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Center for Coastal Resources Management

Climate Change Impacts in Virginia: Climate Database

A collection of natural resource data records to use as tools to assess continuing trends.

Meteorological
Heating Degree Days
Cooling Degree Days
Departures From Normal – Precipitation and Temperature
Mean Temperature
  • Source: US Historical Climatology Network
  • URL: http://cdiac.ornl.gov/epubs/ndp/ushcn/ushcn.html
  • Dates: 1895 – 2008
  • Format: downloadable data & graphs prepared on website
  • Notes: dates available vary by station, may have to download each station separately
Total Precipitation
  • Source: US Historical Climatology Network
  • URL: http://cdiac.ornl.gov/epubs/ndp/ushcn/ushcn.html
  • Dates: 1895 – 2008
  • Format: downloadable data & graphs prepared on website
  • Notes: dates available vary by station, may have to download each station separately
Water
Salinity
Water Temperature – Mouth of the Chesapeake Bay
Water Temperature – York River
  • Source: Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)
  • STAC Climate Change Report
  • Dates: 1950 – 2009
  • Format: graph
Water Temperature – York River
  • Source: Virginia Institute of Marine Science
  • Contact: Gary Anderson (gary@vims.edu)
  • Dates: 1950 – 2008
  • Format: downloadable data
Water Temperature – Throughout Chesapeake Bay
Stream Flow
Annual Mean Inflow to Chesapeake Bay
Water Quality Parameters
Water Quality Parameters – Riverine
Water Quality Parameters – Virginia Estuarine and Coastal Observing System (VECOS)
  • Source: Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)
  • URL: http://www.vims.edu/vecos/
  • Dates: varies depending upon data collection and location ~2003 to present
  • Format: downloadable data
  • Notes: 2 types of data collection: continuous monitoring at fixed stations and dataflow (surface water quality mapping system) 6 parameters: DO, salinity, temperature, pH, turbidity, chlorophyll
Drought Monitor
  • Source: US Drought Monitor: National Drought Mitigation Center; University of Nebraska – Lincoln
  • URL: http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/
  • Dates: 2000 – 2010
  • Format: downloadable data
Drought Information and Water Resources
  • Source: Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
  • URL: http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/WaterSupplyWaterQuantity/Drought.aspx
  • Dates: varies
  • Format: downloadable data
  • Notes: contains links to several other useful sites with drought and water resources information; e.g. links to USGS waterwatch site (http://waterwatch.usgs.gov/?state=va&map_type=real&web_type=map) where historic graphs have median past streamflow conditions from 1900 to 2008 (http://waterwatch.usgs.gov/?m=statesum&r=va&w=real%2Cmap)
Ground Water Climate Response Network
Fish
Blue Crabs (Landings)
Oysters (Landings)
Molluscs (Oysters, Hard Clams)
  • Source: VIMS Molluscan Ecology Program
  • URL: http://web.vims.edu/mollusc/monrestoration/memonrest.htm
  • Dates: varies
  • Format: more recent data in the form of downloadable tables in pdf format; for older data would need to refer to paper reports/publications
  • Notes: older data need to be extracted from hard copy reports and publications; e.g. annual oyster monitoring reports range from 1974 to 2010
Winter Flounder (Landings)
Fish and Crab Abundances
Forestry
Acres of Forestland
Acres of Forestland
  • Source: USDA Forest Inventory and Analysis Data
  • URL: http://fia.fs.fed.us/slides/major-trends.pdf
  • Dates: 1630 – 2000
  • Format: downloadable data
  • Notes: only various years available. Saved as excel file – can combine with VA Dept of forestry data for slightly more data points only various years available
GW Forest, Hardwood, Softwood Growth
Virginia Specific Hardwood, Softwood Reports
  • Source: Virginia Department of Forestry
  • Publications: Virginia's Forests 1992, Virginia's Forests 2007
  • Dates: varies
  • Format: printed data and graphs
  • Notes: could extract data from publications, but not in easy to access format
Biomass and Standing Crops
Virginia-Wide Tree Counts, Biomass, Growth, Carbon, Removals and Mortality
Crops
Peanuts (Planted, Harvested, Yield)
Soybeans (Planted, Harvested, Yield)
Corn (Planted, Harvested, Yield)
Wheat (Planted, Harvested, Yield)
Aquatic Resources
Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV)
  • Source: Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)
  • URL: http://web.vims.edu/bio/sav/?svr=www
  • Dates: 1971 – 2008
  • Format: interactive & static maps
  • Notes: not all years available
Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV)
Benthic
Plankton
Other Resources
Invasive Species, Plants and Insects
Invasive Species in Chesapeake Bay
Eight–Hour Ozone Exceedances
Colonial Water Bird Survey
  • Source: Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
  • URL: http://vafwis.org/fwis
  • Dates: 1977 – 2003
  • Format: data tables
  • Notes: must log in, data only for various years, organized spatially
Hourly Meteorological; Hurricane and Storm Records; Precipitation; Surficial and Groundwater Well; Water Quality; Marsh Grass Biomass and Cover; Dune Biomass; Historic Shorelines and Upland/Marsh Boundaries; EcoTrends–Socioeconomic Catalog for VCR/LTER Airshed; Small Mammals; Birds
  • Source: Virginia Coast Reserve (VCR) Long–Term Ecological Research (LTER) Database
  • URL: http://www.vcrlter.virginia.edu/cgi-bin/browseData.cgi
  • Dates: varies
  • Format: downloadable data
  • Notes: research sites located on ocean-side of Eastern Shore; must request data through online form; time span of data collection varies for each project
Water Column; Sediment Contaminants and Toxicity; Benthic Macroinvertebrate and Demersal Fish Community and Contaminant Data
Counts of Various Raptor Species
Inventory and Monitoring Program Networks (long-term monitoring) in the National Park Service for: Air Quality, Aquatic Macroinvertebrates, Birds, Forest Vegetation, Water Quality and Quantity, Weather and Climate, Plus Others
  • Source: National Park Service
  • URL: http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/
  • Notes: click on map to go to one of the 3 regions covering Virginia: Mid Atlantic, Appalachian Highlands, and Northeast Coastal and Barrier.  Data are currently unavailable to the public, but will be available gradually in late 2010 and into 2011
Human Diseases
Waterborne Diseases
Disease Maps
  • Source: United States Geological Survey (USGS)
  • URL: https://diseasemaps.usgs.gov/mapviewer/
  • Dates: varies by disease
  • Format: maps and graphs
  • Notes: includes diseases such as West Nile Virus, St. Louis Encephalitis, and Equine Encephalitis with data for disease appearance in birds, humans, and mosquitoes; data are available by year for Virginia in the Historical Data link including tables with number of cases by county and yearly totals
Shenandoah Watershed Study and Virginia Trout Stream Sensitivity Study
Monarch Butterfly Data
Land Birds – Demographic Analyses and Species – Landscape Models
Gypsy Moth Defoliation

See the entire dataset (pdf)