Climate Change and the Indian River Lagoon
Environmental impacts,
Economic & HeaLth impacts,
what WE can do.
Environmental Impacts
The health of east Florida’s Indian River Lagoon and similar coastal waters around the globe are linked to changes in climate. Ocean-atmosphere heating and the cascading impacts that result are increasing (NOAA 2020; NASA, 2025). Diverse environmental, economic, and social resources face increasing challenges in many estuarine and ocean regions.
This resource has three sections: Environmental Impacts, Economic Impacts, and What We Can Do. The sections provide short summaries and over 90 linked references on major issues at local through international scales.
Effects from climate change can co-vary, i.e., a physical change in one system can cause changes in other systems in variable, difficult-to-predict ways. For example, the increasing heat content in our estuarine and ocean waters has effects among all of the categories below. The geophysical sciences underlying changes in our climate are well-summarized in reviews such as USGCRP (2018), NOAA (2020), and NASA (2025). Please see these and citations on other pages for decades of cumulative research findings.
Hotter temperatures
extreme weather
Rising Seas
ocean & EstuariNe acidification
Environmental & Climate Justice
SURPRISES ARE GUARANTEED
Economic and Health Impacts
The coastal waters and lands of the Indian River Lagoon are a natural economic and social treasure for east Florida’s Space Coast and Treasure Coast. Beyond the costs of increasing algae blooms, fish kills, seagrass losses, and marine mammal starvation, additional economic impacts in various sectors result from an absence of adaptive planning.
coastal Fisheries
Climate change raises many interlinked challenges that can impact Florida’s coastal fisheries.
PUBLIC health
Increasing air and ocean heat content means humans and health care systems are being exposed to additional health challenges.
Space and defense
NASA, the Department of Defense, and associated industries have recognized climate change as a threat multiplier.
Other Business Sectors
Climate change impacts can threaten the bottom line of many differing business sectors.
opportunities
Climate change also presents opportunities that can pay off in multiple sectors.
We can make a difference. The links below have examples of how to get involved at local, state, and national levels. The 160 mile Indian River Lagoon includes diverse resources and human communities, and is a model for understanding and adapting in other subtropical and warm temperate coastal systems of North America and beyond.