USE OF USGS-PROVIDED DATA TO IMPROVE WEATHER AND CLIMATE SIMULATIONS

This paper utilizes United States Geological Survey (USGS) data to inv estigate the influence of landscape structure on atmospheric circulati ons. The procedure to insert this data in the Regional Atmospheric Mod eling System (RAMS) is described. Simulations are presented for a mont hly simulation of summer weather in the United States, for case studie s of cumulonimbus convection along a dryline in the Great Plains of th e U.S. and over northern Georgia, and for pollutant dispersal in South Carolina. These results demonstrate the significant role that landsca pe, including its spatial heterogeneity, has on weather and climate. E nvironmental policy-makers need to consider this feedback to weather a nd climate, rather than just assuming the atmosphere is an external fa ctor to such issues as ecosystem management and water resource managem ent. This feedback between the atmosphere and the land surface needs t o be considered on all spatial scales from the plot scale to the globa l scale. This includes studies being performed at the Long-Term Ecolog ical Research (LTER) sites that have been established throughout the U nited States. This paper also demonstrates the value of the USGS data in weather and climate simulations.