Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Climate Change Impacts And Projections For The Greater Boston Area: Findings Of The Greater Boston Research Advisory Group Report, Ellen Douglas, Paul Kirshen

School for the Environment Publications

During the writing of the inaugural Boston Research Advisory Group (BRAG) report both NASA and NOAA announced that 2015 was the warmest year on record, beating the previous record set in 2014, by 0.29 °F. Just five years later (during the writing of this report), NASA announced that 2020 had tied 2016 for the warmest year, breaking the previous record by a stunning 1.84 °F, and that the last seven years have been the warmest seven-year period on record.

These observations support the assertion made in the sixth and most recent assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , …

Climate Ready Boston: Climate Change And Sea Level Rise Projections For Boston, The Boston Research Advisory Group Report, Ellen Douglas, Paul Kirshen, Robyn Hannigan, Rebecca Herst, Avery Palardy

School for the Environment Publications

This report summarizes the current understanding of the local factors that influence Boston’s future exposure to climate change risks. The following four risk factors were considered most relevant to Boston and are therefore evaluated in this report: sea-level rise, extreme precipitation, coastal storms and extreme temperatures. For each risk factor, a team of scientific experts, comprised of a team leader and three or more team members, was selected to evaluate and summarize the available information contained in both grey (reports, conference proceedings and the like) and peer-reviewed literature. Each team met independently between October 2015 and January 2016, and team …

Marshfield Harbor, Rivers, And Waterways Management Plan, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Marshfield Waterways Committee

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

This Waterways, Rivers and Harbors Plan is an initiative of the Marshfield Waterways Committee (the Waterways Committee) whose mission is to “recommend procedures, policies and regulations to the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Marshfield on matters affecting the safety, navigation, recreational activities, fishing interests, natural resources and the planning and management of Marshfield's waterways.”

This plan provides recommendations to address safe navigation, natural resource protection, improvements to public access, safe recreational boating, protection of working waterfronts and related infrastructure, improvements to water quality, preparation for impacts from changes in sea level and climate, opportunities for collaboration, and clarification …

Port Of Gloucester, Ma: Groundfish Port Recovery And Revitalization Plan By The City Of Gloucester, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, City Of Gloucester, Massachusetts

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

This plan represents another step forward by the City of Gloucester to confront the challenge of declining groundfish stocks and subsequent management measures which have had a profound effect on the fishing industry, the community, and its economy. The plan’s strategies include both short-term recommendations to address the immediate direct impacts on harvesters, fresh fish processors, and associated support businesses, as well as longer-term proposals to bolster and support the industry as it recovers, and proposals to create new economic opportunities built upon Gloucester’s maritime assets, skills, and intellectual capital, and old and new partnerships. The Plan lays out the …

Study Of Dockage In Gloucester’S Designated Port Area: Summary, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

The Urban Harbors Institute (UHI), University of Massachusetts Boston assisted the Gloucester Fisheries Commission to conduct a study of commercial dockage in Gloucester Inner Harbor. The study presents a review of existing conditions and expected needs to serve as the basis for the Fisheries Commission to formulate recommendations for ensuring sufficient commercial dockage to support the future fishery. Strategies for the future Gloucester fisheries include measures to increase landings of groundfish, landings of alternative species, and value-added processing.

The Dockage Subcommittee of the Fisheries Commission was instrumental to the study, meeting periodically to guide the process, reviewing progress, and providing …

Cosee Ocean Inquiry Group Report: Opportunities For Creating Lifelong Ocean Science Literacy, Paul Boyle, Vince Breslin, Lisa Craig Brisson, John Fraser, Alan J. Friedman, Katie Gardner, Sarah Schoedinger, Jerry Schubel, Steve Uzzo, Steven Yalowitz

School for the Environment Publications

This Inquiry Group Report for the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence Ocean Communities in Education And Social Networks (COSEE OCEAN) provides a fresh look at how broader ocean science literacy can be developed, especially through less-recognized channels such as opportunistic learning, the private and “third” sectors, and the enormously varied activities under the heading of informal science education. The 10 authors of this report (see Contributors section) have been working together for two years to find and review a range of issues and resources for current and potential ocean science literacy providers, both professional and volunteer.

