NCCN Monitoring Climate

Baccus B, Lofgren R, Boetsch J. NCCN Monitoring Climate. 2010. National Park Service

Purpose: The North Coast and Cascades Network (NCCN) monitors climate in order to understand variations in other park resources being monitored, compare current and historic data to understand long-term trends, and to provide data for modeling im­pacts to park facilities and resources in the future. Climate is an ecosystem driver operating at multiple scales of time and space. Climate influences almost all physical and ecological processes by controlling ecosystem fluxes of energy and matter as well as the geomorphic and biogeochemical processes underlying the distribution and structure of these ecosystems (Jacobson et al. 2000, Schlesinger 1997, Bonan 2002). Long-term patterns in temperature and precipitation provide first-order constraints on potential ecosystem structure and function (Whitford 2002). Secondary constraints are realized from the intensity and duration of individual weather events and, additionally, from seasonality and inter-annual climate variability. These constraints influence the fundamental properties of ecologic systems, such as soil–water relationships, plant–soil processes, and nutrient cycling, as well as disturbance rates and intensity. These properties, in turn, influence the life-history strategies supported by a climatic regime (Neilson 1987, Garman et al. 2004). The NCCN climate monitor­ing program compiles data from over 40 weather stations in and adjacent to the parks, 12 of which are actually operated by the National Park Service. Objectives: 1) To provide easily accessed, quality climate data for cooperating researchers, park managers and other NCCN monitoring programs. 2) To increase the number of measurement locations and better document climate in a region known for extreme spatial variability. 3) To organize and manage climate data to be readily accessible and useable for the interpretation of ecosystem patterns and processes.

Type
Project
Authors
Baccus, Bill; Lofgren, Rebecca; Boetsch, John
Publisher
National Park Service
Units
EBLA , FOVA , LEWI , MORA , NOCA , OLYM , SAJH
Keywords
Air, Air Temperature, Atmosphere, Climate, Climate zone, Climatology, Continuous data, Ebey's Landing National Reserve, EBLA, Environment, Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, FOVA, Hourly data, LEWI, Lewis and Clark National Historic Park, Meteorology, MORA, Mount Rainier National Park, NCCN, NOCA, North Cascades National Park, North Coast and Cascades Network, OLYM, Olympic National Park, Precipitation, Relative Humidity, Remote Sensing, Resource Management, SAJH, San Juan Islands National Historic Park, snow depth, snow water equivalent, Snowfall, Soil Moisture, Soil Temperature, Solar Radiation, SWE, Washington State, Weather, Wind Direction, Wind Speed
Subjects
Ecological Framework: Air and Climate | Weather and Climate | Weather and Climate

Program

Products

See also

Collections

Browse the catalog