Rain Shadow the Pacific Northwest Landscape Is a Dramatic Example of the Orographic Effect

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Rain Shadow The Pacific Northwest landscape is a dramatic example of the orographic effect. As wet air from the Pacific Ocean blows east, it must travel over a very tall barrier: the Cascade Mountain Range! When the wet air gains elevation, the water vapor gets colder, condensing to form clouds and rain. This results in heavy rainfall and moist ecosystems on the west side of the Cascades. After traveling up and over the summit of the Cascade Range, the air begins to lose elevation, warm up again as it drops down. Water vapor evaporates at these warmer temperatures. The east side of the Cascades, therefore, is in a rain shadow, where the ecosystem is dryer and gets significantly less rain. Materials needed: • Newspaper • 3 tall cups • Fan • Spray bottle full of water Step-by-step instructions: 1. Drape newspaper over the cups to create a mountain range. 2. Hold the spray bottle in front of the fan, pointing at the mountain range. 3. Spray water so the fan blows droplets toward the mountains. 4. Make observations about where the water falls on the newspaper. Additional exploration: • Choose a real mountain range. Label your newspaper mountain range with real towns and landmarks. Look up annual rainfall data for these towns. Does the rainfall data match what you observed during your experiment? Discussion questions: • Which side of the mountain range is drier? Which is wetter? Why? • How do you think rain shadows affect where wildlife and plants can live? Additional resources: PBS Interactive Lesson “Mountains and Rain Shadows” https://lsintspl3.wgbh.org/en-us/lesson/mountains-and-rain-shadows omsi.edu.

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Rain Shadows
WEB TUTORIAL 24.2 Rain Shadows Text Sections Section 24.4 Earth's Physical Environment, p. 428 Introduction Atmospheric circulation patterns strongly influence the Earth's climate. Although there are distinct global patterns, local variations can be explained by factors such as the presence of absence of mountain ranges. In this tutorial we will examine the effects on climate of a mountain range like the Andes of South America. Learning Objectives • Understand the effects that topography can have on climate. • Know what a rain shadow is. Narration Rain Shadows Why might the communities at a certain latitude in South America differ from those at a similar latitude in Africa? For example, how does the distribution of deserts on the western side of South America differ from the distribution seen in Africa? What might account for this difference? Unlike the deserts of Africa, the Atacama Desert in Chile is a result of topography. The Andes mountain chain extends the length of South America and has a pro- nounced influence on climate, disrupting the tidy latitudinal patterns that we see in Africa. Let's look at the effects on climate of a mountain range like the Andes. The prevailing winds—which, in the Andes, come from the southeast—reach the foot of the mountains carrying warm, moist air. As the air mass moves up the wind- ward side of the range, it expands because of the reduced pressure of the column of air above it. The rising air mass cools and can no longer hold as much water vapor. The water vapor condenses into clouds and results in precipitation in the form of rain and snow, which fall on the windward slope.
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CCN Characteristics During the Indian Summer Monsoon Over a Rain- Shadow Region Venugopalan Nair Jayachandran1, Mercy Varghese1, Palani Murugavel1, Kiran S
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2020-45 Preprint. Discussion started: 3 February 2020 c Author(s) 2020. CC BY 4.0 License. CCN characteristics during the Indian Summer Monsoon over a rain- shadow region Venugopalan Nair Jayachandran1, Mercy Varghese1, Palani Murugavel1, Kiran S. Todekar1, Shivdas P. Bankar1, Neelam Malap1, Gurunule Dinesh1, Pramod D. Safai1, Jaya Rao1, Mahen Konwar1, Shivsai 5 Dixit1, Thara V. Prabha1, 1Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, India. Correspondence to: V. Jayachandran ([email protected]) Abstract. Continuous aerosol and Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) measurements carried out at the ground observational facility situated in the rain-shadow region of the Indian sub-continent are illustrated. These observations were part of the 10 Cloud-Aerosol Interaction Precipitation Enhancement EXperiment (CAIPEEX) during the Indian Summer Monsoon season (June to September) of 2018. Observations are classified as dry-continental (monsoon break) and wet-marine (monsoon active) according to air mass history. CCN concentrations measured for a range of supersaturations (0.2-1.2 %) are parameterized using Twomey’s empirical relationship. CCN concentrations even at low (0.2 %) supersaturation (SS) were high (>1,000 cm- 3) during continental conditions associated with high black carbon (BC~2,000 ng m-3) and columnar aerosol loading. During 15 the marine air mass conditions, CCN concentrations diminished to ~350 cm-3 at 0.3 % SS and low aerosol loading persisted (BC~900 ng m-3). High CCN activation fraction (AF) of ~0.55 (at 0.3 % SS) were observed before the monsoon rainfall, which reduced to ~0.15 during the monsoon and enhanced to ~0.32 after that.
