How can engineering geology help society meet the challenge of a changing climate?

Revised September 3, 2023

Description

Engineering geology forms an important part of the practical interface between humans and our Earth's environment. The year 2023 has been marked by record heat worldwide, both on the land surface and in most oceans, and the highest concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases ever measured. We have just emerged from the most severe drought condition in 1200 years in parts of the western United States, quenched by an unprecedented series of atmospheric rivers. Massive fires in desiccated areas devastate grasslands, forests, and communities. Supplies of potable fresh water are reduced in many places. Rising sea level places coastal infrastructure and communities at risk, and historic rainfall events from atmospheric rivers and hurricanes cause equally historic floods and trigger landslides. The warming climate can worsen existing problems of environmental justice.

Mitigating the effects of a warming climate will require the sustained efforts of the engineering and engineering geoscience communities throughout the coming decades. In parallel with the need to reduce the human-controlled drivers of global warming, we need to provide reliable information to society so that the adverse effects of a changing climate can be avoided or mitigated. Ignoring the problems does not generally lead to solutions, but preparing to address the problems will lead to opportunities for engineering geologists to provide great service to society.

Resources

Presentation Files

Version of August 26, 2023

• Presentation file in keynote: https://croninprojects.org/Jahns/EngGeolClimateChange/Cronin-Jahns-Climate-static-20230826.key

• Presentation file in pdf: https://croninprojects.org/Jahns/EngGeolClimateChange/Cronin-Jahns-Climate-static-20230826.pdf

• Presntation file in powerpoint: https://croninprojects.org/Jahns/EngGeolClimateChange/Cronin-Jahns-Climate-static-20230826.pptx

• Script: https://croninprojects.org/Jahns/EngGeolClimateChange/ClimateScript-20230826.docx

Internet Resources

• American Chemical Society, Climate Science Toolkit: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/climatescience.html
• American Institue of Physics, History of how scientists came to (partly) understand the problem of climate change by Spencer Weart: https://history.aip.org/climate
• American Meteorological Society, State of the Climate: https://www.ametsoc.org/index.cfm/ams/publications/bulletin-of-the-american-meteorological-society-bams/state-of-the-climate/
• Climate Central, accessed 2023, The Coastal Risk Screening Tool: coastal.climatecentral.org
• NASA's Earth Observatory: www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov
• NASA Climate Change portal: climate.nasa.gov
• NASA information about orbital satellites that contribute to our understanding of global sea level (Jason 1, Jason 2, Jason 3, ICESat, ICESat-2, GRACE, GRACE-FO, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, SWOT, NASA-ISRO-SAR, Sentinel-6b): sealevel.nasa.gov/data/missions
• NASA information about the carbon cycle: www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/CarbonCycle
• NASA information about sea-level rise: sealevel.nasa.gov/understanding-sea-level/key-indicators/global-mean-sea-level/200
• NASA GISS Surface Temperature Analysis (GISTEMP), version 4 from NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies: data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/
• NOAA Climate portal: www.noaa.gov/climate
• NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory at the Mauna Loa Observatory: www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/obop/mlo/
• NOAA data from the Mauna Loa Observatory showing trends in atmospheric CO2: www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/data.html
• NOAAA, accessed 2023, The Sea Level Rise Viewer: coast.noaa.gov/slr/#
• NOAA sea level trends: tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/sltrends.html
• Scripps Institution of Oceanography information about the Argo Program: www.argo.ucsd.edu
• Scripps Institution of Oceanography CO2 portal: scrippsco2.ucsd.edu
• Scripps Institution of Oceanography atmospheric monitoring laboratory at the Mauna Loa Observatory: scripps.ucsd.edu/programs/keelingcurve/ and https://scrippsco2.ucsd.edu
• UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: www.ipcc.ch
• UN Environment Programme, Emissions Gap Report 2019: www.unenvironment.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2019
• USGS Sea Level Rise Data Viewer
  explanation usgs.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=668f6dc7014d45228c993302d3eab2f5
  data viewer geoport.usgs.esipfed.org/terriaslc/
• U.S. Global Change Research Program: www.globalchange.gov
• U.S. Global Change Research Program, Fourth National Climate Assessment, Executive Summary, Volume 1: science2017.globalchange.gov/chapter/executive-summary
• U.S. Global Change Research Program, Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume 1: science2017.globalchange.gov
• U.S. Global Change Research Program, Fourth National Climate Assessment, Summary Findings, Volume 2: nca2018.globalchange.gov/#sf-1
• U.S. Global Change Research Program, Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume 2: nca2018.globalchange.gov

