CHAPTER 14 APPLIED CLIMATOLOGY, CLIMATE IMPACTS, AND CLIMATIC DATA
Climate Impacts
 Impacts on Natural Systems
o In the cryosphere, temperature changes will affect distribution of snow and ice and
therefore albedo, which can crease a positive feedback system
o In the hydrosphere, climatic changes can impact the surface water balance and
the salinity of fresh water at Earth’s surface
o Climatic changes in the biosphere can impact predator/prey relationships, disease
and insect infestations, and ecosystem stability
o Climatic changes also impact and are impacted by lithospheric processes
 Impacts on Societal Systems
o Agriculture is directly impacted by climate
o Climate can also affect the ski industry, tourist activity, transportation, energy
supply and demand, and the insurance and risk management industry
o Climate exerts a “secondary impact” on numerous facets of society, such as food
prices, economic and political conditions, fashion, art, and literature
o Climate changes can affect human health because bacteria, viruses, and vectorborne diseases are related to environmental conditions
Climatological Data Sources
 Data Collection Agencies
o The U.S. is well-served by historical records of climatological data from the
Federal Weather Service (FWS) [later United States Weather Bureau (USWB)
then National Weather Service(NWS)], National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), National Environmental Satellite Data and Information
Service (NESDIS) (the data collection arm of NOAA), the National Climatic Data
Center (NCDC) (an office of NESDIS), State Climatology Programs, Regional
Climate Centers, and the National Climate Program Act of 1978
 Primary Versus Secondary Data
o Primary data are collected by the investigator by using equipment in the field
o Secondary data are those used by researchers that were collected by others
 Secondary Data Sources for Applied Synoptic and Dynamic Climatological Studies
o High-quality climatological data availability has dramatically increased recently
o NCDC publishes several publications and many other resources including
Climatological Data (CD), Climatological Data: Annual Summary (CDAS), and
Local Climatological Data (LCD)
o NOAA produces several publications including Hourly Precipitation Data (HPD)
and its Daily Synoptic Series
o The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) also publishes data
 Secondary Sources for Applied Studies of the Climate System
o Researchers are helped by secondary sources such as the Long-term Ecological
Research Program, AmeriFlux, EuroFlux, the National Snow and Ice Data Center
(NSIDC), the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC), the Global Energy and Water
Cycle Experiment (GEWEX), and World Climate Research Programme (WCRP)
provide data for analyzing climate relationships to the biosphere, hydrosphere, and
lithosphere
 Secondary Sources Well-Suited to Studies in Paleoclimatology and Climate Change

o The Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC), Historical Climatology
Network (HCN), and World Data Center for Paleoclimatology are set up to detect
global climate change and atmospheric composition
Secondary Sources Well-Suited to Studies in Physical Climatology
o The Global Hydrology Branch of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, NOAA’s Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory, and the
United States Department of Energy’s Renewable Resource Data Center provide
data for use in physical climatology studies