IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON MILITARY ACTIVITIES

GLOBAL WARMING, CLIMATE CHANGE, OZONE LAYER DEPLETION ARE TOPICS OF SCIENTIFIC AND PUBLIC INTEREST. THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF THESE CHANGES INCLUDES SEA LEVEL RISE, CHANGES IN PRECIPITATION PATTERNS, ELIMINATION OF ARABLE LAND, AND ALTERATIONS OF NAVIGABLE WATERWAYS. EACH OF THESE IMPACTS HAS FURTHER IMPACT ON MILITARY ACTIVITIES AND OPERATIONS. PLANNING, POLICY MAKING, STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT, AND BUDGETING SHOULD CONSIDER THESE IMPACTS FOR THE MILITARY FORCE STRUCTURE OF THE FUTURE. THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP A KNOWLEDGE BASE OF CLIMATE CHANGE SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE AND AN UNDERSTANDING OF CLIMATE CHANGE MODELS. LATEST TECHNIQUES FOR LITERATURE SEARCHING WILL BE USED. CLIMATE CHANGE MODEL SHORTFALLS WILL BE DESCRIBED. UPON COMPILATION OF THE LITERATURE, ANALYSIS WILL FOCUS ON GENERAL CONSENSUS OF CLIMATE PROJECTION AND ITS IMPACT ON THE EARTHATMOSPHERE SYSTEM. FROM THESE, THE IMPACTS ON MILITARY OPERATIONS AND ACTIVITIES WILL BE ASSESSED. PARTICULAR ATTENTION WILL BE GIVEN TO US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATED WITH SHORELINE AND COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT ISSUES, AND CONSTRUCTION, MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION OF DAMS AND WATERWAYS. CONCLUSIONS WILL BE DRAWN TO PROVIDE A BASIS FOR FUTURE PLANNING AND OPERATIONS.