Vegetation impact on atmospheric moisture transport under increasing land-ocean temperature contrasts

Makarieva, Anastassia M.; Nefiodov, A. V.; Nobre, Antônio Donato; Sheil, Douglas; Nobre, Paulo; Pokorný, Jan; Hesslerová, Petra; Li, Bai-Lian

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e11173

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 101 publications

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“…The role of surface net solar radiation and surface horizontal wind on evaporation has also been quantified. The differential effects of oceanic and continental evaporation on the temporal dynamics of rainfall warrants further investigation in particular to test the theory of the BPM over the region (Makarieva & Gorshkov, 2007; Makarieva et al., 2022; Poveda et al., 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms Controlling the 4D Distribution of Rainfall and Latent Heating Over the Rainiest Region on Earth

Poveda

2023

JGR Atmospheres

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Global Precipitation Measurement satellite and ERA5 reanalysis data are used to study the 4D (latitude, longitude, altitude, time) distribution of rainfall intensity and latent heating fields over the rainiest region on Earth, located over western Colombia and the far eastern equatorial Pacific. The annual and interannual variability and the location of both variables' maxima are identified, and their spatiotemporal correlations are quantified. Static analyses of the winds show that the colder Choco low‐level jet (LLJ) and the warmer Caribbean‐Panama jet form a tropical frontal system. Dynamic analyses of 3D streamlines reveal that the Choco LLJ is at the core of a quasi‐permanent mini‐Hadley cell over the Pacific, with sinking motion between 6°S‐Equator and rising motion at 5°N–8°N, comprised between 1,000 and 700 hPa. Such vortex dynamics enhances the convergence of the northerly winds and the Panama jet, and exacerbates deep convection in association with the orographic lifting over the Colombian Andes. The large‐scale branches of that flow illuminate the shape and dynamics of the Walker cell over tropical South America. Correlation analyses illustrate the connections between rainfall and 3D winds as moisture transport mechanisms. Correlation and singular value decomposition analyses suggest that oceanic (continental) evaporation is associated with rainfall during the drier (wetter) season, and the importance of high‐levels temperatures and vertical integrals of diverse thermal and energy variables on rainfall bolster the view that the condensational heating is strongly coupled with the moisture transport flow and the convective ascent required to explain such extraordinary amounts of rainfall.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms Controlling the 4D Distribution of Rainfall and Latent Heating Over the Rainiest Region on Earth

Poveda

2023

JGR Atmospheres

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“…Declining water availability means forest‐related surface albedo effects have a greater impact: less ET potential equals reduced cooling power, with the unused solar energy thus being converted into sensible heat, and further raising sensible heat formation and drought potential. Likewise, toward the inner latitudes and especially under the conditions of declining TFVC, rising temperatures alter the density and composition of atmospheric moisture, thereby reducing the potential for latent heat to generate condensation and drive cloud formation (see, e.g., Makarieva et al., 2022).…”

Section: Latitude Effects On Surface Albedo and The Latent Heat Fluxmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The contributions of tree, forest, and vegetation cover (TFVC) to watering the Earth through the dynamics of infiltration and groundwater recharge, water storage on the land surface, rainfall triggering, precipitation recycling, and the regulation of the geographical distribution of precious water resources are increasingly well understood (Creed & van Noordwijk, 2018;Dada et al, 2023;Ellison et al, 2012Ellison et al, , 2017Ellison et al, , 2019Hoek van Dijke et al, 2022;Keys et al, 2019;Makarieva et al, 2022;Meier et al, 2021;Morris, 2018;Morris et al, 2014;Sheil & Murdiyarso, 2009;Tanika et al, 2023). Though highly variable in the magnitude of their respective contributions and expressly subject to human modification via land use conversion, TFVC produce varying magnitudes of evapotranspiration (ET) (the total amount of stomatal transpiration + evaporation from leaf, bark, and soil surfaces, typically referred to as evapotranspiration), encourage infiltration and groundwater recharge, and promote the potential for precipitation recycling across the land surface.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Even cooler insights: On the power of forests to (water the Earth and) cool the planet

