Climate &amp;amp; Sustainability Implications of Land Use Alterations in an Urbanizing Region: Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina

Doran, Elizabeth M. B.; Golden, Jay S.

doi:10.4236/jep.2016.77096

Cited by 4 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…CNC transitions from the WNC deciduous and conifer forests to heavy agricultural landcover and urbanization. CNC has the highest population density and fastest population growth of the three regions leading to an increasing trend in impervious surfaces [17,21]. The coastal plains in eastern North Carolina (ENC) are characterized by sparsely populated cities, widespread livestock operations, and hardwood swamp forests in the eastern coastal lowlands.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This would have consequences on community susceptibility to hydrometeorological hazards as well as negative impacts on water resource allocation and agricultural operations. Furthermore, there has been a notable increase in the urban heat island signal across the central portion of North Carolina [17]. The combined effect of increasing summertime precipitation and increasing urban heat island signals points toward more intense and spatially heterogenous precipitation patterns [18,19]; however, the magnitude of this signal will be dictated by the prevailing synoptic scale airmass [20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influence of Synoptic-Scale Airmass Conditions on Seasonal Precipitation Patterns over North Carolina

Zarzar¹,

Dyer²

2019

Preprint

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This paper characterizes the influence of synoptic-scale airmass conditions on spatial and temporal patterns of precipitation in North Carolina over a 16-year period (2003-2018). National Center for Environmental Prediction Stage IV multi-sensor precipitation estimates were used to describe seasonal variations in precipitation in the context of prevailing airmass conditions classified using the spatial synoptic classification system. Spatial analyses identified significant clustering of high daily average precipitation amounts distributed along the lee side of the Appalachian Mountains and along the coastal plains. Significant and heterogenous clustering was prevalent in summer months and tended to coincide with land cover boundaries and complex terrain. Between the three geographic regions of North Carolina, highest precipitations amounts were received in western North Carolina during the winter and spring, but this signal shifted to eastern North Carolina in the summer and fall. Central North Carolina received the least amount of precipitation; however, there was substantial variability between regions due to prevailing airmass conditions. The summer months were dominated by maritime tropical airmass conditions with no clear shift in summertime airmass trends over the study period. Most days with recorded precipitation in the winter, spring, and fall occurred under dry moderate airmass conditions; however, the highest daily average precipitation and total precipitation occurred under the influence of maritime moderate airmasses. Importantly, there was an observed shift toward warmer and more humid airmass conditions in the winter, spring, and fall months throughout the study period (2003-2018), indicating a shift toward airmass conditions conducive to higher daily average rain rates in North Carolina.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Synoptic-Scale Airmass Conditions on Seasonal Precipitation Patterns over North Carolina

Zarzar¹,

Dyer²

2019

Preprint

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“…Under the majority of summertime air mass conditions, there was significant clustering near the urbanized Triad (i.e., Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High Point) region in CNC. It has been documented that population growth and urbanization across the CNC have contributed to increasing trends in urban heat island signatures [19]. As observed around other metropolitan areas [17,20,21], it is possible that the pockets of significant precipitation clustering in CNC are associated with local-scale thermodynamic forcing and land cover boundaries, which prompts a need for future research to assess the influence of land cover on precipitation across North Carolina.…”

Section: Summermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Piedmont region of central North Carolina (CNC) is a dramatic transition in both vegetation and soil characteristics from the western mountains to the eastern coastal lowlands. CNC transitions from the WNC deciduous and conifer forests to heavy agricultural and urban land cover, and has the highest population density and fastest population growth of the three regions, leading to an increasing trend in impervious surfaces [19,23]. The Coastal Plains in eastern North Carolina (ENC) are characterized by sparsely populated cities, widespread livestock operations, and hardwood swamp forests in the eastern coastal lowlands.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These seasonal precipitation trends may indicate a shift from more homogenous synoptically driven precipitation events to more heterogeneous thermodynamically driven precipitation events, which would have important implications for stormwater management, water resource allocation, and agricultural operations. Furthermore, there has been a notable increase in the urban heat island signal across the central portion of North Carolina [19]. The combined effect of increasing summertime precipitation and increasing urban heat island signals points toward more intense and spatially heterogeneous precipitation patterns [20,21]; however, the magnitude of this signal will be dictated by the prevailing synoptic-scale air mass.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Influence of Synoptic-Scale Air Mass Conditions on Seasonal Precipitation Patterns over North Carolina

