Evaluating Water Quality Trading for Phosphorus in the Lower Catawba River Basin

2008 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Addressing Water Challenges Facing the State and Regio

The potential of using LiDAR and color-infrared aerial imagery for palustrine wetland typology and change

Wetlands are dynamic landscapes and their spatial extent and types can change over time. Mapping wetland locations, types, and monitoring wetland typological changes have important ecological significance. The National Wetlands Inventory data suffer from two problems: the omission error that some wetlands are not mapped, and the out-of-date wetland types in many counties of the United States. To address these two problems, we proposed an automatic wetland classification model for newly mapped (or existing) wetland polygons lacking typological information. The research goals in this study were (1) to develop a nonparametric and automatic rule-based model to assign wetland types to palustrine wetlands using high-resolution remotely sensed data and (2) to quantify wetland typological changes based on the wetland types obtained from the previous step. The model is a direct application of the Cowardin et al. (1979) wetland classification system without modification. The input information for the proposed model includes Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)-derived vegetation height and color infrared aerial imagery- derived vegetation spectral information.We tested themodel for the palustrine wetlands in Horry County, SC, and analyzed 29,090 palustrine wetland polygons (101,427 ha). The model achieved an overall agreement of 87% for wetland-type classification and showed the dynamics ofwetland typological changes. This nonparametric model can be easily applied to other areas where wetland inventory needs updating

Climate and Water Resources in the Carolinas: Approaches to Applying Global Climate Change Information to Local Decisions

A wide range of resource managers, community planners, and other stakeholders are increasingly asking for information regarding how climate change will affect South Carolina’s freshwater and coastal resources. They are interested in using this information for decisions related to infrastructure design, water system planning, vulnerability assessments, and ecosystem management. While climate change data, projections, and related information are also becoming increasingly available, many uncertainties around future climate change and its potential impacts often hinder its application. Furthermore it is often not available in a format or at a scale that is easily translated to local- and regional resource management decisions. This article highlights decision-maker questions about climate change in the Carolinas, approaches to using global climate change information, and opportunities to bridge the gap that often exists between scientific research and applications. We find that integration of future climate scenarios with water resources issues succeeds when robust links exist between climate variables and system response, and when scenarios from observed or simulated climate data are representative, plausible, and consistent. In general, there is no one “best” model that depicts future climate conditions, nor can climate science provide accurate predictions for specific locations and impacts. However, climate change projections can be used in conjunction with a variety of other tools and resources, such as vulnerability assessments and historical climate observations, to inform planning processes. Improved understanding of the system of concern, the linkages to climate, and the most important variables can help decision makers and researchers alike to develop the most relevant and informative analyses for climate-related questions. Ongoing engagement, as well as a willingness to experiment and share lessons learned, between and across the resource management and science communities will help to advance the climate change dialogue in the Carolinas and enhance the production and use of climate change information

Assessing Methods to Disaggregate Daily Precipitation for Hydrological Simulation

2012 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Exploring Opportunities for Collaborative Water Research, Policy and Managemen