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From: pmk@prometheus.UUCP (Paul M Koloc)
Newsgroups: sci.misc
Subject: Re: Climate change
Message-ID: <429@prometheus.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 11-Jan-87 07:12:31 EST
Article-I.D.: promethe.429
Posted: Sun Jan 11 07:12:31 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 11-Jan-87 22:38:59 EST
References: <282@sri-arpa.ARPA> <1452@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu>
Reply-To: pmk@prometheus.UUCP (Paul M Koloc)
Organization: Prometheus II, Ltd., College Park, MD 20740-0222
Lines: 56

>In article <282@sri-arpa.ARPA> TSOMMER%IRLEARN.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU writes:
>>(This is not necessarily a physics question but here goes )
>Followup to sci.misc.
>>Does anyone know if the climatic effect of loss of most of the Earth's
>>equatorial rain forest has been calculated or even studied ?  I ask
>>this question as I have heard it said that at the present rate, only 15 %
>>approximately of it will remain in 15 years. Since a large amount of cloud
>>covers these regions

In article <1452@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu> myers@hobiecat.UUCP (Bob Myers) writes:
>Organization : California Instititute of Technology
>Keywords: Hadley cell clouds rain forests
>From: myers@hobiecat.Caltech.Edu (Bob Myers)
>Path: hobiecat!myers

>The reason the rain forests are disappearing is because of human
>created deforestation, not lack of cloud cover. Nor is there any
>clear direct relationship between the cloud cover and the rain forest.
>(I don't see how cutting down trees directly affects the clouds
>in the area.)

The evaporation rate over vegetated areas can be very high,
especially rain forests and crops like corn.  Iowa for example
is fed by under ground water seeping from the Rockies and also
a good amount of natural rainfall.  The corn that grows now can
send its roots very much deeper than it could even twenty years
ago and so it can pull water out of the ground and deliver it to
the atmosphere.  This vegetations holds the water and slows its
flow in the Amazon, and without it things will become quite a
different story.    Watch the speeded up daily weather shows
during the middle and early August in the area of Iowa. You will
see as the sun brightens the day, suddenly Iowa turns white like
a burst popcorn kernel as afternoon arrives.  (Actually, as hundreds
of thunderheads form). 

>>           ......        ..  and thus if they
>>were destroyed would this affect cloud cover and hence the "Hadley Cells" ?
>>(The Hadley cells are the currents of air circulating from the equatorial
>>regions to the tropics of both hemispheres and back again )

Yep!  It would cause more atmospheric heating and this would propel a
stronger up surge which would result in a higher proportion of the 
current going all the way to the to the poles.  This could effect
the net melting/freezing ratio for the polar caps and the other
interesting thing is that the polar surface currents would tend to
move further south.  That may already be happening, because Florida,
for example, has had more damaging frosts over the last 15
years then in previous periods. Yet the poles will be warmer.  

            I heard of a fellow who could tell whether 
                     by just looking at a girl
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