Several chapters provide …

Mass Bays Resource Inventory: Summary And Findings From The Review Of Plans And Assessments, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

The Massachusetts Bays Program (MBP) contracted with the Urban Harbors Institute (UHI) of the University of Massachusetts Boston to conduct a review of papers, presentations, reports, and other relevant material produced from 1996 (the last CCMP) to present, that might inform the MBP’s update of their Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP). The review focused on five topics identified as priority topics by the MBP: water quality, invasive species, climate change/vulnerability, continuity of estuarine habitat, and estuarine habitat protection in the geographic region of the Mass Bays Program, particularly the 47 nearshore estuaries and embayments identified in the 2012 MBP …

The Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Urban Harbors Institute (UHI) is a public policy and applied-science research center focused on issues affecting urban waterfronts and coastal and ocean resources. Our mission is to increase understanding of the marine environment, improve management practices, and promote informed decision making at the local, state national, and international levels. UHI employs a multidisciplinary approach in all its research and education projects, blending science, policy, and management.

Coastsweep: The Massachusetts Coastal Cleanup Program, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Volunteers in communities throughout Massachusetts turn out in large numbers each September and October for COASTSWEEP, the statewide coastal cleanup program sponsored by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) and coordinated by the Urban Harbors Institute (UHI) University of Massachusetts Boston. COASTSWEEP is part of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) organized by Ocean Conservancy in Washington, DC. Through the efforts of the ICC, volunteers from all over the world collect marine debris and record information about the trash they collect. This information is then analyzed and used to identify sources of debris and to develop education and policy …

Global Environmental Outlook 5, United Nations Environment Programme: Chapter 17, Global Responses, Maria Ivanova, Ivar Baste, Bernice Lee, Satishkumar Belliethathan, Ibrahim Abdel Gelil, Joyeeta Gupta, Peter M. Haas, Zerisenay Habtezion, Achim Halpaap, Jennifer Clare Mohamed-Katerere, Peter King, Marcel Kok, Marcus Lee, Trista Patterson, Vivien Campal, Bradnee Chambers, Melissa Goodall, Slobodan Milutinovic, Felix Preston

Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance Faculty Publication Series

Global environmental change such as climate change and the degradation of ecosystem services is heightening risks and reducing opportunities, especially for poor and vulnerable populations. Such change is taking place in an increasingly globalized, urbanized, interconnected and fast-moving world amidst shifting geopolitical power balances. Burgeoning flows of goods and services, capital and technology, information and labour all fuel a growing global population with implications for patterns of consumption and production. The scale and persistence of global environmental problems require sustained collective efforts to meet internationally agreed goals. Responses at national and regional levels are already available, but addressing the underlying …

Florida Boating Access Facilities Inventory And Economic Study, Including A Pilot Study For Lee County: A Report To The Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Bordner Research, Inc., Recreational Marine Research Center Of Michigan State University, Center For Urban And Environmental Solutions Of Florida Atlantic University, Environmental Economics, Inc., Planning And Zoning Center Of Michigan State University, Resource Economics Research, Llc

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

This report describes the work program and results of the "Statewide Boating Access Facilities Inventory and Economic Study Including a Pilot Study for Lee County, Florida" commissioned by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) in 2005. The study was funded in part by a grant to the FWC from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and by Lee County. The scope and objectives of the study are summarized in the introduction, and the subsequent sections report on the various components of the study.

For many years, Florida has been among the fastest growing states in the nation, which …

Green Pond Harbor Management Plan (Draft), Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

Green Pond is one of a number of coastal ponds in Falmouth. It covers over 135 acres and is an important natural and recreational resource for the people of Falmouth and visitors. Most of the area around the pond is private residential property interspersed with a few commercial businesses and open space. As with other areas of Massachusetts, the tidelands around the pond fall within the jurisdiction of Chapter 91 (the Massachusetts Public Waterfront Act). Through Chapter 91, the Commonwealth seeks to preserve and protect the rights of the public, and to guarantee that private uses of tidelands and waterways …

Boston Harbor Islands Renewables Planning Guide, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Island Alliance

