Download CLIMATE CHANGE SYMPOSIUM PART I

CLIMATE CHANGE SYMPOSIUM
PART I
PANELS:

WATER IMPACTS

URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE IMPACTS
Symposium Time Table
9:00 – 11:55 A.M.
5 minutes (9:00-9:05)
15 minutes (9:05-9:20)
ASCE President’s Welcome (David Mongan)
Moderator Remarks (George Bugliarello)
55 minutes (9:20-10:15)
WATER IMPACTS PANEL
10 minutes (9:20-9:30)
20 minutes (9:30-9:50)
20 minutes (9:50-10:10)
15 minutes (10:10-10:25)
10 minutes (10:25-10:35)
Panel Host Remarks (Leslie Ewing)
Peter Rogers
Walter Vergara
Discussion
BREAK
(continued)
Symposium Time Table (continued)
55 minutes (10:35-11:40)
URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE IMPACT PANEL
10 minutes (10:35-10:45)
20 minutes (10:45-11:05)
20 minutes (11:05-11:25)
15 minutes (11:25-11:40)
Panel Host Remarks (Brian Roberts)
Darren Wachtler
Scott L. Douglass
Discussion
15 minutes (11:40-11:55)
GENERAL DISCUSSION
Moderator Remarks
(George Bugliarello)
Focus of the Panels:
ENGINEERING CONSEQUENCES
World Population
1.
2.
3.
The Urban Explosion

50% of world population live in cities, from 5% in
1900

70% of world population live in areas exposed to:
Floods, storm surges, sea level changes

All increasingly impacted by climate change

Rapid growth of megacities (>10 million inhabitants)
Cities explosively impact environment and climate
Water Tables
Heat Islands
Atmospheric Pollution
Footprints
Stormwater Management in Expanding Urban
Areas
………
Increasing concerns about urban sustainability
Climate Changes
Examples of expected temperature impacts:
1°C Change
•Disappearance of Arctic glaciers
•Weakening of density-driven Atlantic
thermohaline circulation
2°C Change
•Less water (up to 30%) in Mediterranean
and South Africa
•Irreversible melting of Greenland icesheet
Climate Changes
[e.g., J. Flückiger, Science, Aug. 1, 2008]
1.
2.
3.
Large climate shifts can occur within 1-3 yrs
(e.g., Greenland ice)
Models/simulations of climate shifts show shifts
considerably slower than observed ones
Possible causes of discrepancies:
Focus on changes in ocean circulation,
temperature, but neglect of wind patterns,
atmospheric circulation,…
Importance of precursor events
e.g., in North Atlantic, changes in N2O
concentrations
Consequences
1.
2.
3.
Urgency of addressing the impacts of

Urban Population Explosion

Rapid Climate Changes
Both impacts interact
Urbanization
Climate Change
No precedents on which to base our models
Consequences (continued)
4.
Imperatives:
NEW MODELS (epistemological models with
broader inputs)
NEW APPROACHES
5.
Assessment of validity of new models and
approaches in comparison with real occurrences,
iteratively