Zarzar

Dyer

2019

Atmosphere

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This paper characterizes the influence of synoptic-scale air mass conditions on the spatial and temporal patterns of precipitation in North Carolina over a 16-year period (2003-2018). National Center for Environmental Prediction Stage IV multi-sensor precipitation estimates were used to describe seasonal variations in precipitation in the context of prevailing air mass conditions classified using the spatial synoptic classification system. Spatial analyses identified significant clustering of high daily precipitation amounts distributed along the east side of the Appalachian Mountains and along the Coastal Plains. Significant and heterogeneous clustering was prevalent in summer months and tended to coincide with land cover boundaries and complex terrain. The summer months were dominated by maritime tropical air mass conditions, whereas dry moderate air mass conditions prevailed in the winter, spring, and fall. Between the three geographic regions of North Carolina, the highest precipitation amounts were received in western North Carolina during the winter and spring, and in eastern North Carolina in the summer and fall. Central North Carolina received the least amount of precipitation; however, there was substantial variability between regions due to prevailing air mass conditions. There was an observed shift toward warmer and more humid air mass conditions in the winter, spring, and fall months throughout the study period (2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018), indicating a shift toward air mass conditions conducive to higher daily average rain rates in North Carolina.Atmosphere 2019, 10, 624 2 of 15 of spatio-temporal precipitation patterns at greater detail [12]. Furthermore, radar coverage in the Southeast United States has been shown to reproduce precipitation observations comparable to surface gauges [13,14]. The advent of radar-based multi-sensor precipitation datasets has further improved the accuracy of radar-based precipitation estimates. These multi-sensor datasets augment radar data with surface rain gauge and satellite precipitation estimates to address the caveats associated with radar estimates, especially over complex terrain. While these types of data and algorithms are becoming more viable for scientific analysis due to longer periods of record, the application of these multi-sensor precipitation data in characterizing long-term precipitation patterns across the Southeast United States has been infrequent [15,16].Precipitation in the cool season tends to be associated with the passage of mid-latitude cyclones [3], while warm-season precipitation is often linked with local-scale thermodynamic forcing induced by variations in land cover and soil characteristics [6,17] and tends to occur in the late afternoon and evening [18]. In a long-term study over North Carolina, Sayemuzzaman and Jha [9] noted that the majority of North Carolina rain gauge stations experienced a negative trend in wintertime precipitation and a positive trend in summerti...

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A Technical Overview of the North Carolina ECONet

Saia

Heuser

Neill

et al. 2023

Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology

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Regional weather networks–also referred to as mesonets–are imperative for filling in the spatial and temporal data gaps between nationally supported weather stations. The North Carolina Environment and Climate Observing Network (ECONet) fills this regional role; it is a mesoscale network of 44 (as of 2023) automated stations collecting 12 environmental variables every minute across North Carolina. Measured variables include air temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed, wind direction, total solar radiation, photosynthetically active radiation, soil temperature, soil moisture, leaf wetness index, and black globe temperature. All data undergo quality control procedures and are made freely available to the public via data portals hosted by the State Climate Office of North Carolina at North Carolina State University. This paper provides a technical overview of ECONet, including a description of the siting criteria, station maintenance procedures, data quality control procedures, and data availability. We also summarize unique aspects of ECONet data collection as well as innovative research and applications that rely on ECONet data. ECONet data are used by many sectors including, but not limited to, emergency management, natural resources management, public health, agriculture, forestry, science education, outdoor recreation, and research. ECONet data and data-powered applications offer valuable insights to local, regional, and federal partners yet opportunities to expand ECONet research and applications remain.

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Climate & Sustainability Implications of Land Use Alterations in an Urbanizing Region: Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina

Cited by 4 publications

References 37 publications

Influence of Synoptic-Scale Airmass Conditions on Seasonal Precipitation Patterns over North Carolina

Influence of Synoptic-Scale Airmass Conditions on Seasonal Precipitation Patterns over North Carolina

The Influence of Synoptic-Scale Air Mass Conditions on Seasonal Precipitation Patterns over North Carolina

A Technical Overview of the North Carolina ECONet

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