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One of the things I have repeatably stressed over CO2 is land use changes. In urban and suburban areas, we have taken most of the natural landscape and replaced with buildings, concrete, asphalt, etc. In doing so, we have highly reduced and in some cases eliminated the natural evapotranspiration of these large regions.
The water cycle is an important aspect of the global temperature. When we have rain, there is an energy exchange in the condensing of gaseous H2O to water. Before we covered the natural landscape, this water would first soak the ground. It would maintain the natural plant life and as both the ground and the plants releases H2O ti the atmosphere, there would ne an energy exchange that is called the enthalpy of vaporization. This process would cool the plants and soil, thus cooling the surface of the earth in all such regions.
In covering the natural vegetation with buildings, streets, and sidewalks, we no longer have this natural cooling that originates with surface moisture. There only remains an insignificant amount of surface water wetting what remains of built up areas. Most of the water now is released into storm sewers, which would otherwise soak into the soil, and released over weeks or longer, providing cooling as it evaporated.
Now of course, not all rain water naturally soaked the ground. Some would overwhelm the capacity of absorption, and runoff to streams, rivers, lakes, etc. Eventually making it to the oceans. Now with storm sewers taking the rainwater to rivers and other waterways and less open ground for water absorption, we now have increased flood potentials. The water than would normally be sequestered in the land, now is adding to the water going to rivers. land use changes have also often reduced the flow capability of rivers, streams, etc. with bridges and other developments reducing flow capabilities. We have dramatically increased flooding with land use changes. Not because of greenhouse gasses.
Nearly all climate stations that we derive our temperature data from are influenced by these higher temperatures, caused by land use. Very few are in areas that have not been significantly impacted by land use. Over the course of decades, these sites will show a warming and the regions move from mostly plant life, to mostly man made surface caps.
I was promoted to start this thread from reading a recent Nature Reports article:
Desert Amplification in a Warming Climate
It isn't really about what I have been saying, but is a good article.
Now another thing caught my eye in this report, of which I will start another thread for.
I could easily go on and on about this, but I think this is enough for now.
The water cycle is an important aspect of the global temperature. When we have rain, there is an energy exchange in the condensing of gaseous H2O to water. Before we covered the natural landscape, this water would first soak the ground. It would maintain the natural plant life and as both the ground and the plants releases H2O ti the atmosphere, there would ne an energy exchange that is called the enthalpy of vaporization. This process would cool the plants and soil, thus cooling the surface of the earth in all such regions.
In covering the natural vegetation with buildings, streets, and sidewalks, we no longer have this natural cooling that originates with surface moisture. There only remains an insignificant amount of surface water wetting what remains of built up areas. Most of the water now is released into storm sewers, which would otherwise soak into the soil, and released over weeks or longer, providing cooling as it evaporated.
Now of course, not all rain water naturally soaked the ground. Some would overwhelm the capacity of absorption, and runoff to streams, rivers, lakes, etc. Eventually making it to the oceans. Now with storm sewers taking the rainwater to rivers and other waterways and less open ground for water absorption, we now have increased flood potentials. The water than would normally be sequestered in the land, now is adding to the water going to rivers. land use changes have also often reduced the flow capability of rivers, streams, etc. with bridges and other developments reducing flow capabilities. We have dramatically increased flooding with land use changes. Not because of greenhouse gasses.
Nearly all climate stations that we derive our temperature data from are influenced by these higher temperatures, caused by land use. Very few are in areas that have not been significantly impacted by land use. Over the course of decades, these sites will show a warming and the regions move from mostly plant life, to mostly man made surface caps.
I was promoted to start this thread from reading a recent Nature Reports article:
Desert Amplification in a Warming Climate
It isn't really about what I have been saying, but is a good article.
Now another thing caught my eye in this report, of which I will start another thread for.
I could easily go on and on about this, but I think this is enough for now.
