Precambrian climate: The effects of land area and earth's rotation rate
- National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)
- Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor (United States)
The authors present results of model studies using general circulation models of climatic effects of variations in the rotation rate of the earth. These studies are of relevance for the Precambrian times, when the rotation period of the earth was considerably shorter. The authors include in their model studies a number of factors which were left out in previous studies. The rotation rate has a strong effect on atmospheric circulation, as evidenced in the theory of geostrophic turbulence, mid-latitude baroclinic instability, and the Hadley cell. One can expect the contraction of circulation patterns, both horizontally and vertically. This should also impact heat transport, though questions of mean temperature effects are more open, unless one allows cloud cover to vary. The authors put more realistic starting conditions into the model, and also allow clouds and hydrology to have a feedback role to see what impact rotation rates will have on global climate.
- OSTI ID:
- 6436446
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States), Vol. 98:D5; ISSN 0148-0227
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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