Geography 1500F/G Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Solar Irradiance, Carbon Cycle, The Columbian Exchange
4 Oct 2016
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Document Summary
Most year round solar energy: the itcz. Moves in between tropic of cancer and tropic of capricorn. Fundamental control on the patterns of life. Solar insolation above the amazonia is nearly constant (vs. higher latitudes) But only 50% of solar energy makes it through clouds to forest canopy. But, more rain in dry periods than would expect with sub tropical high position (vs. sahel) We have a lot more rain falling on amazonia then is getting discharged and coming in from the ocean. The moisture is coming from the forest itself. Because there is so much vegetation, there is a lot of transpiration and evaporation. Over half of the rainfall on the forest comes from the forest itself. Precipitation: is recycled from forest (through evapotranspiration) Is from the atlantic ocean via the itcz. The amazonia rainforest rainfall is partially self sustaining. Wwf: the point of no return, in which conservation prospects are greatly reduced ~ 2 decades away.
