ABSTRACT
This chapter examines global climate change through time and into the future, the causes and consequences of climate change, and the management plans and policies proposed to address it. One of the greatest challenges in marine science today is to accurately project the long-term effects of climate change on coastal and marine environments, notably their biotic communities and habitats, physical and chemical processes, and the sustainability of their resources. An array of factors can play a role in climate change, including solar energy variation, orbital variation of the earth, atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, and complex interactions of atmosphere-ocean-land-ice systems. Earlier climate databases yield paleoclimate reconstructions based on proxy climate data sources, notably glacial ice cores, deep-sea sediment cores, corals, lake sediments, tree growth rings, and pollen profiles. With greater Arctic sea ice areal decline projected for the twenty-first century, amplification of surface warming in the Arctic region will play an increasing role as a significant driver of climate change impacts.
