Lake Victoria’s Water Budget and the Potential Effects of Climate Change in the 21st Century

Author(s):  
S Sewagudde
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinícius Machado Rocha ◽  
Francis Wagner Silva Correia ◽  
Weslley De Brito Gomes

O objetivo deste estudo é avaliar os efeitos da mudança do clima durante o século XXI sobre a precipitação na Amazônia, utilizando o modelo regional Eta forçado com o cenário de emissões RCP 8.5 proveniente do modelo do sistema terrestre HadGEM2-ES. As mudanças projetadas para o clima futuro mostram que, os impactos nos componentes do balanço de umidade foram mais significativos durante a estação chuvosa e no setor sul da bacia, principalmente, no final do século. O mecanismo de retroalimentação positivo é configurado durante o verão e na média anual, isto é, a redução da convergência de umidade e da evapotranspiração à superfície agiram no mesmo sentido para reduzir a precipitação total; no entanto, o mecanismo de retroalimentação negativo é dominante no inverno, em que a redução da evapotranspiração é parcialmente compensada pelo aumento da convergência de umidade, porém, não o suficiente para inibir a redução da precipitação. A redução da precipitação total na Amazônia foi decorrente tanto da redução da precipitação de origem local quanto advectiva, sendo que a advectiva teve papel predominante devido às mudanças na circulação regional e no transporte de umidade para a bacia. Esses resultados mostram que, a mudança do clima pode afetar de forma significativa os componentes do balanço de água na Amazônica, implicando em graves consequências ecológicas ao bioma, tais como: afetando a dinâmica dos ecossistemas, reduzindo a capacidade da floresta em absorver carbono, favorecendo a ocorrência de eventos extremos, aumentando a temperatura à superfície e, consequentemente, a frequência e intensidade das queimadas.  Assessment of the Effects of Climate Change on Precipitation in the Amazon Basin Using the RCP 8.5 Eta-HadGEM2-ES Model A B S T R A C TThe aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of climate change on precipitation in the Amazon basin during the 21st century using the Eta Regional Climate Model forced by RCP 8.5 emissions scenario from the HadGEM2-ES earth system model. The changes projected for future climate show that the impacts on the water budget components were more significant during the rainy season and southern basin sector, especially at the end of the 21st century. The positive feedback mechanism is configured during the summer and on average annually, i.e., the reduction of moisture convergence and surface evapotranspiration acted in the same way to reduce total precipitation. The negative feedback mechanism is seen during the winter, where the reduction of evapotranspiration is partially offset by the increase in moisture convergence, however, not sufficient to offset the reduction in precipitation. The reduction in total precipitation in the Amazon was due to both the decrease of local and advective precipitation, but the advective had a major role due to changes in the regional circulation and moisture transport over the basin. These results show that climate change can significantly affect the components of the water budget in the Amazon basin, resulting in serious ecological consequences for the biome, such as affecting ecosystem dynamics, reduction in the forest's ability to absorb carbon, causing the occurrence of extreme events, increasing the surface temperature, and hence, the frequency and intensity of fires.Keywords: Amazon basin, precipitation, water budget, Eta regional model, RCP 8.5 emissions scenario


Author(s):  
Joel Barker ◽  
Stephen Nelson ◽  
John McBride ◽  
Greg Carling ◽  
Samuel Hudson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  

2020 ◽  
pp. 103406
Author(s):  
Vladimir Matskovsky ◽  
Alejandro Venegas-González ◽  
René Garreaud ◽  
Fidel A. Roig ◽  
Alvaro G. Gutiérrez ◽  
...  

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 248
Author(s):  
Tyler Searls ◽  
James Steenberg ◽  
Xinbiao Zhu ◽  
Charles P.-A. Bourque ◽  
Fan-Rui Meng

Models of forest growth and yield (G&Y) are a key component in long-term strategic forest management plans. Models leveraging the industry-standard “empirical” approach to G&Y are frequently underpinned by an assumption of historical consistency in climatic growing conditions. This assumption is problematic as forest managers look to obtain reliable growth predictions under the changing climate of the 21st century. Consequently, there is a pressing need for G&Y modelling approaches that can be more robustly applied under the influence of climate change. In this study we utilized an established forest gap model (JABOWA-3) to simulate G&Y between 2020 and 2100 under Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5 in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL). Simulations were completed using the province’s permanent sample plot data and surface-fitted climatic datasets. Through model validation, we found simulated basal area (BA) aligned with observed BA for the major conifer species components of NL’s forests, including black spruce [Picea mariana (Mill.) Britton et al.] and balsam fir [Abies balsamea (L.) Mill]. Model validation was not as robust for the less abundant species components of NL (e.g., Acer rubrum L. 1753, Populus tremuloides Michx., and Picea glauca (Moench) Voss). Our simulations generally indicate that projected climatic changes may modestly increase black spruce and balsam fir productivity in the more northerly growing environments within NL. In contrast, we found productivity of these same species to only be maintained, and in some instances even decline, toward NL’s southerly extents. These generalizations are moderated by species, RCP, and geographic parameters. Growth modifiers were also prepared to render empirical G&Y projections more robust for use under periods of climate change.


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