Drought As A Natural Phenomenon

Drought As A Natural Phenomenon
Drought is considered as a natural phenomenon recurring at a regional scale throughout history. Essentially, droughts originate from a deficiency or
lack of precipitation in a region over an extended period of time and can be regarded as an extreme climatic event associated with water resources
deficit. This is why droughts are also referred to as 'non–events'. Droughts occur in both high and low rainfall areas and virtually all climate regimes.
There are several unique characteristics, which differentiate droughts from other environmental hazards, namely its slow onset often characterized as a
creeping phenomenon, its non–structural impacts, which can be regional or local lasting for a long time or a very short time, as well as the absence of
a universal definition leading to inaction (Wilhite et al., 2000). It is recognized that drought is characterized as one of the major natural hazards with
significant impact to environment, society, agriculture and economy, among others. Indeed, the impacts of droughts may be severe and are neither
immediate nor easily measured. It is difficult to determine the effects of drought as it constitutes a complicated phenomenon, evolving gradually in any
single region. Moreover, drought impacts are very critical and especially costly affecting more people than any other type of natural disaster universally
(Keyantash and Dracup, 2002). All the above may accumulate difficulties in drought assessment and response, which may result into slow
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Measures Of Plant Physification And Environmental Analysis
6.5.1 Mapping and identifying vegetation, landscape, insect infestation and invasive weeds
Forest research plans to use an establishment model to understand these interactions building up the model using existing experimental data sets to gain
a better understanding of factors such as site assessment, plant type, and climatic conditions at the time of planting, fertilisation, early detection of
insect attacks, and weed control. The advantage of remote sensing technique is the combination of detailed spectral data to aid image classification and
tree crown discrimination. For the mapping of vegetation, landscape, insect infestation and invasive weeds from the remotely sensed data are usually
supervised classification , unsupervised ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
6.5.3 Forest vigour
Cost effective methods are necessary for broad–scale regular assessment of forest vigour cover complex terrain. Satellite derived vegetation indices
such as NDVI can monitor large remote areas with an effective database for evaluating vegetation vigour. The value of NDVI varies from +1 to–1.
The values nearer to +1 indicate dense vegetation and the values approximate to –1 indicates water bodies. The high percentages of spectral variance in
individual scenes can be explained using TCT (Huang et al., 2002). The TCT greenness and wetness bands have a strong correlation to the percentage
of vegetation cover. The greenness feature measures the presence and density of green vegetation (Crist et al., 1986).
6.5.4 Stand volume and biomass
Investigators have been emploeyd multiple regression analysis, K nearest–neighbour, neural network mapping techniques to assess the ground biomass
form the remotely sensed satellite data (Foody et al., 2003). Gillham and Mellin (2004) carried out multi–temporal image analysis to assist rangeland
managers in evaluating range readiness, observing utilization levels and creating decisions to spread the length of the emergent season. Landsat TM
and ETM+ images were employed to improve associations between dry biomass weight per unit area

A Study On The Initial Value Of The Rdi
The RDI is expressed in three forms: the initial value (О±_k), normalized RDI (RDIn), and standardized RDI (RDIst). The initial value (О±_k) of
RDI is presented in an aggregated form using a monthly timestep and is usually calculated for i–th year in a time basis of k of consecutive months
using following equation: О±_(`k)^((i))=(в€‘_(j=1)^kв
–’P_ij )/(в€‘_(j=1)^kв
–’гЂ–EToгЂ—_ij ),i=1,...,N and j=1,...,k Where pij and EToij are
precipitation and ETo of the j–th month of the i–th year and N is the total number of years of the available data. The normalized RDI (RDIn) is
estimated as follows: гЂ–RDIгЂ—_(n(k))^((i))=(О±_k^((i)))/(О±_k ) М… –1 In which О± М…_k is the arithmetic mean of О±_k values. Tsakiris et
al. (2008) though analysis of various data from several location and different timescales shown that О±_k values follow satisfactorily both gamma and
lognormal distributions however gamma distribution shows the best fit in most timescales and locations. Therefore, the calculation of third form
(RDIst) performed by fitting the gamma probability density function to the given frequency distribution of О±_k . The following equations have been
used to calculate the standardized RDI (RDIst). The probability function of gamma distribution is defined as: g(x)=1/(ОІ^Оі О“(Оі)) x^(Оі–1) e^(–x
/ОІ), for x>0 Where Оі>0 is a shape factor, ОІ>0 is a scale factor, and О“(Оі) is the gamma function. Parameters Оі and ОІ of the gamma function are
estimated or each time scale (k) and for each location. Maximum