Books

• Alley, Richard B., 2000, The Two-Mile Time Machine -- Ice Cores, Abrupt Climate Change, and Our Future: Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 239 p.
• Bolin, B., 2007, A History of the Science and Politics of Climate Change -- The Role of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 277 p.
• Broeker, W., 2010, The Great Ocean Conveyor -- Discovering the Trigger for Abrupt Climate Change: Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 154 p.
• Cronin, T.M., 2009, Paleoclimates -- Understanding Climate Change Past and Present: Columbia University Press, New York, 441 p.
• Fagan, B., 2000, The Little Ice Age -- How Climate Made History 1300-1850: Basic Books, New York, 246 p.
• Fagan, B., 2004, The Long Summer -- How Climate Changed Civilization: Basic Books, New York, 284 p.
• Gautier, C., 2008, Oil, Water, and Climate -- An Introduction: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 366 p.
• Mann, M.E., and Kump, L.R., 2009, Dire Predictions -- Understanding Global Warming: DK Publishing, New York, 208 p.
• Mims, F.E., III, 2012, Hawai'i's Mauna Loa Observatory -- Fifty Years of Monitoring the Atmosphere: University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu, 461 p.
• Murray-Wallace, C.V., and Woodroffe, C.D., 2014, Quaternary Sea-Level Changes -- A Global Perspective: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 484 p.
• Neuendorf, K.K.E., Mehl, J.P., Jr., and Jackson, J.A., 2011, Glossary of Geology [5th edition, revised]: Alexandria, Virginia, American Geosciences Institute, 800 pp.
• Oreskes, N., and Conway, E.M., 2014, The Collapse of Western Civilization -- A View from the Future: Columbia University Press, New York, 92 p.
• Richter, B., 2010, Beyond Smoke and Mirrors--Climate Change and Energy in the 21st Century: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 226 p.
• Ruddiman, W.F., 2014, Earth's Climate, Past and Future [3rd edition]: W.H. Freeman & Co., New York, 445 p.
• Ruddiman, W.F., 2005, Plows, Plagues & Petroleum--How Humans Took Control of Climate: Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 202 p.
• Sverdrup, H.U., Johnson, M.W., and Fleming, R.H., 1942, The Oceans--Their Physics, Chemistry, and General Biology: Prentice-Hall, New York, 1087 p., https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=kt167nb66r
• Weart, S.R., 2008, The Discovery of Global Warming: Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 230 p.

