09:23 AM EDT on Thursday, May 12, 2005

Reported by: Craig Moeller

Global warming is a hot topic. Not only are researchers trying to pin down what's contributing to our planet's warming, but they also want to anticipate the impact it’s having.

Effects are already being felt by people living closer to the arctic. "Decreasing the ice pack. It’s changing permafrost. So their lifestyles are changing a lot. They're seeing ecosystems, marine biology, plant life, animals - they're disappearing," says Dr. Chip Trepte, a NASA Atmospheric Scientist.

The effects will eventually touch us here. Over the past century, the temperature for coastal Virginia increased one-fifth of a degree. Precipitation's up 5 to 10 percent.

While no one knows exactly how much warmer we’ll get, the latest models from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggest heating of at least 2 and a half degrees by the year 2100.

That may not sound like much, but even if Earth's temperatures were to rise just a few degrees, it could have major impacts on Hampton Roads, like in an El Nino year when changes to the ocean circulations alter weather patterns.

Oceanographers like David Burdige from Old Dominion University watch for changes to the ocean created by global warming.

"The tropical oceans get saltier, the high latitude oceans get warmer. At some point that has the potential to trigger changes in the way the ocean circulates,” he said.

Ultimately, we could see warmer winters, hotter summers and more storms in all seasons.

The greater issue for Hampton Roads may be an increase in the sea level.

According to the EPA, the coming century may see an average sea level rise of almost two feet. "Major metropolitan areas all up and down the eastern seaboard from Miami to Boston are potentially impacted by a rising sea level,” Dr. Burdige noted.

While the outlook may seem bleak, work is underway to find solutions.

"There are steps that we can take. We can explore new ways to develop energy sources. There are also experts trying to find ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, they call it sequestering, so there's hope," Dr. Trepte added.