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Semiarid Ethnoagroforestry Management: Tajos in the Sierra Gorda, Guanajuato, Mexico Vincent M
Hoogesteger van Dijk et al. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2017) 13:34 DOI 10.1186/s13002-017-0162-y RESEARCH Open Access Semiarid ethnoagroforestry management: Tajos in the Sierra Gorda, Guanajuato, Mexico Vincent M. Hoogesteger van Dijk1, Alejandro Casas1 and Ana Isabel Moreno-Calles2* Abstract Background: The semi-arid environments harbor nearly 40% of biodiversity, and half of indigenous cultures of Mexico. Thousands of communities settled in these areas depend on agriculture and using wild biodiversity for their subsistence. Water, soil, and biodiversity management strategies are therefore crucial for people’s life. The tajos, from Sierra Gorda, are important, poorly studied, biocultural systems established in narrow, arid alluvial valleys. The systems are constructed with stone-walls for capturing sediments, gradually creating fertile soils in terraces suitable for agriculture in places where it would not be possible. We analyzed biocultural, ecological, economic and technological relevance of the artificial oasis-like tajos, hypothesizing their high capacity for maintaining agricultural and wild biodiversity while providing resources to people. Methods: We conducted our research in three sections of the Mezquital-Xichú River, in three communities of Guanajuato, Mexico. Agroforestry management practices were documented through semi-structured and in-depth qualitative interviews. Vegetation composition of local forests and that maintained in tajos was sampled and compared. Results: Tajos harbor high agrobiodiversity, including native varieties of maize and beans, seven secondary crops, 47 native and 25 introduced perennial plant species. Perennial plants cover on average 26.8% of the total surface of plots. Tajos provide nearly 70% of the products required by households’ subsistence and are part of their cultural identity.
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Fossil Pollen Records Indicate That Patagonian Desertification Was Not Solely a Consequence of Andean Uplift
ARTICLE Received 25 Oct 2013 | Accepted 4 Mar 2014 | Published 28 Mar 2014 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4558 Fossil pollen records indicate that Patagonian desertification was not solely a consequence of Andean uplift L. Palazzesi1,2, V.D. Barreda1, J.I. Cuitinõ3, M.V. Guler4, M.C. Tellerıá5 & R. Ventura Santos6 The Patagonian steppe—a massive rain-shadow on the lee side of the southern Andes—is assumed to have evolved B15–12 Myr as a consequence of the southern Andean uplift. However, fossil evidence supporting this assumption is limited. Here we quantitatively estimate climatic conditions and plant richness for the interval B10–6 Myr based on the study and bioclimatic analysis of terrestrially derived spore–pollen assemblages preserved in well-constrained Patagonian marine deposits. Our analyses indicate a mesothermal climate, with mean temperatures of the coldest quarter between 11.4 °C and 16.9 °C (presently B3.5 °C) and annual precipitation rarely below 661 mm (presently B200 mm). Rarefied richness reveals a significantly more diverse flora during the late Miocene than today at the same latitude but comparable with that approximately 2,000 km further northeast at mid-latitudes on the Brazilian coast. We infer that the Patagonian desertification was not solely a consequence of the Andean uplift as previously insinuated. 1 Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ‘Bernardino Rivadavia’, Angel Gallardo 470 (C1405DJR), Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2 Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3DS, UK. 3 Universidad de Buenos Aires, Departamento de Ciencias Geolo´gicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Intendente Guïraldes 2160 (C1428EHA), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Orographic Control of the Bay of Bengal Cold Pool Rainfall
J. Earth Syst. Sci. (2017) 126:111 c Indian Academy of Sciences https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-017-0892-1 Orographic control of the Bay of Bengal cold pool rainfall PVArushi1,2,* , Arindam Chakraborty1,2 and Ravi S Nanjundiah1,2,3 1Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, India. 2Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, India. 3Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune 411 008, India. *Corresponding author. e-mail: [email protected] MS received 24 February 2017; revised 30 May 2017; accepted 30 May 2017; published online 23 November 2017 In boreal summer (June–September), most of the Indian land and its surroundings experience rainrates exceeding 6 mm day−1 with considerable spatial variability. Over southern Bay of Bengal (BoB) along the east coast of the Indian peninsula (henceforth referred to as the Bay of Bengal cold pool or BoB-CP), the rain intensity is signiﬁcantly lower (<2mmday−1) than its surroundings. This low rainfall occurs despite the fact that the sea surface temperature in this region is well above the threshold for convection and the mean vorticity of the boundary layer is cyclonic with a magnitude comparable to that over the central Indian monsoon trough where the rainrate is about 10 mm day−1. It is also noteworthy that the seasonal cycle of convection over the BoB-CP shows a primary peak in November and a secondary peak in May. This is in contrast to the peak in June–July over most of the oceanic locations surrounding the BoB-CP.
