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On the response of the tropical atmosphere to large-scale deforestationRecent studies on the Amazon deforestation problem predict that removal of the forest will result in a higher surface temperature, a significant reduction in evaporation and precipitation, and possibly significant changes in the tropical circulation. Here, we discuss the basic mechanisms contributing to the response of the tropical atmosphere to deforestation. A simple linear model of the tropical atmosphere is used in studying the effects of deforestation on climate. It is suggested that the impact of large-scale deforestation on the circulation of the tropical atmosphere consists of two components: the response of the tropical circulation to the negative change in precipitation (heating), and the response of the same circulation to the positive change in surface temperature. Owing to their different signs, the changes in predicted temperature and precipitation excite competing responses working in opposite directions. The predicted change in tropical circulation determines the change, if any, in atmospheric moisture convergence, which is equivalent to the change in run-off. The dependence of run-off predictions on the relative magnitudes of the predicted changes in precipitation and surface temperature implies that the predictions about run-off are highly sensitive, which explains, at least partly, the disagreement between the different models concerning the sign of the predicted change in Amazonian run-off.
Document ID
19930067611
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Eltahir, E. A. B.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Bras, R. L.
(MIT Cambridge, MA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
July 1, 1993
Publication Information
Publication: Royal Meteorological Society, Quarterly Journal
Volume: 119
Issue: 512
ISSN: 0035-9009
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Accession Number
93A51608
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NGT-30086
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG5-1615
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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