Essay On The Heat Of Heat
The earth isn't, obviously, the straightforward strong ball we have accepted up until this point. It is encompassed by a skeletal coating of air, expected
to remember by severity and comprising totally of nitrogen and oxygen. The significant constituents are basically straightforward to equally the
approaching sun powered emission and the infrared emission transmitted upward from the world's surface. There are likewise various minor
constituents, particularly water vapor and carbon dioxide, which is to a great extent straightforward to the approaching sunlight based radiation,
however unequivocally retains the infrared radiation produced starting from the earliest stage. In regards to Oxlade "The largest is water vapor, which
isn't all ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
According Barrante research that "The Urban Heat Island (UHI) alludes to the perception that towns and urban communities have a tendency to be
hotter than their rustic surroundings because of physical contrasts between the urban and regular scenes "(20). The solid and black–top of the urban
condition have a tendency to decrease a city's reflectivity contrasted and the common habitat. This builds the measure of sunlight based radiation
ingested at the surface. Urban areas additionally have a tendency to have less trees than the provincial environment and thus the cooling impacts of
shade and evapotranspiration are diminished. The cooling impacts of winds can likewise be diminished by city structures. The UHI is upgraded by
human exercises inside the urban condition. Contamination warningly affects a city, notwithstanding the warmth discharged by modern procedures,
family warming and auto utilize. As urban communities develop, the UHI impact ends up noticeably more grounded, making a counterfeit warming
pattern in the temperature record. Melbourne's verifiable temperature record demonstrates quick increments from the 1950s, at any rate mostly because
of expanded

The Drought Conditions Of The Great Plains Region
Jordan, Zachary
Variations in the Prediction of Semipermanent Drought Conditions in the Great Plains Region and the Methods Used to Derive These Predictions
Introduction
During the 1930's, a period of severe dust storms caused great damage to the ecology and agriculture of the Great Plains region in the United States.
This period, known as the Dust Bowl, was caused by severe drought conditions and poor farming practices put into place without proper understanding
of Great Plains ecology. The erosion of topsoil during this time produced extreme dust storms that could reduce visibility down to one metre and had
some dust storms even reaching the east coast.
Today, the threat of human–induced global warming has caused some scientists to speculate that the Great Plains region is set to experience
semipermanent drought conditions similar to what was experienced during the Dust Bowl. However, other scientists have claimed that conditions will
be much tamer by comparison.. This inconsistency of results is discussed by Hoerling et al in their paper "Is a Transition to Semipermanent Drought
Conditions Imminent in the U.S. Great Plains?" In their paper, it is suggested that the variance in results is due to the fact that the primary studies that
have been conducted have used different methods and models to predict drought conditions and temperature in the Great Plains area. The models and
methods discussed include the Palmer Drought Severity Index, the Coupled Model

A Strategy For Modeling Salton Sea Basin Future Climate...
Results: A Strategy For Modeling Salton Sea Basin Future Climate Scenarios Based On Relationships Between Evapotranspiration And Precipitation
A comparison of the averaged weather station datasets versus the historic individual weather station datasets was made for both precipitation and Eto.
The averaged monthly dataset preserved seasonality for both precipitation and Eto as illustrated in the figures. Notably, for the months of February,
March, and April, the average monthly precipitation volume was lower than the actual weather station historic data. This occurred for two reasons: 1)
the disparity in the number of observations between the two weather station datasets and the average resulting in the largest number of observations ...
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The results of the two test statistics differed at times, i.e., listing two different curves as providing the "best" fit. In the fore–mentioned situation, a final
decision pertaining to the "best" fit was made based on a visual assessment of the figures.
Precipitation Events and Eto Levels
The importance of using monthly data instead of annual data for the Salton Sea Basin. Further, the two models: (1) (Logit Y1,..........12) Month =
Constant + X1 Prcp, and (2) (Logit Y1,..........12) Month = Constant + X1 Eto, established that some months were significantly different than others
concerning the amounts of precipitation and Eto, respectively. The relationships between the duration of precipitation events ('CatEvent') on the
volume of precipitation ('PrcpAmt' and 'CatVol'), and also on Eto volumes. A plot of the precipitation and Eto observations, percentage or percentage of
observations of a given magnitude, respectively, by month was also made.
The negative relationship between precipitation and Eto was tested statistically using two multinomial logistic regression models and one binomial
logistic regression model, respectively: (3) (Logit Y0,...4) PrcpAmt = Constant + X1 Eto, (4) (Logit Y0,....5) CatEvent = Constant + X1 Eto, and (5)
(Logit Y0,1) RainEvent = Constant + X1 Eto. The

