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Influence of local land cover/land use change on U.S. Climate Normals temperatures Robert C. Hale1 and Kevin P. Gallo2 There is growing recognition that land cover/land use changes may affect not only climate, but also the measurement of climatological variables. That is, land cover/land use changes occurring near sites where climatological variables are measured may unduly influence those variables if local changes are not representative of changes occurring over larger areas. To examine the impact of nearby land cover/land use changes on observed monthly minimum, maximum, and average temperatures, the 5332 stations of the U.S. Climate Normals network were utilized. Those stations located within 10 km of Land Cover Trends Project sample blocks were identified, and of the 362 such stations found, 326 exhibited land cover/land use change occurring within the intersection of the Trends sample block and a 10-km buffer zone surrounding the Normals station. The intersected region of the remaining 36 stations demonstrated no change. This paper presents statistical analyses of Normals station temperature records in light of the amount and type of nearby land cover/land use change. |