2016 SoE Marine Chapter - Pressures - Climate and system variability

Brief description

The Marine chapter of the 2016 State of the Environment (SoE) report incorporates multiple expert templates developed from streams of marine data. This metadata record describes the Expert Assessment "Pressures on the marine environment associated with climate and system variability". The full Expert Assessment, including figures and tables (where provided), is attached to this record. Where available, the Data Stream(s) used to generate this Expert Assessment are accessible through the "On-line Resources" section of this record. ---------------------------------------- DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESSURE Climate and the marine environment varies on multiple temporal and spatial scales. This variability results in seasonal, inter-annual, decadal and longer changes to water temperature, rainfall patterns affecting ocean salinity, and surface winds, oceanic currents and tidal regimes which can influence the degree of vertical mixing through the water column. DATA STREAM(S) USED IN EXPERT ASSESSMENT Published papers and reports on climate variability. Details of the specific data sets used to generate this assessment have not been provided. ---------------------------------------- 2016 SOE ASSESSMENT SUMMARY [see attached Expert Assessment for full details] • 2016 • Assessment grade: Low impact Assessment trend: Unclear Confidence grade: Adequate high quality evidence or high level of consensus Confidence trend: Adequate high quality evidence or high level of consensus Comparability: Not previously asssessed • 2011 • (Not previously assessed) ---------------------------------------- CHANGES SINCE 2011 SOE ASSESSMENT Climate and system variability as a pressure on the marine environment was not assessed in 2011.

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Statement: QUALITY OF DATA USED IN THE ASSESSMENT Publications have been peer-reviewed.

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Purpose
To describe the pressures on the marine environment associated with climate and system variability for use in the Marine chapter of the 2016 State of the Environment report.