The Truax Vs The Lorax
The Lorax is definitely more agreeable than the Truax. This is mostly due to the fact that it is more credible and has a more pure and innocent
message. Meaning that the other contradicting children's novel; The Truax. Was trying to cover up a bigger problem that they didn't want out in
public. On top of this, The Lorax had positively influenced several businesses to be more environmentally safe. For example, a Los Angeles Times
article commented on a 2012 movie based off of Seuss's Lorax book, " Nearly 70 promotional partners are involved with the film, including the
Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Forest Service as well as companies such as Hewlett–Packard (which is encouraging eco–conscious
printing choices), and Seventh Generation (which claims to be the leading brand of green household products). " Most of all, The Lorax was agreeable
because of the fact that its message was to protect the trees of the forest. In fact, there are several ways that trees influence the things around them. One
of these important ways are within the carbon cycle. In this, tree's perform photosynthesis. In which they convert CO2 into sugars and release oxygen
into ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
One way that a simple person could start to help is by buying food locally. This would cause less pollution from factories and greenhouse gases from
products drove or flown in. Furthermore, pay the bills online to help conserve trees. This could save 18.5 million trees every year. Along with this it
could remove 2.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide/ other gases while getting rid of 1.7 billion pounds of solid waste. Lastly, a person could go about
adjusting the thermostat a degree lower than what the temperature is outside in the winter and adjusting it a degree higher in the summer to save 10
percent on energy

The Cycle Of The Hydrologic Cycle
The hydrologic cycle, also known as the water cycle, is a continuous rotation of water changing states through the Earth, ocean and atmosphere in a
circulating system (Watts & Forbes, 2011; US Department of Commerce, n.d; National Geographic Society, 2013). The water cycle alters throughout
different locations due to weather patterns and climate around the world (Watts & Forbes, 2011). The major processes that make up the hydrologic
cycle are evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, and runoff, with many further processes as seen in Appendix 1.1 and simplified in
Appendix 1.2.
Evaporation
Evaporation, in general, involves a substance changing its physical state from a liquid to a gas (US Department of Commerce, n.d; National
Geographic Society, 2013; Northwest River Forecast Centre [NRFC], n.d). An example of this is when the body heats up during exercise or due to
temperature, and releases sweat to try and cool down and producing water onto the skin (US Department of Commerce, n.d). Energy is required for
evaporation to occur, and this energy source can come from the atmosphere, entities such humans, or in the case of the water cycle, the sun is the
source of energy (US Department of Commerce, n.d). During the hydrologic cycle, evaporation occurs when the sun interacts with liquid water such
has lakes and rivers, the ocean and soil, to cause water particles to become water vapour by heating the water (National Geographic Society, n.d; Miller
& Spoolman,

Biome are Constellations of Adaptations
Biomes are appropriate conditions for organizing the natural world because the organisms that live in them common constellations of adaptations,
particularly the climate of each of the areas and the characteristic vegetation types that develops in these divisions. It should be understood that the
climate is perhaps the most important in determining classes of individuals who may live in an area and the ways they should be amended to live
under different conditions of temperature and precipitation and seasonal distribution of these factors element. Every place on Earth has its own climate,
influenced by both macroclimate regions as the particular microclimate. The soils are very important because they are essential to determine the
types of plants that will grow into a bioclimatic zone in partical, in addition, also as substrates for animals serve. In turn, the soils are heavily
influenced by regional climate, as well as the geology of the bedrock. At the same time we have to keep in mind the diversity of plants like the flora
just like the diversity of the fauna as well as the adaptation of both. The tundra Plant life tends to be of low growth and, during the short summer, the
birds arrive in large numbers to feed on the insects that are born in this period. The climate is cold summers and very cold winters characterize the
tundra area in the northern most limit plant growth. Areas

