5 ms·
One of the more interesting (to me at least) aspects of the warming trend of both the atmosphere and the oceans is that for each degree C increase in the mean a
by ChuckMcM 7y ago
One of the more interesting (to me at least) aspects of the warming trend of both the atmosphere and the oceans is that for each degree C increase in the mean atmospheric temperature increases its water carrying capacity on the order of 4.2 quadrillion kilograms. Rising ocean temperatures, combined with rising air temperatures are increasing the rate of evaporation of sea water into the air.
The effect of this is transporting more water in the air over longer distances. This "side effect" of global warming will likely make all of our past observations of precipitation rates in any given region completely moot. It also makes suspect any extrapolation of current precipitation trends into the future.
My reading of the current literature suggests to me that we might have an opposite problem, which is massive flooding in areas on a regular basis where previously they considered such floods "100 year" or "1000 year" storms.
What every climate scientist I have talked with agrees with, is that the current climate is being destabilized relative to historical records. Thus extrapolations become more and more uncertain (have larger error bars) as the initial conditions drift further and further away from anything on record.
- avip 7y agoIt's not "an opposite problem", it's the same problem. Heavy rains in a shorter timeframe will not refill aquifers.
- ChuckMcM 7y agoI don't disagree, but aquifer filling is in part a function of precipitation over time. And when an area is getting much more precipitation over time than it used to, it increases the aquifer fill rate. There is also the "new" opportunity to build reservoirs on the rain sheds. If it had been impractical before it can become practical given even a modest increase in the average yearly rainfall. I good example of that is the LA project[1] to recover rain runoff rather than sluice it out to the ocean. [1] https://la.curbed.com/2015/6/25/9946522/los-angeles-rainwater-capture https://la.curbed.com/2015/6/25/9946522/los-angeles-rainwate...
- willhslade 7y agoWell, if you dig deep enough holes, they will. That's how over a million people live in the Rajasthan desert in India.
- blunte 7y agoBut if your surface situation isn't good (lack of trees and other water capturing/retaining systems), you will eventually run out of water. Following permaculture principles, you can transform a region from barren (where water evaporates and leaves your area) to a relative oasis. There are several current desert permaculture projects that illustrate this. We just need to start doing this on a large scale - at least within and around regions of population. Then much more of the pumped water will remain in the local system. As a bonus, local climates will be cooler on average. And you can grow a lot of food, if you choose to.
- 6DM 7y agoJust to add to your point, this guy transformed the land more or less by planting grasses: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSPkcpGmflE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSPkcpGmflE
- erikpukinskis 7y agoPlanting pioneer species, building berms (to slow runoff), and fencing out grazers is the basic formula for rehabilitating dead land.
- User23 7y agoI learned this from Dune. The world needs more well-written ecological novels.
- omosubi 7y agoGreat documentary - thanks for sharing
- theptip 7y ago
- sak5sk 7y agoI wonder if it's happening already? Just last month we had record rainfall in 1 day that we'd typically get in a whole month in Kyushu, Japan.
- jbay808 7y agoSame thing happened in Vancouver, Canada.
- lph 7y agoThis area of Mississippi has been flooded for five months: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/03/yazoo-backwater-mississippi-flooding-months https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/03/yazoo-backwa...
- stuntkite 7y agoAustin, Tx here also record rains.
- ocschwar 7y agoNote also that the winds are driven by the temperature difference between the equator and the poles. The greenhouse effect warms the poles more than it warms the equator, thereby lowering that difference. So less wind. Which means the water that evaporates and then precipitates back down spends less time traveling horizontally in the wind. Evaporate straight up. Fall straight down. So, wet areas get wetter. Dry areas get dryer.
- dezzeus 7y ago* Winds are driven by the pressure difference (from high to low).
- petercooper 7y ago"for each degree C increase in the mean atmospheric temperature increases its water carrying capacity on the order of 4.2 quadrillion kilograms" I wondered if that would counteract the sea rises caused by melting sea ice, but.. no. Apparently a worldwide rise of 1 meter is caused by around 1 quintillion kg of melted ice.
- ChuckMcM 7y agoYeah, sadly no. Ice holds a lot more water than air can. Another interesting effect is that when large amounts of water precipitate out of the air it creates a bigger localized temperature difference because the phase change absorbs more heat. With enough change you can get hail (the water freezes as it precipitates out) and very steep thermoclines between the layers of the air (think tornadoes or hurricanes).
- zeristor 7y agoThat's not the big deal, the big deal is that the CO2 acts as a primer to keep more H2O in the air, which is a more powerful greenhouse gas than CO2; the warmer the air the more water it can hold. Yes it rains out, from time to time and forms clouds which makes this all so very complex. https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/vapor_warming.html https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/vapor_warming.htm...