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

This document presents a summary of findings and recommendations from a predevelopment study of the feasibility of establishing renewable energy power generation on several of the grid-tied Boston Harbor Islands. The scope of the study was to investigate the factors and issues associated with installing a mix of renewables — wind, solar, wave and tidal/current power generating facilities — with a combined output of between one and ten megawatts at sites on or around five of the Boston Harbor Islands. Four of these islands are presently grid-tied: Long Island, Moon Island, Spectacle Island, and Thompson Island. A fifth island, Peddocks …

Weir River Estuary: Land Protection Plan, Chantal Lefebvre, Michelle Portman

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

If economic growth were the only measure of a community’s health and vitality, then the communities of Cohasset, Hingham, and Hull are fairing well. But this economic success is generally accompanied by changes in the physical landscape that can be unsettling for residents, especially when it means more development and expansion at the expense of culturally and socially important open space areas such as parks, woods, and marshes. The rapid pace and fragmented nature of such sprawling development gives communities little opportunity to come to terms with the long-term impacts, which in turn can lead to a sense of powerlessness …

Improving Links Between Science And Coastal Management: Results Of A Survey To Assess U.S. State Coastal Management Science And Technology Needs, Jeff Benoit, Chantal Lefebvre, Dan Hellin, Regan Maund

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

In Winter 2003/2004 the Coastal States Organization (CSO) sponsored a national survey of state coastal resource managers to better understand their science and technology needs. The web-based survey was sponsored by CSO with funding provided by the Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology (CICEET) at the University of New Hampshire. This survey builds upon a previous survey conducted by CSO in 1999. CSO contracted with the Urban Harbors Institute (UHI) at UMass-Boston to prepare the survey questions and final report. The University of New Hampshire Survey Center was contracted to conduct the survey and analyze the results.

Two …

South Shore Vessel Pumpout Evaluation & Outreach Plan, Final Report, Dan Hellin, Chantal Lefebvre, Michelle Portman, Samantha Woods

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

During the course of this study, 413 boaters, seven pumpout facility operators and a number of state and municipal officials either were interviewed or completed questionnaires focused on the boat sewage pumpout facilities along the South Shore of Massachusetts.

The aims of the boater survey were to:

• collect data on how boaters disposed of their sewage waste;
• learn how well informed boaters were regarding the location of sewage pumpouts;
• determine if boaters were able to find operational pumpout facilities when they needed them;
• learn what common problems had been experienced when using pumpouts;
• determine if there were adequate facilities to …

Boston Harbor South Watersheds 2004 Assessment Report, Neponset River Watershed Association, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Boston Harbor Association, Fore River Watershed Association, Weir River Watershed Association

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

This report includes assessments covering the four individual watersheds that discharge into Boston Harbor from south of the City of Boston — the Neponset, Weir, Fore and Back River Watersheds — plus an assessment for those portions of the City of Boston which border the Harbor itself south of the Charles River, hereinafter referred to as “Boston Inner Harbor Watershed.” The companion to this report is the “Boston Harbor South Watersheds 2004-2009 Action Plan,” which spells out a comprehensive set of responses needed to remedy problems identified here.

This document does not cover the two major watersheds that discharge to …

State Coastal Observations And Monitoring Needs: Results Of A Survey To Assess Coastal Management Needs (Draft Report), Jeff Benoit, Chantal Lefebvre, Dan Hellin, Regan Maund, Jack Thigpen

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

The success of the U.S. Coastal Ocean Observing System will be measured, in part, by how well the needs of the coastal management community are being addressed. The results of this survey indicate that the two most important management issues facing coastal programs are land use and habitat change. It is essential that the planning and implementation of the USCOOS take this fact into account and place a priority on addressing these high priority management needs. This can only be accomplished through the direct long-term involvement of the coastal management community with USCOOS efforts at the national and regional levels. …

Building A Vision For Our Weir River Estuary: An Inventory Of Open Space And Public Access Around The Weir River Area Of Critical Environmental Concern And Summary Of The Weir River Estuary Visioning Workshop, Chantal Lefebvre

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

The Weir River Estuary Park Open Space and Public Access Inventory is a planning document designed to provide collective information on public open space and water access opportunities around the Weir River Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC). It catalogs what is known about all undeveloped lands and accessways around the estuary and draws from existing reports and plans, interviews with government officials, and comments conveyed during a day-long public visioning workshop in May 2003. The inventory is intended as a support document to augment existing open space plans, master plans, and harbor management plans in Hingham, Hull, and Cohasset …