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Evaluating the effects of historical land cover changes on summertime weather and climate in New Jersey
Descriptive
TitleInfo
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Title
Evaluating the effects of historical land cover changes on summertime weather and climate in New Jersey
Name
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Wichansky
NamePart
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Paul Stuart
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Paul Stuart Wichansky
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author
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(type = family)
Weaver
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Christopher
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
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Christopher P. Weaver
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chair
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Robock
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Alan
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Advisory Committee
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Alan Robock
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internal member
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(type = personal)
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(type = family)
Broccoli
NamePart
(type = given)
Anthony
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
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Anthony J. Broccoli
Role
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(authority = RULIB)
internal member
Name
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(type = family)
Steyaert
NamePart
(type = given)
Louis
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
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Louis T. Steyaert
Role
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outside member
Name
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NamePart
Rutgers University
Role
RoleTerm
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degree grantor
Name
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NamePart
Graduate School - New Brunswick
Role
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(authority = RULIB)
school
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Text
Genre
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theses
OriginInfo
DateCreated
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2008
DateOther
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(type = degree)
2008-05
Language
LanguageTerm
(authority = ISO 639-3:2007);
(type = text)
English
PhysicalDescription
Form
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electronic
InternetMediaType
application/pdf
InternetMediaType
text/xml
Extent
xiii, 170 pages
Note
Supplementary File: RAMS: present-day readme file
Abstract
(type = abstract)
The 19th-century agrarian landscape of New Jersey (NJ) and the surrounding region has been extensively transformed to the present-day land cover by urbanization, reforestation, and localized areas of deforestation. This study used a mesoscale atmospheric numerical model to investigate the sensitivity of the warm season climate of NJ to these land cover changes. Reconstructed 1880s-era and present-day land cover datasets were used as surface boundary conditions for a set of simulations performed with the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS). Three-member ensembles with historical and present-day land cover were compared to examine the sensitivity of surface air and dewpoint temperatures, rainfall, the individual components of the surface energy budget, horizontal and vertical winds, and the vertical profiles of temperature and humidity to these land cover changes.
Mean temperatures for the present-day landscape were 0.3-0.6° C warmer than for the historical landscape over a considerable portion of NJ and the surrounding region, with daily maximum temperatures at least 1.0° C warmer over some of the highly urbanized locations. Reforested regions in the present-day landscape, however, showed a slight cooling. Surface warming was generally associated with repartitioning of net radiation from latent to sensible heat flux, and conversely for cooling. Reduced evapotranspiration from much of the present-day land surface led to dewpoint temperature decreases of 0.3-0.6° C. While urbanization was accompanied by strong surface albedo decreases and increases in net shortwave radiation, reforestation and potential changes in forest composition have generally increased albedos and also enhanced landscape heterogeneity. The increased deciduousness of forests may have further reduced net downward longwave radiation.
These land cover changes have modified boundary-layer dynamics by increasing low-level convergence and upper-level divergence in the interior of NJ, especially where sensible heat fluxes have increased for the present-day landscape, hence enhancing uplift in the mid-troposphere. The mesoscale circulations that developed in the present-day ensemble were also more effective at lifting available moisture to higher levels of the boundary layer, lowering dewpoints near the surface but increasing them aloft. Likewise, the sea breeze in coastal areas of NJ in the present-day ensemble had stronger uplift during the afternoon and enhanced moisture transport to higher levels.
Mean temperatures for the present-day landscape were 0.3-0.6° C warmer than for the historical landscape over a considerable portion of NJ and the surrounding region, with daily maximum temperatures at least 1.0° C warmer over some of the highly urbanized locations. Reforested regions in the present-day landscape, however, showed a slight cooling. Surface warming was generally associated with repartitioning of net radiation from latent to sensible heat flux, and conversely for cooling. Reduced evapotranspiration from much of the present-day land surface led to dewpoint temperature decreases of 0.3-0.6° C. While urbanization was accompanied by strong surface albedo decreases and increases in net shortwave radiation, reforestation and potential changes in forest composition have generally increased albedos and also enhanced landscape heterogeneity. The increased deciduousness of forests may have further reduced net downward longwave radiation.
These land cover changes have modified boundary-layer dynamics by increasing low-level convergence and upper-level divergence in the interior of NJ, especially where sensible heat fluxes have increased for the present-day landscape, hence enhancing uplift in the mid-troposphere. The mesoscale circulations that developed in the present-day ensemble were also more effective at lifting available moisture to higher levels of the boundary layer, lowering dewpoints near the surface but increasing them aloft. Likewise, the sea breeze in coastal areas of NJ in the present-day ensemble had stronger uplift during the afternoon and enhanced moisture transport to higher levels.
Note
(type = degree)
Ph.D.
Note
(type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references.
Subject
(authority = RUETD)
Topic
Environmental Sciences
Subject
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Land use--New Jersey--Environmental aspects
Subject
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Landscape change--New Jersey--Environmental aspects
Subject
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Climatic changes--Environmental aspects
RelatedItem
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TitleInfo
Title
Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier
(type = local)
rucore19991600001
Identifier
(type = hdl)
http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.2/rucore10001600001.ETD.17058
Identifier
ETD_1005
Identifier
(type = doi)
doi:10.7282/T3FT8MD8
Location
PhysicalLocation
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(displayLabel = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
NjNbRU
Subject
(authority = lcsh/lcnaf)
Geographic
New Jersey
Genre
(authority = ExL-Esploro)
ETD doctoral
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RightsDeclaration
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The author owns the copyright to this work.
Copyright
Status
Copyright protected
Availability
Status
Open
AssociatedEntity
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Name
Paul Wichansky
Role
Copyright holder
Affiliation
Rutgers University. Graduate School - New Brunswick
RightsEvent
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Type
Permission or license
Detail
Non-exclusive ETD license
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Type
License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
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