About the Alaska CASC

Research directions

Our research directions are determined by representatives of federal, state, tribal, and regional organizations. We aim to meet high-level climate science priorities while ensuring this science also is pertinent to and addresses management needs.

• We create and use high-resolution climate models and derivative products to help forecast ecological and population responses at national, regional, and local scales
• We integrate physical climate models with ecological, habitat, and population response models
• We develop methods to assess vulnerability of species, habitats, and human communities
• We develop standardized approaches to modeling, monitoring, data management and decision support

We make climate models Alaska-relevant

Find local climate data for many Northern communities through the UAF Scenarios Network for Arctic + Alaska Planning (SNAP). Global climate models are often too large-scale and coarse to be useful for local or regional decision making. Therefore, the AK CASC works with SNAP to create detailed models of future climate trends for communities.

We inform communities through research

The Integrated Ecosystem Model project helps communities and resource managers understand the impacts of climate change on moose and caribou habitat, and subsequent impacts to subsistence and sport hunters.

Tribal Resilience Planning works with communities to address local climate issues and concerns, and encourages adaptation efforts through workshops on available tools and climate models.

We respond to stakeholder needs

Wildfire Projections in Interior Alaska informs seasonal and multi-year fire weather forecasts to guide land management and operational decision making.

Streamflow Models in Southeast Alaska predicts future flows and extreme events to better evaluate management actions like culvert and bridge replacement, floodplain restoration, and hydropower development.

Modeling Arctic Landscape Change assesses the vulnerability of Arctic and western Alaska landscapes to future climate change.

Glacier Outburst Flood Modeling projects the size and timing of peak streamflow for glacial outburst flood events to evaluate and forecast future events.