Land Use and Land Cover Changes in Europe and the Impact on Near-Surface Wind Speed in Sweden
Abstract
Investigations of Land use and land cover change (LULCC) have recently become of increasing
interest. This trend occurs not only based of the importance of biogeochemical processes such as
carbon sequestration, but also because of their climate impacts caused by changed biogeophysical
properties. This study examines the LULCC in Europe between 2000 and 2018 based on the
Corine Land Cover raster maps created by Copernicus, with a focus on Sweden and the impact
on near-surface wind speed. For this purpose, 59 wind stations in Sweden were selected where
changes within a radius of 1 km have been found. These LULCC were classified, and appropriate
surface roughness values were assigned based on existing literature. Using a geographic information
system, the surface roughness changes were then characterized and documented. With the help
of an ODR-method (Observation divided by Reanalysis), this study tried to utilize the inherent
properties of ground-based observations and reanalysis data (ERA5) to find out if near-surface
wind speed changes are a result of LULCC. The analysis shows strong decreases in Agricultural
land across Europe, which is partly replaced by Urban areas at the outskirts of metropolitan areas
as well as forest areas. Furthermore, no clear correlations between LULCC and the near-surface
wind speed are apparent, which indicates that the wind speed is not strongly affected by the local
changes in Land use and land cover (LULC). Errors in the raster data of LULC may also play a
role in masking the relationship between changed surface roughness and wind speed.
Degree
Student essay
Collections
View/ Open
Date
2023-08-18Author
Stange, Nils Philipp
Series/Report no.
B1259
Language
eng