Global warming: How hot will Boston get?

[welshTerrier2]

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/wcvb/20070710/lo_wcvb/13654540;_ylt=AvOiIaN3rZesnoJ3xVz0b0kE1vAI

If global warming is inevitable, what will New England look like in the future?

By some estimates, Boston's temperature could average 10 degrees warmer by the end of the century. <skip>

They may look like greenhouses, but they're used to study the greenhouse effect and the threat of climate change on New England's ecosystems. Created by biologist Jeff Dukes of University of Massachusetts Boston, the greenhouse-like structures in Waltham are part of the Boston Area Climate Experiment. With a $1 million grant from the government, the mission is to study what happens if you vary temperature and rainfall amounts within 36 different patches of land. Each plot represents a different microclimate -- some wetter, some drier, some cooler and some hotter.

"So what we are trying to do is look at how the systems might respond to a broad range of different climate changes. So that no matter what the future holds, we can say, 'Oh, here is one response that is relevant to that future,'" Dukes said. In essence, it is like a time machine, looking down the road to what the environment might be like. Dukes starts by varying the temperature with these special heat lamps.

"This would probably be about 9 degrees warmer than it is that we're feeling out here down at the level of the grasses," Dukes said. Then he controls the precipitation in each plot. One plot may simulate a wet region, while another a drought. It is done to see how regional plants react and interact to different kinds of climates. <skip>

"I'm very worried that a lot of species are going to go extinct because of these. It's a major environmental threat," Dukes said.

[YankeyMCC]

1. It will be noticable before the end of the century

within my son's lifetime New England will be more like the Mid-Atlantic. I'm rushing out right now but I will try and find the link to the report that displays that and post it later.

[YankeyMCC]

2. UCS Report from Oct 2006

http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/global_warming/NECIA_climate_report_final.pdf

You'll see the various scenarios well illustrated here, by 2050 of so Mass could have a climate more like Maryland.

But more importantly is the part of the report outlining the affects already underway.