Classification and Assessment of Aridity over Pakistan...
3.Results and Discussion
The aridity maps was prepared by using De Martonne's Aridity Index, Thornthwaite's Precipitation Effectiveness Index, Thornthwaite's Moisture Index,
UNESCO Aridity Index and Erinc Aridity Index. These indices showed that most of the southern parts of the country lie between arid to hyper arid
where as northern parts lie between semi arid to very humid zone (Fig–3). Analysis shows the climate of northern parts is more variable as compare to
southern parts. The reason in the variability of the climate in the northern parts is that this region received rainfall in summer due to monsoon systems
(July to September) and in winter due to western disturbances (December to March). Southern parts of the country receive most ... Show more content
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This is quite unfortunate for our agriculture that evaporative demand and water requirement for crops in whole southern parts of the country is very
high as compare to northern parts and it is very difficult to carry out the agricultural activity in these regions.
Climate variability and change profoundly influence social and natural environments throughout the world, with consequent impacts on natural
resources and industry that could be large and far–reaching. Climate change due to global warming not only started to impact the weather pattern but
also influence the agriculture sector in Pakistan. Pakistan is an agriculture whose majority of the population depends upon agriculture. Glaciers are
the big fresh water sources for Pakistan which fulfills the water demands in the agriculture land while rainfall fulfills the water requirement of the
barani areas. An increase in temperature was observed in the country especially during the last few decades which accelerate snow melting on glaciers.
The increased rate of glacial melting in Himalayas has caused vast lakes to develop, and if these lacks outburst, these can inundate towns and villages
below. There is high level of confidence that recent regional changes (rising tendency) in temperature have discernable impacts on precipitation,
evaporation, stream flow, runoff and other elements of hydrological cycles (Elshamy et al., 2006).

Essay on The Effects of Deforestation of the Amazon...
Today, the total percentage of forest cover of the earth is approximately thirty percent ("Deforestation"). That is about nine percent of the world's total
surface. The largest rainforest is the Amazon River Basin, located in South America. The Amazon is home to many species of animals, insects, plants
and trees. Many of the trees and plants in the Amazon produce about twenty percent of the oxygen on earth, and absorb carbon. However, the Amazon
is decreasing in size every day due to the ongoing deforestation of the land. Deforestation is when the forest of the land are cleared or destroyed, in
order to be used for other actions ("Deforestation"). The Amazon is twenty percent less than it was about forty years ago (Wallace). In just about...
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As parts to of the world still continue to commit acts of deforestation in the rainforest areas, at the same time, the climate on earth also becomes
affected by these actions, too. The trees in the rainforest are essential to the water cycle (Szalay). The water cycle is the movement of water on the
earth ("Summary of the Water Cycle"). The trees in the water cycle act in the process of evapotranspiration. The word evapotranspiration is
evaporation and transpiration together (Briney). Evaporation is when water converts from liquid into a gas or vapor (Briney). Transpiration, however,
is when a plant or tree absorbs the water from their roots and is evaporated back into the atmosphere through its leaves, stems, or flowers (Briney). The
water evaporated from the trees and plants contribute to the rainfall in the forest (Briney). In the article The Effects of Deforestation in Amazonia,
author Harald Sioli states, "With the reduction of rainwater re–evaporating from the original forest, the rate of its recycling will also diminish" (200). If
the process of evapotranspiration decreases due to deforestation, the amount of rainfall will also decrease. The rainforests like the Amazon will change
in climate and become dry and could possibly cause more forest fires due to the reduction of precipitation in the rainforest (Shukla, Nobre, & Sellers).
In the Amazon rainforest, there are

