Soil Moisture Variability Across Local Climate Zones of Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio

Within our warming climate and a decrease in precipitation due to large-scale climactic events, drought conditions have been increasing in both frequency and land area. As of September 13, 2024, portions of southeastern Ohio are experiencing D4 drought conditions for the first time since the United States Drought Monitor was put into effect in 2000. At the same time, Ohio has seen a boom in urban and suburban development, with nearly half a million people entering the state in the past twenty years, primarily in southern cities such as Columbus and Cincinnati. This results in a decrease in soil surface area and depth due to crowded buildings and underground developments such as sewer systems and basements. With urban heat islands increasing heat bubbles that prevent ample precipitation combined with natural drought conditions, soil less often retains the structure needed to saturate with water, resulting in it commonly acting as runoff to waterways and sewers until sufficient water is collected.
The goal of this study is to determine if soil’s proximity to urbanized structures and surfaces directly affects its moisture content and heat retention. Multiple climate zones within rural, suburban, and urban areas in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, will be observed and tested. This study aims to determine which climate zones suffer from reduced soil moisture due to urban infrastructure in these cities and how this can be mitigated, even if moisture must be added by human means.