The Integrated Scenarios of the Future Northwest Environment project (an FY2012 NW CSC funded project), resulted in several datasets describing projected changes in climate, hydrology and vegetation for the 21st century over the Northwestern US. The raw data is available in netCDF format, which is a standard data file format for weather forecasting/climate change/GIS applications. However, the sheer size of these datasets and the specific file format (netCDF) for data access pose significant barriers to data access for many users. This is a particular challenge for many natural/cultural resource managers and others working on conservation efforts in the Pacific Northwest. The goal of this project was to increase the accessibility of the Integrated Scenarios datasets to a broader range of stakeholders. The Integrated Scenarios website, developed through this project, provides a repository of information about the different models and products, a data portal for downloading datasets, and a set of visualizations from the different modeling efforts.
