Climate Change Vulnerability

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  2. Policy & Planning
  3. Climate Change
  4. Vulnerability

The National Marine Sanctuary System is taking action to understand the vulnerability to climate change of the resources under their stewardship, and the services they provide. With this information, we can adapt management plans to reflect new and expected challenges, prioritize protecting at-risk resources, and target the sources of their vulnerability.

Learn more about climate change vulnerability, and read climate vulnerability assessments for sanctuaries across the system.

Cover of the Marine Protected Area Climate Vulnerability Assessment Guide, including an image of a diver behind a reef.

Marine Protected Area Climate Vulnerability Assessment Guide

The MPA climate vulnerability assessment guide, and the associated appendices, include everything an MPA practitioner needs to design and conduct a climate vulnerability assessment, including the worksheets used to evaluate the vulnerability of resources.

Text-filled page of a document with the title “Climate Vulnerability Assessments 101,” it has the NOAA and Office of National Marine Sanctuaries logos in the upper right hand corner and images of bleached coral and a flow chart explaining vulnerability.

Climate Vulnerability Assessments 101

Climate vulnerability is a measure of how vulnerable a given resource is to the cumulative impacts of climate change and non-climate stressors. A climate vulnerability assessment is a process used to qualitatively describe and evaluate how climate and non-climate stressors impact a resource’s vulnerability to climate change in order to improve management approaches for long-term success.

Cover of the Rapid Vulnerability Assessment for Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary, including images of a diver, reefs, fish, and a sea turtle.

Rapid Vulnerability Assessment for Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary

Read about climate change vulnerability at Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary.

Cover of the Rapid Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Strategies for the National Marine Sanctuary and Territory of American Samoa, including images of a diver, fish, starfish, and reef.

Rapid Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Strategies for the National Marine Sanctuary and Territory of American Samoa

Read about climate change vulnerability at National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa.

Cover of the Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, including an image of corals.

Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

Read about climate change vulnerability at Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

Cover of the Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for the North-central California Coast and Ocean, including images of a kelp, a beach, birds, and corals.

Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for the North-central California Coast and Ocean

Read about climate change vulnerability across the North-central California coast and ocean region, including both Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries.

Cover of the Climate Vulnerability Assessment for Deep-Sea Coral Ecosystems in Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, including introductory and descriptive text and a map of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

Climate Vulnerability Assessment for Deep-Sea Coral Ecosystems in Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary

Read about the climate change vulnerability of deep-sea coral ecosystems at Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

Cover of the Monterey Bay Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment, including an image of the beach and boardwalk.

Monterey Bay Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment

Read about the vulnerability of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary to sea level rise.

Cover of Climate Change and the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary: Interpreting Potential Futures, including images of the coast, waves, fish, corals, rocks, and seals.

Climate Change and the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary: Interpreting Potential Futures

Read about the implications of climate change for the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.