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Download This Unit
People and Place Curriculum Resources on Human-Environmental Interactions Hemispheres is a joint project of: Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies Center for Middle Eastern Studies Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies South Asia Institute in the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at Austin Hemispheres People and Place Curriculum Resources on Human-Environmental Interactions Primary Authors: Natalie Arsenault, Outreach Coordinator Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies Christopher Rose, Outreach Coordinator Center for Middle Eastern Studies Allegra Azulay, Outreach Coordinator Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies Jordan Phillips, Outreach Coordinator South Asia Institute People and Place Curriculum Resources on Human-Environmental Interactions Final Version Original Compilation Date: June 2005 Final Publication Date: April 2007 Permission is granted to reproduce this unit for classroom use only. Please do not redistribute this unit without prior permission. For more information, please see: http://www.utexas.edu/cola/orgs/hemispheres/ Permission to include copyrighted materials in this unit is indicated in citations. TheThe Republic Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)(Yakutia) TEACHER NOTES GOALS This case study will help your students learn about climate and temperature variations, and explore ways that people who live in cold climates have adapted to extreme temperatures. ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE T-Chart Acitivity: Living in Yakutia: Students will consider the pros and cons of living in an extreme environment. LEARNING ACTIVITIES • In the Siberian Curse: An Introduction to Yakutia reading and worksheet, students will learn about the extreme temperatures found in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and consider some of the hardships caused by these temperatures, as well as reasons that people have moved to such a remote area.
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Chapter 3 La Conner Profile
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Continental Climate in the East Siberian Arctic During the Last
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Global and Planetary Change 60 (2008) 535–562 www.elsevier.com/locate/gloplacha Continental climate in the East Siberian Arctic during the last interglacial: Implications from palaeobotanical records ⁎ Frank Kienast a, , Pavel Tarasov b, Lutz Schirrmeister a, Guido Grosse c, Andrei A. Andreev a a Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research Potsdam, Telegrafenberg A43, 14473 Potsdam, Germany b Free University Berlin, Institute of Geological Sciences, Palaeontology Department, Malteserstr. 74-100, Building D, Berlin 12249, Germany c Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 903 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks Alaska 99775-7320, USA Received 17 November 2006; accepted 20 July 2007 Available online 27 August 2007 Abstract To evaluate the consequences of possible future climate changes and to identify the main climate drivers in high latitudes, the vegetation and climate in the East Siberian Arctic during the last interglacial are reconstructed and compared with Holocene conditions. Plant macrofossils from permafrost deposits on Bol'shoy Lyakhovsky Island, New Siberian Archipelago, in the Russian Arctic revealed the existence of a shrubland dominated by Duschekia fruticosa, Betula nana and Ledum palustre and interspersed with lakes and grasslands during the last interglacial. The reconstructed vegetation differs fundamentally from the high arctic tundra that exists in this region today, but resembles an open variant of subarctic shrub tundra as occurring near the tree line about 350 km southwest of the study site. Such difference in the plant cover implies that, during the last interglacial, the mean summer temperature was considerably higher, the growing season was longer, and soils outside the range of thermokarst depressions were drier than today.
