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Water 2010, 2(3), 605-648; doi:10.3390/w2030605
Review

Urbanization Effects on Watershed Hydrology and In-Stream Processes in the Southern United States

1,* , 2
,
3
,
1
 and
4
1 Department of Geological Sciences, East Carolina University/Greenville, NC 27858-4353, USA 2 Department of Biology, University of North Carolina-Charlotte/Charlotte, NC 28223-0001, USA 3 Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of North Carolina-Charlotte/Charlotte, NC 28223-0001, USA 4 Department of Engineering Technology, University of North Carolina-Charlotte/Charlotte, NC 28223-0001, USA
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 10 August 2010 / Revised: 1 September 2010 / Accepted: 2 September 2010 / Published: 13 September 2010
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Abstract

The southern United States is characterized by a humid, subtropical climate and consists of 16 states (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, and Maryland) and Washington DC. Currently this region is experiencing the largest net population growth in the U.S. Over the last century, the expansion of large urban centers and impervious area in the region has altered the hydrologic cycle. This review synthesizes regional research that shows how watershed hydrology, groundwater recharge, stream geomorphology, climate, biogeochemistry, and stream ecology have been affected by urbanization and the expansion of watershed impervious area.
Keywords: urbanization; TIA; surface water; groundwater; stormwater runoff urbanization; TIA; surface water; groundwater; stormwater runoff
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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O’Driscoll, M.; Clinton, S.; Jefferson, A.; Manda, A.; McMillan, S. Urbanization Effects on Watershed Hydrology and In-Stream Processes in the Southern United States. Water 2010, 2, 605-648.

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