapter builds on assessments of climate change in the Southwest from the three previous U.S. National Climate Assessments. Each assessment has consistently identified drought, water resource reliability, and loss of ecosystem integrity as climate change challenges for the Southwest region. Chapter 25 further examines interconnections among water, ecosystems, coastal and marine systems, food, and human health and adds new key messages concerning energy and Indigenous peoples. The Southwest chapter is one of 29 chapters in Volume II of the Fourth National Climate Assessment - Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States. The National Climate Assessment fulfills the mandate of the Global Change Research Act (GCRA) of 1990 to provide the nation with a timely assessment and analysis of scientific findings of the effects of global change on multiple economic and natural resource sectors in the United States, and an analysis of observed and projected trends in global change. Chapter 25, Southwest, was written by a team of scientists and practitioners with expertise spanning areas specified in the GCRA, after extensive stakeholder engagement that involved the collection of input on key climate-related challenges, impacts, and opportunities in the Southwest region. The chapter went through multiple rounds of public and governmental review, during 2017 and 2018. This poster will focus on the findings from Chapter 25.