Ellison,

Pokorný,

Wild

2024

Global Change Biology

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Scientific innovation is overturning conventional paradigms of forest, water, and energy cycle interactions. This has implications for our understanding of the principal causal pathways by which tree, forest, and vegetation cover (TFVC) influence local and global warming/cooling. Many identify surface albedo and carbon sequestration as the principal causal pathways by which TFVC affects global warming/cooling. Moving toward the outer latitudes, in particular, where snow cover is more important, surface albedo effects are perceived to overpower carbon sequestration. By raising surface albedo, deforestation is thus predicted to lead to surface cooling, while increasing forest cover is assumed to result in warming. Observational data, however, generally support the opposite conclusion, suggesting surface albedo is poorly understood. Most accept that surface temperatures are influenced by the interplay of surface albedo, incoming shortwave (SW) radiation, and the partitioning of the remaining, post‐albedo, SW radiation into latent and sensible heat. However, the extent to which the avoidance of sensible heat formation is first and foremost mediated by the presence (absence) of water and TFVC is not well understood. TFVC both mediates the availability of water on the land surface and drives the potential for latent heat production (evapotranspiration, ET). While latent heat is more directly linked to local than global cooling/warming, it is driven by photosynthesis and carbon sequestration and powers additional cloud formation and top‐of‐cloud reflectivity, both of which drive global cooling. TFVC loss reduces water storage, precipitation recycling, and downwind rainfall potential, thus driving the reduction of both ET (latent heat) and cloud formation. By reducing latent heat, cloud formation, and precipitation, deforestation thus powers warming (sensible heat formation), which further diminishes TFVC growth (carbon sequestration). Large‐scale tree and forest restoration could, therefore, contribute significantly to both global and surface temperature cooling through the principal causal pathways of carbon sequestration and cloud formation.

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“…Besides precipitation recycling and consideration of water vapor as a tracer, it has been recognized that change in evapotranspiration can cause changes in atmospheric moisture convergence by modifying the surface temperature and atmospheric temperature profile (e.g., Eiras-Barca et al, 2020;Pu & Dickinson, 2014). However, the direction of such changes has long been a matter of controversy, as illustrated, for example, by an early discussion between Ripley (1976) and Charney (1976; see also Makarieva et al, 2022 for an overview) and more recently by modelling studies revealing diverse responses in different regions (e.g., Kooperman et al, 2018). Accordingly, increase (reduction) of moisture convergence with reduced (increased) evapotranspiration has been acknowledged as the first-order effect in the water cycle response to changes in evapotranspiration (Fowler et al, 2019;Kooperman et al, 2018;references therein).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of ecosystem transpiration in creating alternate moisture regimes by influencing atmospheric moisture convergence

Makarieva

Nefiodov

Nobre

et al. 2023

Global Change Biology

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The terrestrial water cycle links the soil and atmosphere moisture reservoirs through four fluxes: precipitation, evaporation, runoff, and atmospheric moisture convergence (net import of water vapor to balance runoff). Each of these processes is essential for sustaining human and ecosystem well-being. Predicting how the water cycle responds to changes in vegetation cover remains a challenge. Recently, changes in plant transpiration across the Amazon basin were shown to be associated disproportionately with changes in rainfall, suggesting that even small declines in transpiration (e.g., from deforestation) would lead to much larger declines in rainfall. Here, constraining these findings by the law of mass conservation, we show that in a sufficiently wet atmosphere, forest transpiration can control atmospheric moisture convergence such that increased transpiration enhances atmospheric moisture import and results in water yield. Conversely, in a sufficiently dry atmosphere increased transpiration reduces atmospheric moisture convergence and water yield. This previously unrecognized dichotomy can explain the otherwise mixed observations of how water yield responds to re-greening, as we illustrate with examples from China's Loess Plateau. Our analysis indicates that any additional precipitation recycling due to additional vegetation | 2537 MAKARIEVA et al.

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Vegetation impact on atmospheric moisture transport under increasing land-ocean temperature contrasts

Cited by 8 publications

References 101 publications

Mechanisms Controlling the 4D Distribution of Rainfall and Latent Heating Over the Rainiest Region on Earth

Mechanisms Controlling the 4D Distribution of Rainfall and Latent Heating Over the Rainiest Region on Earth

Even cooler insights: On the power of forests to (water the Earth and) cool the planet

The role of ecosystem transpiration in creating alternate moisture regimes by influencing atmospheric moisture convergence

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