Published Papers or Book Chapters

• Bazin, L., and 21 others, 2013, An optimized multi-proxy, multi-site Antarctic ice and gas orbital chronology (AICC2012) 120-800 ka: Climates of the Past, v. 9, p. 1715-1731, doi:10.5194/cp-9-1715-2013.
• Chambers, D.P., Cazenave, A., Champollion, N., Dieng, H., Llovel, W., Forsberg, R., von Schuckmann, K., and Wada, Y., 2017, Evaluation of the Global Mean Sea Level Budget between 1993 and 2014: Surveys of Geophysics, v. 38, p. 309-327, doi:10.1007/s10712-016-9381-3.
• Earth.org, accessed 2023, earth.org/data_visualization/hotspots-us-dams-under-pressure/
• Fluixa-Sanmartin, J, Altarejos-Garcia, L, Morales-Torres, A, and Escuder-Bueno, I, 2018, Review article: Climate change impacts on dam safety: Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, v. 18, p. 2471-2488, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-2471-2018
• Hansen, J., Sato, M., Russell, G., and Kharecha, P, 2013, Climate sensitivity, sea level and atmospheric carbon dioxide: Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society A, v. 371: 2012.0294, http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2012.0294.
• Jouzel, J., and 31 others, 2007, Orbital and millennial Antarctic climate variability over the past 800,000 years: Science, v. 317, p. 793-796, doi:10.1126/science.1141038.
• Keeling, C.D., Piper, S.C., Bacastow, R.B., Wahlen, M., Whorf, T.P., Heimann, M., and H. A. Meijer, H.A., 2005, Atmospheric CO₂ and 13CO₂ exchange with the terrestrial biosphere and oceans from 1978 to 2000: observations and carbon cycle implications, in Ehleringer, J.R., Cerling, T.E., and Dearing, M.D., [eds], A History of Atmospheric CO₂ and Its Effects on Plants, Animals, and Ecosystems: Springer Verlag, New York, p. 83-113.
• Kreemer, C., Hammond, W.C., and Blewitt, G., 2018, A robust estimation of the 3-D intraplate deformation of the North American plate from GPS: Journal of Geophysical Research‚àö¬¢√Ä√ú‚âà¬∞‚àö√ᬨ¬¢‚àö¬¢‚Äö√ᬮ‚âà¬∞‚àö√â‚Äö√Ѭ∞‚àö√ᬨ¬Æ‚àö¬¢‚Äö√ᬮ‚âà¬∞‚àö√â‚Äö√Ñ√ª‚àö√⬨‚à´Solid Earth, v. 123, p. 4388-4412, https://doi.org/10.1029/ 2017JB015257.
• Laskar, J., Fienga, A., Gastineau, M., and Manche, H., 2011, La2010 -- A new orbital solution for the long-term motion of the Earth: Astronomy and Astrophysics, v. 532, A89.
• Laskar, J., Robutel, P., Joutel, F., Gastineau, M., Correia, A.C.M., and Levrard, B., 2004, A long term numerical solution for the insolation quantities of the Earth: Astronomy and Astrophysics, v. 428, p. 261-285, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20041335.
• Lenssen, N., Schmidt, G., Hansen, J., Menne. M., Persin, A., Ruedy, R., and Zyss, D., 2019, Improvements in the GISTEMP uncertainty model: Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, v. 124, no. 12, p. 6307-6326, doi:10.1029/2018JD029522.
• Lisiecki, L.E., and Raymo, M.E., 2005, A Pliocene-Pleistocene stack of 57 globally distributed benthic δ¹⁸O records: Paleoceanography, v. 20, PA1003, doi:10.1029/2004PA001071.
• Loulergue, L., and 9 others, 2008, Orbital and millennial-scale features of atmospheric CH₄ over the past 800,000 years: Nature, v. 453, p. 383-386, doi:10.1038/nature06950.
• Lüthi, D., and 10 others, 2008, High-resolution carbon dioxide concentration record 650,000-800,000 years before present: Nature, v. 453, p. 379-382, 15 May 2008.
• MacFarling Meure, C., Etheridge, D., Trudinger, C., Steele, P., Langenfelds, R., van Ommen, T., Smith, A., and Elkins, J., 2006: The Law Dome CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O Ice Core Records Extended to 2000 years BP: Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 33(14), L14810 10.1029/2006GL026152.
• Marcott, S.A., Shakun, J.D., Clark, P.U., and Mix, A.C., 2013, A reconstruction of regional and global temperature for the past 11,300 years: Science, v. 339, p. 1198-1201, doi:10.1126/science.1228026. Supplemental material accessible via https://science.sciencemag.org/content/suppl/2013/03/07/339.6124.1198.DC1
• Morlighem, M., and 31 others, 2017, BedMachine v3 -- Complete bed topography and ocean bathymetry mapping of Greenland from multibeam echo sounding combined with mass conservation: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 44, p. 11,051–11,061, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL074954.
• Veres, D., and 15 others, 2013, The Antarctic ice core chronology (AICC2012) -- an optimized multi-parameter and multi-site dating approach for the last 120 thousand years: Climates of the Past, v. 9, p. 1733-1748, doi:10.5194/cp-9-1733-2013.

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