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Coastal Impervious Cover and Watershed Scale: Implications for Environmental Management, New Hanover County, North Carolina

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  • Michael T. Griffin

    (East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA)

  • James Dean Edwards Jr.

    (University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA)

  • Thomas R. Allen

    (East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA)

Abstract

Environmental planners seek techniques that will enable them to analyze impervious cover to develop sound management plans for coastal regions. The spatial scale in which impervious cover has traditionally been widely analyzed is mismatched to the fine-scale resolution needed for local environmental management. This study examines impervious cover in New Hanover County, North Carolina using LiDAR derived subwatersheds and United States Geological Survey (USGS) 14-digit hydrologic unit watersheds to evaluate potential scale-dependency of impervious cover estimates. Spatial analysis of impervious cover across multi-scale watersheds indicates that fine scale subwatersheds exhibit patterns not revealed with coarser watersheds. Spatial and cartographic analyses suggest that localized impervious development and its expansion in first-order drainages originating in coastal lagoon watersheds is more appropriately analyzed using fine-scale, LiDAR-derived watersheds. Results stress the importance of using scale in watershed management and hydrogeomorphic context to aid planners when making decisions involving impervious cover.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael T. Griffin & James Dean Edwards Jr. & Thomas R. Allen, 2016. "Coastal Impervious Cover and Watershed Scale: Implications for Environmental Management, New Hanover County, North Carolina," International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research (IJAGR), IGI Global, vol. 7(1), pages 45-62, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:igg:jagr00:v:7:y:2016:i:1:p:45-62
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