Climate change, flooding in arid environments, and erosion rates

Geology ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 29 (12) ◽  
pp. 1071 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Molnar
2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Josiclêda Domiciano Galvíncio ◽  
Rejane Magalhães de Mendonça Pimentel

Typical vegetation of arid environments consists of few dominant species highly threatened by climate change. Jurema preta (Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.) Poiret) is one of these successful species that now is dominant in extensive semiarid areas in the world. The development of a simple bioclimatic model using climate change scenarios based on optimistic and pessimistic predictions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shown as a simple tool to predict possible responses of dominant species under dry land conditions and low functional biodiversity. The simple bioclimatic model proved satisfactory in creating climate change scenarios and impacts on the canopy temperature of Jurema preta in semiarid Brazil. The bioclimatic model was efficient to obtain spatially relevant estimations of air temperature from determinations of the surface temperature using satellite images. The model determined that the average difference of 5oC between the air temperature and the leaf temperature for Jurema preta, and an increase of 3oC in air temperature, promote an increase of 2oC in leaf temperature. It leads to disturbances in vital physiological mechanisms in the leaf, mainly the photosynthesis and efficient use of water.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 6745-6757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asmat Ullah ◽  
Ishfaq Ahmad ◽  
Ashfaq Ahmad ◽  
Tasneem Khaliq ◽  
Umer Saeed ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cherith A. Moses

Rock coasts are widespread in the tropics and exhibit particular morphologies that may be specific to their tropical, micro-tidal location. Notches are particularly well developed, often linked to onshore cliffs and fronted by subhorizontal platforms. Through a review of previously published data across the tropics, average cliff face erosion rates are calculated as 2.15 ± 2.62 mm a−1, intertidal erosion rates 3.03 ± 7.50 mm a−1 and subtidal erosion rates 0.96 ± 0.44 mm a−1. Intertidal erosion rates are variable within and across latitudinal ranges: within 10°N and S of the equator average rates are 1.42 ± 1.22 mm a−1; between latitudes of 10°and 20°, 0.88 ± 1.16 mm a−1 and between latitudes of 20°and 30°, 2.04 ± 2.57 mm a−1. A consideration of temporal variations in intertidal erosion rates provides insights into the potential impacts of climate change on the erosion dynamics of rock coasts in the tropics. This paper highlights some of the interactions over time and space between process and measurement that continue to limit our understanding of, and ability to model, the erosion dynamics of tropical rock coasts. It concludes by identifying potentially fruitful areas for future research.


2020 ◽  
Vol 115 ◽  
pp. 126040 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ishfaq Ahmad ◽  
Burhan Ahmad ◽  
Kenneth Boote ◽  
Gerrit Hoogenboom

2014 ◽  
Vol 119 (12) ◽  
pp. 2522-2547 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. Golombek ◽  
N. H. Warner ◽  
V. Ganti ◽  
M. P. Lamb ◽  
T. J. Parker ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon D. Pelletier ◽  
Mary H. Nichols ◽  
Mark A. Nearing

Abstract. Quantifying how landscapes have responded and will respond to vegetation changes is an essential goal of geomorphology. The Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed offers a unique opportunity to quantify the impact of vegetation changes on landscape evolution over geologic time scales. The Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed (WGEW) is dominated by grasslands at high elevations and shrublands at low elevations. Paleovegetation data suggest that portions of WGEW higher than approximately 1430 m a.s.l. have been grasslands and/or woodlands throughout the late Quaternary, while elevations lower than 1430 m a.s.l. changed from a grassland/woodland to a shrubland c. 2–4 ka. Elevations below 1430 m a.s.l. have decadal time-scale erosion rates approximately ten times higher, drainage densities approximately three times higher, and hillslope-scale relief approximately three times lower than elevations above 1430 m. We leverage the abundant geomorphic data collected at WGEW over the past several decades to calibrate a mathematical model that predicts the equilibrium drainage density in shrublands and grasslands/woodlands at WGEW. We use this model to test the hypothesis that the difference in drainage density between the shrublands and grassland/woodlands at WGEW is partly the result of a late Holocene vegetation change in the lower elevations of WGEW, using the upper elevations as a control. Model predictions for the increase in drainage density associated with the shift from grasslands/woodlands to shrublands are consistent with measured values. Using modern erosion rates and the magnitude of relief reduction associated with the transition from grasslands/woodlands to shrublands, we estimate the timing of the grassland-to-shrubland transition in the lower elevations of WGEW to be approximately 3 ka, i.e., broadly consistent with paleovegetation studies. Our results provide support for the hypothesis that common vegetation changes in semi-arid environments (e.g. from grassland to shrubland) can change erosion rates by more than an order of magnitude, with important consequences for landscape morphology.


2006 ◽  
Vol 14 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 29-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Lioubimtseva ◽  
Roy Cole

2021 ◽  
pp. 401-422
Author(s):  
Mohamed Saber ◽  
Sameh A. Kantoush ◽  
Tetsuya Sumi ◽  
Yusuke Ogiso ◽  
Tahani Alharrasi ◽  
...  

AbstractRecently, Wadi flash floods (WFFs) have happened frequently in arid environments, resulting in great damage the society and the environment. In Oman, severe WFFs have occurred repeatedly within the last 10 years causing a huge impact on human lives and properties. This paper aims at introducing the framework of an international collaboration project between Japan and Oman for WFF management considering sediment dynamics and climate changes. Four research groups were established: climate change (G1), rainfall-runoff modeling (G2), sediment yield and transport (G3), and sedimentation and infiltration processes (G4). Several field investigations were conducted since 2017 until now. The detailed field survey to assess the deposited sediment in a dry reservoir by using sediment bars, and infiltration test, as well as drone survey were addressed. Some of the preliminary results and findings from the field investigation is discussed. The results show there is an adverse impact of sedimentation clogging on the infiltration process at the reservoirs. Based on the historical rainfall data analysis, there is a systematic increasing trend of the annual average precipitation with remarkable cycles over the MENA region and Oman. The knowledge obtained from this project is expected to be valuable to understanding sediment dynamics at Wadi basins.


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