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Monsoons and Global Warming. Dalia Bach Orals Presentation. WHAT IS MONSOON?. Monsoon : a wind system that reverses its prevailing direction seasonally; Seasonal wind changes are associated with alternate rainy/dry seasons (usually wet summer and dry winter);
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Monsoons and Global Warming Dalia Bach Orals Presentation
WHAT IS MONSOON? • Monsoon: a wind system that reverses its prevailing direction seasonally; • Seasonal wind changes are associated with alternate rainy/dry seasons (usually wet summer and dry winter); • In India, monsoon is often applied to the summer monsoon and the heavy rainfall that it brings; • About 60% of the world population are affected by monsoons. Most of them are in developing countries; • Anomalous monsoon fluctuations may bring natural and social disasters (droughts, floods, landslides, agriculture failures etc)
SEASONAL PRECIPITATION DISTRIBUTION(DELHI v.s. NEW YORK) New York (mid-latitude temperate climate) Delhi, India Monsoon climate
MONSOON SYSTEMS • Indian monsoon • India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indochina… • East Asian monsoon • China, Korea, Japan • Australian monsoon • Northern Australia, Indonesia • West African monsoon • West Africa (Sahel: between the Sahara and the tropical rain forests) • North American monsoon • Southwest US, Northern Mexico • South American monsoon
MONSOON SYSTEMS Northern hemisphere summer Southern hemisphere summer
BASIC DRIVING MECHANISMS OF A MONSOON • Differential heating between land and ocean • Different heat capacity (specific heat of water >> dry land) • Different opacity to solar radiation (Land surface opaque to SR while ocean absorbs radiation to ~10m) • Heat mixing and storage within oceanic mixed layer • Moist processes • Brings moist air from ocean to land • Rotational effects • Coriolis Force • Topography effects • Brings elevated heating (Himalayas in summer)
Man-Made Climate ChangeHow is Man influencing the climate? • Emissions • Greenhouse Gases & Aerosols • Fossil fuels (Personal & Industry) • Land use • Land use changes • Agriculture • Deforestation • Urbanization • Water management & reservoirs
Q: Is the current CO2 level higher than in past interglacials? A: Yes – much!
CO2 Methane Nitrous Oxide