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Development of New Climate and Plant Adaptation Maps for China
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MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW Editor, ALFRED J
MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW Editor, ALFRED J. HENRY ~ ____~~~~ ~ . ~ __ VOL. 58,No. 3 1930 CLOSEDMAY 3, 1930 W. B. No. 1012 MARCH, ISSUED MAY31, 1930 ____ THE CLIMATES OF ALASKA By EDITHM. FITTON [C‘lark University School of Geography] CONTENTS for Sitka, the Russian capital. Other nations, chiefly Introduction_____---_---------------------------------. the English and Americans, early sent ships of espIoration I. Factirs controlling Alaskan climates- - - - - -.-. - :g into Alaskan waters, and there are ecatt.ered meteoro- 11. Climatic elements- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ST logical records available for various points where these Sunshine, cloudiness, and fog-- -_--__-----__--- 87 vessels winte,red along Alaskan shores (7, P. 137). Temperature- - - - - __ _____ - - - - - - - - - _____ - _____ 59 Alter the United States purchased Alaska, the United Length of frostless season.. - - - - - - - - - __ - - - - -.- - - States Army surgeons kept weather records in connection Winds and pressure _____._____________________:: January and July _-___-----.--________________91 with the post hospitals. “In 1878 and 1579, soon after Precipitation - - - -.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 93 the orga,nization of the United Stat,e,s Weather Bureau, SnowfaU_____________________~_________-_____96 first under the Signal Corps of t’heArmy, later as a’bureau Days with precipitatioil- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 111. Seasonal conditions in the cliniatic provinces-_ - - - - 9”; of the nePartlne11t of &Ticulture, a feltrfirst-class observ- I A. Pacific coast and islsnds (marine) - - - - -_- - - - 98 ing stations, together mth several volunt,ary stations of I B. Pacific coast and islands (rain shadow)------ 99 lamer order, were established in Masl<a” (1, p, 133). 11. Bering Sea coast and islands (semi-ice marine) - 99 1917 appropriationof $l~,~~operlilit,ted the estab- 111. Arctic coast (ice-marine) - - - - - - - - - - - - - __ - - - an IV.
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Reburn in the Rain Shadow
United States Department of Agriculture D E E P R A U R T LT MENT OF AGRICU Forest Service PNW Pacific Northwest Research Station INSIDE Two Sides of the Cascades.............................. 2 Rotten Logs and Soil Heating...................... 3 Short-Term Pulse, Then Decline.................... 3 Probing the Understory.............................. 4 FINDINGS issue two hundred eleven / november 2018 “Science affects the way we think together.” Lewis Thomas Reburn in the Rain Shadow IN SUMMARY Wildfires consume existing for- est fuels but also leave behind dead Dave W. Peterson DaveW. shrubs and trees that become fuel to future wildfires. Harvesting fire- killed trees is sometimes proposed as an economical approach for reduc- ing future fuels and wildfire sever- ity. Postfire logging, however, is controversial. Some question its fuel reduction benefits and its ecological impacts. David W. Peterson, a research for- ester with the USDA Forest Service, and his colleagues investigated the long-term effects of postfire logging on woody fuels in 255 coniferous for- est stands that burned with high fire severity in 68 wildfires between 1970 and 2007 in eastern Washington and Oregon. They found that postfire logging significantly reduced future Standing dead trees in a high-severity patch burned in the 2015 Chelan Complex Fire on the surface woody fuel levels in forests Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. New research finds that postfire logging reduces future fuel regenerating following wildfires. loads, and when best management practices are used, minimally affects the regrowth of understory veg- etation in dry forests east of the Cascade Range. The researchers also investigated the long-term response of understory vegetation to two postfire logging “An ounce of prevention is worth Wenatchee National Forest, about 2 hours treatments—commercial salvage log- a pound of cure.” north of Peterson’s office on the eastern ging with and without additional fuel ―Benjamin Franklin slopes of the Cascade Range in Washington reduction logging—on a long-term State.
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Evidence of Rain Shadow in the Geologic Record: Repeated Evaporite Accumulation at Extensional and Compressional Plate Margins
Evidence of rain shadow in the geologic record: repeated evaporite accumulation at extensional and compressional plate margins Christopher G. St. C. Kendall, Paul Lake, H. Dallon Weathers III, Venkat Lakshmi, Department of Geological Sciences University of South Carolina Columbia, SC 29208 [email protected] & [email protected] (803)-777-3552 & -2410 John Althausen [email protected] Department of Geography Central Michigan University Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859 and A.S. Alsharhan [email protected] Faculty of Science, U.A.E. University, P.O.Box: 17551, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates Submitted to INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON DESERTIFICATION Dubai, 2002 ABSTRACT Arid climates have been common and effected water resources throughout earth history. This climatic history provide a key to understanding current causes for desertification and a means to devise realistic strategies for coping with its effects. Desert climates are often indicated in the geologic record by thick sections of evaporites (anhydrite, gypsum and halite) that have accumulated in both lacustrian and marine settings either adjacent to margins of recently pulled apart continental plates, in compressional terrains of colliding margins, or in areas of local tectonic uplift or sediment accumulation that have isolated standing bodies of water from the sea. These linear belts of evaporitic rocks can be directly related to rain shadow caused by: 1) The aerial extent of adjacent enveloping continental plates 2) The occurrence of uplifted crust marginal to linear belts of depressed
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