Weather and Air Quality Drive the Winter Use of Utah’s Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons
Winter outdoor recreation opportunities in Utah are directly impacted by the effects of climate change and deteriorating air quality. We examine the influences of daily weather conditions and air quality on winter use of two prominent Utah canyons located just outside Salt Lake City-Big and Little C...
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2018-10-01
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Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/10/3582 |
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doaj-0789151f388e429babd0b477292f844d2020-11-25T00:16:50ZengMDPI AGSustainability2071-10502018-10-011010358210.3390/su10103582su10103582Weather and Air Quality Drive the Winter Use of Utah’s Big and Little Cottonwood CanyonsHongchao Zhang0Jordan W. Smith1Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism and Department of Environment and Society, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USAInstitute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism and Department of Environment and Society, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USAWinter outdoor recreation opportunities in Utah are directly impacted by the effects of climate change and deteriorating air quality. We examine the influences of daily weather conditions and air quality on winter use of two prominent Utah canyons located just outside Salt Lake City-Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons. Daily weather data were collected both within the canyons and in Salt Lake City; daily air quality data were collected for just Salt Lake City. We hypothesized that desirable weather within the canyons (i.e., cooler temperatures, more snowfall, and deeper snow depths) serves as a “pull” factor, positively influencing the volume of traffic. We also hypothesized that poor air quality within the city acts as a “push” factor on individuals’ travel behavior, this too would positively influence the volume of traffic up the canyons. We used a panel time-series regression model to determine the influence of both these “push” and “pull” factors on use of the canyons during the winter months. Our results revealed that, as expected, cooler temperatures and greater amounts of snow in the canyons, as well as poorer air quality in the city, have a positive and significant influence on winter canyon use. These findings suggest that warmer winter temperatures, as well as deteriorating air quality in the city, may have substantial impacts on Utah’s outdoor recreation economy.http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/10/3582outdoor recreationclimate changeair qualityskiingsnowboarding |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Hongchao Zhang Jordan W. Smith |
spellingShingle |
Hongchao Zhang Jordan W. Smith Weather and Air Quality Drive the Winter Use of Utah’s Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons Sustainability outdoor recreation climate change air quality skiing snowboarding |
author_facet |
Hongchao Zhang Jordan W. Smith |
author_sort |
Hongchao Zhang |
title |
Weather and Air Quality Drive the Winter Use of Utah’s Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons |
title_short |
Weather and Air Quality Drive the Winter Use of Utah’s Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons |
title_full |
Weather and Air Quality Drive the Winter Use of Utah’s Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons |
title_fullStr |
Weather and Air Quality Drive the Winter Use of Utah’s Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons |
title_full_unstemmed |
Weather and Air Quality Drive the Winter Use of Utah’s Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons |
title_sort |
weather and air quality drive the winter use of utah’s big and little cottonwood canyons |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Sustainability |
issn |
2071-1050 |
publishDate |
2018-10-01 |
description |
Winter outdoor recreation opportunities in Utah are directly impacted by the effects of climate change and deteriorating air quality. We examine the influences of daily weather conditions and air quality on winter use of two prominent Utah canyons located just outside Salt Lake City-Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons. Daily weather data were collected both within the canyons and in Salt Lake City; daily air quality data were collected for just Salt Lake City. We hypothesized that desirable weather within the canyons (i.e., cooler temperatures, more snowfall, and deeper snow depths) serves as a “pull” factor, positively influencing the volume of traffic. We also hypothesized that poor air quality within the city acts as a “push” factor on individuals’ travel behavior, this too would positively influence the volume of traffic up the canyons. We used a panel time-series regression model to determine the influence of both these “push” and “pull” factors on use of the canyons during the winter months. Our results revealed that, as expected, cooler temperatures and greater amounts of snow in the canyons, as well as poorer air quality in the city, have a positive and significant influence on winter canyon use. These findings suggest that warmer winter temperatures, as well as deteriorating air quality in the city, may have substantial impacts on Utah’s outdoor recreation economy. |
topic |
outdoor recreation climate change air quality skiing snowboarding |
url |
http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/10/3582 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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