Climate change impacts and greenhouse gas mitigation effects on US water quality
Climate change will have potentially significant effects on freshwater quality due to increases in river and lake temperatures, changes in the magnitude and seasonality of river runoff, and more frequent and severe extreme events. These physical impacts will in turn have economic consequences through effects on riparian development, river and reservoir recreation, water treatment, harmful aquatic blooms, and a range of other sectors. In this paper, the researchers analyze the physical and economic effects of changes in freshwater quality across the contiguous U.S. in futures with and without global-scale greenhouse gas mitigation.