Influence of Anthropogenic Land Cover Changes in Norway on Hydrolometeorological Extremes
Abstract
Changing land cover from open landscapes to forestry is gaining traction as a viable government led action in Europe to reduce atmospheric CO2. In fact, pilot afforestation programs have already begun in parts of Norway. However, the impact of these anthropogenic changes to land cover on the regional climate is poorly understood, particularly at high latitudes. It is possible that such changes to the land cover could counteract the original intentions of the afforestation policy. For example, a study by de Noblet-Decoudre et al.(2012) has shown that impacts from land cover change on the regional climate can be as important as greenhouse gas forcings. This study examines the land-atmosphere interactions under different afforestation policies in Norway. In particular, the study considers the impact of the associated land cover changes on hydrometeorological extremes. ERA-Interim reanalysis data is downscaled to 3 km from the period 1996-2005 over Norway using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Two high-resolution 10-year regional climate simulations are performed which differ by land cover. The first simulation (CTRL) represents the land use and land cover of present day Norway while the second applies the estimated land cover changes described in the Norwegian government's policy on afforestation. Comparisons between these simulations show the impact of land cover changes on hydrometeorlogical extremes due to afforestation.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFM.H13H1829M
- Keywords:
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- 3307 Boundary layer processes;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSESDE: 3322 Land/atmosphere interactions;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSESDE: 1843 Land/atmosphere interactions;
- HYDROLOGYDE: 1866 Soil moisture;
- HYDROLOGY