Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 20, 2025
08:31
The Calibration and Use of Capacitance Sensors to Monitor Stem Water Content in Trees
Published on: December 27, 2017
13.1K
Changes in South American hydroclimate under projected Amazonian deforestation
Jorge Eiras-Barca1,2, Francina Dominguez1, Zhao Yang1,3
1Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
|May 23, 2020
Summary
Deforestation in the Amazon alters the hydrologic cycle, impacting evapotranspiration and temperature seasonally. While dry seasons see reduced moisture, wet seasons experience decreased precipitation in eastern regions due to altered wind patterns.
Area of Science:
- Atmospheric science
- Hydrology
- Climate modeling
Background:
- Amazon deforestation significantly impacts regional climate and the hydrologic cycle.
- Understanding these impacts requires analyzing complex interactions within water, energy, and momentum budgets.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of continued Amazon deforestation on the hydrologic cycle.
- To analyze seasonal variations in atmospheric and surface changes due to deforestation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with enhanced groundwater dynamics and Amazonian moisture tracers.
- Employed Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-based land use data for control and "business-as-usual" deforestation scenarios (2040-2050).
Main Results:
- Dry season: Increased albedo, reduced net radiation, decreased evapotranspiration (ET), less Amazonian moisture, and higher temperatures. No change in basin-wide precipitation.
- Wet season: Increased surface winds, enhanced vapor transport, increased easterly moisture export, and significant precipitation decrease in Eastern Amazon.
Conclusions:
- Deforestation-induced hydrologic changes are highly seasonal.
- Precipitation decreases in the wet season are not attributed to changes in moisture recycling or atmospheric stability.
Related Concept Videos
01:16What is Climate?
20.3K
Climate refers to the prevailing weather conditions in a specific area over an extended period. As the saying goes, “Climate is what you expect. Weather is what you get.” Climate is influenced by geographic factors, such as latitude, terrain, and proximity to bodies of water.
20.3K
01:50Global Climate Change
28.3K
Throughout its ~4.5 billion year history, the Earth has experienced periods of warming and cooling. However, the current drastic increase in global temperatures is well outside of the Earth’s cyclic norms, and evidence for human-caused global climate change is compelling. Paleoclimatology, the study of ancient climate conditions, provides ample evidence for human-caused global climate change by comparing recent conditions with those in the past.
28.3K
01:57Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss
27.7K
Though evaporation from plant leaves drives transpiration, it also results in loss of water. Because water is critical for photosynthetic reactions and other cellular processes, evolutionary pressures on plants in different environments have driven the acquisition of adaptations that reduce water loss.
27.7K
02:41Responses to Drought and Flooding
11.8K
Water plays a significant role in the life cycle of plants. However, insufficient or excess of water can be detrimental and pose a serious threat to plants.
11.8K
01:50Threats to Biodiversity
26.3K
There have been five major extinction events throughout geological history, resulting in the elimination of biodiversity, followed by a rebound of species that adapted to the new conditions. In the current geological epoch, the Holocene, there is a sixth extinction event in progress. This mass extinction has been attributed to human activities and is thus provisionally called the Anthropocene. In 2019 the human population reached 7.7 billion people and is projected to comprise 10 billion by...
26.3K
01:12Precipitation Processes
4.2K
The experimental conditions in a gravimetric analysis should be optimized to maximize the particle size and purity of the obtained precipitate. Ideally, the concentration of the precipitating reagent should be low with effective stirring to maintain low relative supersaturation for the growth of large crystals. In homogeneous precipitation, the precipitant is slowly generated by a chemical reaction in the solution to avoid local reagent excesses. For example, urea decomposes gradually to...
4.2K