An official website of the United States government.

This is not the current EPA website. To navigate to the current EPA website, please go to www.epa.gov. This website is historical material reflecting the EPA website as it existed on January 19, 2021. This website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work. More information »

Coastal Adaptation Toolkit

You may need a PDF reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA’s About PDF page to learn more.Selected resources, concentrating on coastal areas and watersheds, for practitioners and environmental professionals. 
 
On this page:

Some of the following links exit the site Exit


General interest

National Climate Assessment

The U.S. Global Change Research Program develops the National Climate Assessment, which assesses the science of climate change and its impacts across the United States, now and throughout this century. If you are looking for one resource that describes climate change effects in sectors and regions, and discusses response strategies, then this document is recommended. Parts of the NCA are referenced in other sections of this webpage.

Fourth National Climate Assessment (Vol. 1 2017 and Vol. 2 2018)

Third National Climate Assessment (2014)


How much change?

Change so far

Future projections

  • Climate Explorer via the USGCRP Climate Resilience Toolkit.  This visualization tools generates interactive graphs and maps showing climate projections and observations for any county in the contiguous United States. You can also explore historical temperature and precipitation observations at hundreds of climate stations, and view observed and projected days of high-tide flooding at more than 90 coastal tide-gauge stations.
  • National Climate Change Viewer from USGS. The NCCV allows users to visualize projected changes in climate (maximum and minimum air temperature and precipitation) and the water balance (snow water equivalent, runoff, soil water storage and evaporative deficit) for any state, county and Hydrologic Unit (HUC).
  • EPA’s National Stormwater Calculator is a desktop application that estimates the annual amount of rainwater and frequency of runoff from a specific site anywhere in the United States and includes options for historical weather and climate change scenarios.
  • Ocean temperature, via interactive maps from the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Click on the map and adjust the mapping parameters to produce location reports. (Works for inland locations as well.)
  • Sea surface temperature, sea surface pH, dissolved oxygen  (pdf) from the National Climate Assessment , Volume 1: Table 13.1, Figure 13.3, Figure 13.5, Figure 13.6
  • Ocean pH and oxygen (pdf) on page 470, Chapter 5 in IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (2019)
  • The USACE Sea Level Change Curve Calculator 

Sea level rise inundation viewers


What will the impacts be for watersheds and coastal areas?

Climate Ready Estuaries resources

USGCRP Synthesis and Assessment Products

National Climate Assessment chapters (NCA4)


What adaptation options are there?

Climate Ready Estuaries resources

USGCRP Synthesis and Assessment Products

Additional sources for adaptation actions


Planning frameworks

Risk-based planning at the watershed or community scale

Climate smart conservation

Using expert judgment

Species, site or sector planning


Adaptation clearinghouses


Top of Page