GCM studies of the influence of vegetation on the general circulation: The role of albedo in modulating climate change. [GCM (general circulation model)]
An atmospheric general circulation model (GCM) coupled to a simple biosphere model is used to examine the role of vegetation change on climate. Various biomes are substituted to simulate degradation of vegetation. It is found that albedo change plays a distinct role in the local decrease of rainfall. Changes in vegetation morphology and physiology do not cause catastrophic decreases in precipitation. Simulations of Amazon deforestation show that the climate response is very dependent on the amount of change in albedo between rainforest and degraded grass. Precipitation drops as albedo increases. The change in plant physiology decreases evapotranspiration, but moisture convergence increases to offset the drying. This compensation is a result of cloud feedback in this model, and does not occur when cloudiness is prescribed. Experiments with idealized boundary conditions show a similar dependence of rainfall on albedo in cases of tropical deforestation, subtropical desertification, and mid-latitude deforestation. In the topics, rainfall decreases over land only when reflectivity is increased, even when the rainforest is left intact. The monsoon precipitation of the subtropical experiment fails when savannah is replaced by high-albedo desert. When low-albedo desert is used, the decrease in summer rainfall is small. When mid-latitude forest is replaced by grassland, precipitation patterns shift, but net rainfall remains unchanged. Additional simulations of mid-latitude drought show that low soil moisture leads to moderate spring and summer droughts, but dry soil combined with dormant vegetation produces extremely severe droughts. Soil moisture deficits were more persistent when vegetation did not go dormant.
- Research Organization:
- Maryland Univ., College Park, MD (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 7113525
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Thesis (Ph.D.)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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