Drought As A Recurring Extreme Climate Event
Drought as a recurring extreme climate event can be defined from various perspective, including meteorological, hydrological, agricultural and
socio–economic aspects. Materials and Methods Study area Iran has an area of 1,648,000 km2, is situated in the south–western part of Asia. The
climate is influenced by Iran 's location between the subtropical humidity of the eastern Mediterranean area, the subtropical aridity of the Arabian
desert areas and its topographical features like presence of the Zagros Chain and the Elburz Chain in the west and the north of this country
respectively, two large deserts (the Lut desert and the Kavir desert) in the central Plateau and intensive elevation variability (from в€’25 m in coastal
regions of the Caspian Sea to 5,600 m in central Elburz Chains) (Fig. 1). Because of its geographical location and topographical features, Iran has a
variable climate however arid and semi–arid climate cover the majority of this country. This climate characterized by long, hot, dry summers and short,
cool winters (Ganji 1968).The average annual precipitation in Iran is approximately 250 mm (Moradi, 2004). The major exceptions are the higher
mountain valleys of the Zagros and the Caspian coastal plain, where precipitation averages at least 500 mm annually. In the western part of the Caspian,
annual precipitation exceeds 1,000 mm and is distributed relatively evenly throughout the year. This contrasts with some basins of the Central Plateau
of Iran that

Annual Rate Of Precipitation, Maryland And The District Of...
Annual Rates of Precipitation Maryland and the District of Columbia have similar average annual precipitation patterns (based on a period of 30 years
from 1951–1980) with 42 inches and 43 inches, respectively. Although the precipitation pattern distributed evenly throughout the year, the spring and
summer months (May – September) get approximately 2.5 inches more precipitation compared to the rest of the year (USGS, 1999). Furthermore, apart
from the seasonal variation in the precipitation rates, there has been an increase in the annual precipitation rate of Washington, DC, since 1965 (see
methods/discussion Evapotranspiration According to a USGS study, approximately one–third to one–half of total precipitation becomes runoff in
central Maryland and the District of Columbia (USGS, 1999). Evapotranspiration makes up the difference between amounts of precipitation and runoff.
AET = P – Q Where AET is actual evapotranspiration, P is the precipitation depth, and Q is runoff depth. Combined evaporation and transpiration
from plants (evapotranspiration) is balanced by inflows as precipitation and outflows as runoff. Based on a research conducted by McGuiness (1963)
for a period of seventeen years (1933–1949), the Rock Creek basin received an average precipitation of 43.5 inches, in which 12 inches was surface
runoff. Therefore, if the precipitation and runoff values are substituted into the equation above, actual evapotranspiration rate of the basin equals 31.5
inches. However,

The Reason For The Change
The reason for the change in seasons is the tilt of the earth's axis. It is not because of the earth's distance from the sun like many people think. In the
northern hemisphere, during winter, we are closer to the sun which is opposite of what most people assume. While the northern hemisphere is
experiencing summer, the southern hemisphere is experiencing winter and vice versa. The sun is actually closer to the earth during the winter and
farther away during the summer.
Rotation is when something turns with a circular movement around a central point. Revolution is the path of the earth around the sun or one complete
cycle of orbit around the sun. When the earth is revolving, it is going through the days and the year. One full cycle of a ... Show more content on
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During the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, is when there is equal amounts of light and darkness. The sun rises and sets at due east and due west.
On the first day of fall in Cleveland, the sun will rise at 7:15am and it will set at 7:23pm. On the first day of winter in Cleveland, the sun will rise at
7:50am and will set at 5:00pm.
I learned a lot from this exercise, I learned that the change of the seasons is not exactly what I thought it was. I learned the difference between the
earth's revolution and rotation which was very interesting. I also learned when the shortest and longest days of the year happen. It was a very
informative exercise to do.
The hydrosphere is all of the waters on the earth's surface, it includes lakes, seas and more. The ocean itself, covers over 70% of the surface of
earth. Around 2% is accounted for in the shape of glaciers and ice caps. There is a lot of water on earth. It makes me wonder why there are places
going through dry spells if there is that much water that is on our planet. The way water moves in the water cycle is "The sun, which drives the water
cycle, heats water in the oceans. Some of it evaporates as vapor into the air; a relatively smaller amount of moisture is added as ice and snow
sublimate directly from the solid state into vapor. Rising air currents take the vapor up into the atmosphere, along with water from evapotranspiration,
which is water transpired from plants and evaporated from the soil. The vapor rises

