Abstract
Land use/land cover change effects on temperature trends at U.S. Climate Normals stations
Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
USGS Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA
NOAA National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, North Carolina, USA
USGS Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA
Alterations in land use/land cover (LULC) in areas near meteorological observation stations can influence the measurement of climatological variables such as temperature. Urbanization near climate stations has been the focus of considerable research attention, however conversions between non-urban LULC classes may also have an impact. In this study, trends of minimum, maximum, and average temperature at 366 U.S. Climate Normals stations are analyzed based on changes in LULC defined by the U.S. Land Cover Trends Project. Results indicate relatively few significant temperature trends before periods of greatest LULC change, and these are generally evenly divided between warming and cooling trends. In contrast, after the period of greatest LULC change was observed, 95% of the stations that exhibited significant trends (minimum, maximum, or mean temperature) displayed warming trends.
Received 20 March 2006; accepted 1 May 2006; published 3 June 2006.
Citation: (2006), Land use/land cover change effects on temperature trends at U.S. Climate Normals stations, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L11703, doi:10.1029/2006GL026358.
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