The Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (NW CASC) organizes an annual Deep Dive into an emerging climate risk. We convene researchers, practitioners and students to assess the state of knowledge and practice associated with managing that risk. Each Deep Dive aims to facilitate community development of an Actionable Science Agenda that outlines knowledge gaps and research needs and identifies opportunities to advance adaptation by linking science and practice.

Too Hot to Handle? Managing the Ecological Impacts of Extreme Heat in the Northwest

In late June and early July 2021, an extreme heat wave produced record high temperatures across much of the Northwest. All-time record highs were set in dozens of locations across Washington, Oregon and Western Idaho, with temperatures soaring to well above 100°F. These sustained extreme temperatures had dramatic impacts on Northwest species and ecosystems. Coastal waters and shorelines experienced mass die-offs of shellfish. Animal rescue agencies were overwhelmed with distressed wildlife. Conifer trees in many areas were scorched brown. 

Source: OSU Extension Service

Attribution studies characterize this event as a 1 in 1,000-year to 10,000-year occurrence in today’s climate; under 2 degrees Celsius of warming—which may be reached by the 2030s or 2040s if emissions continue at their current rate—such an event could occur every five to 10 years. There is thus a pressing need to understand how the 2021 Pacific Northwest heat wave affected species and ecosystems so resource managers can better anticipate the impacts of such events and understand what, if anything, can be done to manage associated risks to natural systems.

To help meet this need, the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center’s 2025 Deep Dive will bring together a diverse group of scientists, managers and other relevant partners to co-create a regional synthesis describing the state of the science, management and human dimensions around the 2021 PNW heatwave and its impacts on species and ecosystems. They will also identify key needs for addressing gaps in knowledge and capacity. Through this process, the Deep Dive aims to build the knowledge, capacity and communities of practice required to anticipate and respond to future extreme heat events and their impacts on Northwest ecosystems.

Deep Dive Summary Products 

The summary report describes the findings and the co-developed actionable science agenda that emerged from the Deep Dive, while the key findings document provides a high-level overview of the Deep Dive outcomes.

Deep Dive Syntheses

The synthesis reports describe results of the three Deep Dive working groups that contributed to the key findings and include citations, survey results and other supporting evidence.

Deep Dive Resources

Resources developed through the Deep Dive include a case study, a tools database with links and descriptions of tools potentially useful in extreme heat research and management, and a list proposed of project ideas generated by 2025 Deep Dive workshop participants to help address the research needs described in this report.