ICARES

Information for Climate Adaptation and Resilience for Ecosystem Services

ICARES presents a suite of assessments that model specific ecosystem services in urban and rural communities of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under current and future climates.


This spatially-explicit decision support tool aims to assist communities in identifying ecosystem services patterns in their region, understanding contributing factors to high-risk areas, and use scientifically grounded information and models to devise plans for restoring the health of local ecosystems.

 

ICARES Report      Presentation

Stormwater Runoff

With changing climate patterns, hydrological cycles are being disrupted in communities across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts placing significant stress on the quality of ecosystems and the health of their inhabitants. Excess runoff as a result of increasing precipitation can cause property damage, foul water flooding, and leaching of contaminants causing significant public health concerns and added management challenges. To assist communities, stormwater runoff was modeled throughout the state under current vegetation and soils scenarios and under modified scenarios. The assessments aim to demonstrate the effectiveness of vegetative cover in mitigating the impacts of runoff throughout the state.

Current  Future 

Heat Island

With global temperatures projected to increase 0.2 degrees Celsius with every decade, disproportionate strain is placed on urban communities to keep up with energy demands, cooling costs, health needs of the community, and quality of the landscapes. The following maps were developed using extensive climate data over the past 30 years and GCM projections for 2100. These maps depict the current and future heat island in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and aim to assist members of the community with risk assessment and future planning.

Present    Future

Soil Organic Carbon

Agriculture is dependent on good soil quality. However, with intensification of precipitation and heat events, soil quality is being threatened, placing severe strain on the productivity of landscapes throughout the state. The following outputs show an assessment of soil qualities for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to assist communities in rapid decision making.

Current    Future

Water Supply

With increasing urbanization and intensification of extreme precipitation and heat events there is an increasing need for the evaluation of water supplies in Massachusetts. The following assessment combines data on runoff, hydrologic soil groups, wellhead protection areas, surface water supply protection areas, and aquifers for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts into a statewide index. Areas of poor drainage have a low index and can be targeted to enhance resilience to the impacts of climate change.

Water Supply Index

Climate Change

Climate data for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts can be located here.

Temperature (Past) Temperature (Future)

Precipitation (Past) Precipitation (Future)

Land Use Change

Land use change projections according to 3 models

Harvard Projections 2050
CONUS Projections 2050/2100
ICLUS Projections 2050/2100