Climate change impacts on suspended sediment loads in New Zealand
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Climate change will see an increase in storm magnitude resulting in higher erosion, especially in mass movement erosion. Land use will need to prioritise mitigation to reduce the impacts of erosion and suspended sediment loads in New Zealand
The dataset - what is it?
The data provides changes in sediment loads over different land types and at the mid-century and late-century of the 2000’s under different Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP). RCPs are different amounts of greenhouse gas concentrations, in this report 2.6, 4.5, 6.0 and 5.5 are modelled.
Why it's important
Depleting soil resources will lead to a reduction in the production of food and fibre, and the quality of water. Extra concern should be given to North Island soft-rock hill country as it is particularly prone to increased erosion under climate change. North Island soft-rock hill country will have an increase in the magnitude and frequency of shallow landslide-triggering storm events.
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How to use this information safely
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This report shows how climate change could change the amount of sediment in New Zealand's waterways. It's based on models that look at the whole country, so it doesn't show the detail of erosion in a single catchment or on a single block.
It's a good way to compare regions, but the erosion on your own whenua could be different. Before you make any big decisions for your whenua, you should consider getting advice from an expert.
Caveats
These model outputs are designed for national-scale assessment of the relative differences in the impact of climate change on erosion and suspended sediment loads between regions. Caution should be taken when using the data at finer resolutions (i.e. catchment to individual REC2 watersheds) due to limitations in the ability of the model to represent erosion processes at this scale.
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Please note:
You can use this information to help form an understanding climate change impacts on suspended sediment loads in New Zealand.
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