Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Earth systems across mountain belts include the asthenosphere (ductile region of the upper mantle), lithosphere (crust and uppermost upper mantle), surface, atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, and biosphere. Across mountain belts these Earth systems each have their own processes which interact within the system they belong.
Tectonic–climatic interaction is the interrelationship between tectonic processes and the climate system. The tectonic processes in question include orogenesis, volcanism, and erosion, while relevant climatic processes include atmospheric circulation, orographic lift, monsoon circulation and the rain shadow effect.
The mass condenses as it rises, releasing moisture, which results in precipitation on that flank of the mountains. As the air mass moves over the mountain, it gradually becomes drier until it descends on the other side of the barrier with little moisture left. This effect is known the "rain shadow effect. In the Himalaya, this barrier effect is ...
Cold air damming, or CAD, is a meteorological phenomenon that involves a high-pressure system (anticyclone) accelerating equatorward east of a north-south oriented mountain range due to the formation of a barrier jet behind a cold front associated with the poleward portion of a split upper level trough. Initially, a high-pressure system moves ...
A rain shadow is a dry area on the leeward side of a mountainous area (away from the wind). The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems and cast a "shadow" of dryness behind them. Wind and moist air are drawn by the prevailing winds towards the top of the mountains, condensing and precipitating before it crosses the top.
Mountain ranges and elevated land masses have a major impact on global climate. For instance, the elevated areas of East Africa substantially determine the strength of the Indian monsoon . [ 4 ] In scientific models, such as general circulation models , orography defines the lower boundary of the model over land.
Climate engineering (or geoengineering, climate intervention [1]) is the intentional large-scale alteration of the planetary environment to counteract anthropogenic climate change. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] The term has been used as an umbrella term for both carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation modification when applied at a planetary scale.
For the climate system, the term refers to a critical threshold at which global or regional climate changes from one stable state to another stable state.". [15] In ecosystems and in social systems, a tipping point can trigger a regime shift, a major systems reorganisation into a new stable state. [16] Such regime shifts need not be harmful.