Land Cover Change
Land use change and hydrology is linked with each other and changing in one can affect the other in this earth system. Rapid growth of urbanization
and industrial revolution led to the construction of new buildings, roads etc. which not only increase the impervious cover and alter land surface but
also affect hydrological cycle and climate (Elvidge et al., 2004). Low–density housing developments (suburban and exurban areas), have rapidly
expanded throughout the U.S. over the last 60 years to accommodate the growing population and as a result changing the landscape as well as resource
management (Brown et al., 2014). According to US environmental Protection Agency urban development is a well–documented cause of increase
impervious surface, hydrologic... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
It is found that flood discharges increased in proportion to impervious surface cover and were at least 250% higher in urban catchments than forested
catchments in Texas and New York after similar storms (Espey et al., 1965; Seaburn 1969; Paul and Meyer, 2001). Consequences of increased
impervious cover may change the shape of the stream channel, raise water temperature and pollute streams and rivers through sweeping urban debris
(Elvidge et al., 2004). Increase of impervious area also decline baseflows
Highly urban watersheds (where impervious cover is more than 50%) had the lowest benthic diversity as compared to other land use such as suburban
and forested creeks (Lerberg et al. 2000, Schueler, T., 2003). Municipal and industrial discharge pollutes the urban streams, and decreases the
abundance and diversity of living organisms. Several studies have described the effects of urbanization on stream water quality and ecosystem
processes across multiple regions (Paul and Meyer, 2001, Walsh et al., 2005).
Groundwater recharge depends on various parameters including climate, soils, and vegetation. Replacing rangeland with agricultural ecosystems or
urban development alters many of these parameters effects directly groundwater recharge dynamics (Scanlon et al.,

The Role Of Tropical Rainforest And Water Cycle
The role of tropical rainforest in water cycle
The tropical rainforest plays a significant role in regulating the water cycle on earth, through transpiration and evaporation process. Transpiration is the
water vapour loss from plants through stomata, and evaporation is the water loss from all other part of plants but leaves and other living things in the
forest. Evapotranspiration are the accumulation of transpiration and evaporation in the forest. During transpiration, trees suck water from soil through
the root system and transport the water to leaves through xylem, and then release the water to the air through stomata. Transpiration happens
simultaneously with photosynthesis.
The soil loss water due to evapotranspiration process and the water level will be recharged through precipitation. In the tropical rainforest,
precipitation rate are high due to high evapotranspiration rate. High evapotranspiration rate plays a significant role in cloud formation above the
rainforest area and its surroundings. Water vapour that is released into the air will be condensed as it moves to a higher altitude. The condensed water
vapour form the clouds above the forest. The more water vapour being released into the air, the more clouds would be formed.
Figure 1. Water cycle in forest Source: https://springbrookrescue.org.au/Images/Hydro05.jpg
The presence and density of cloud is one of the determiners of the earth's albedo. Albedo is the fraction of solar energy reflected from the

Potential Advantages And Disadvantages Of The Heat Index...
One of the potential drawbacks of heat index method is that, its producing much more underestimated PET, as the method takes only a single variable
(temperature) as Evaporative factor. Because of this resulting limitation on this method, PET computed by heat Index method is not considered in the
hydrological assessment.
5.6.2 Penman Monteith Method
A consultation of experts and researchers was organized by FAO in 1990, experts recommended the adoption of the Penman–Monteith combination
method as a new standard for reference Evapotranspiration and advised on procedures for calculation of the various parameters. In order to estimate
Potential Evapotranspiration (PET), the standard Penman–Monteith method which is recommended by FAO was applied.
Figure: 5.8 Adopted from Penman (1948)
Input data required by the Penman method comprises monthly rainfall and ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The river discharge method or water balance approach is generally used for estimating AET of large area like Gilo–Alwero sub basin. Most of the
empirical equations for the estimation of actual Evapotranspiration need to use many data, especially meteorological data.
Generally, meteorological stations are placed only at the urban areas and their follow up is uncertain. In some cases, we need to estimate
Evapotranspiration for planning in the large scale; it is rather difficult to classify land use for individual calculation in each land use. Therefore water
balance is more suitable to understand the flux in a whole sub basin. The inflow and outflows are determined from stream flow and precipitation
measurements and the difference between inflow and outflow over a relatively long period of time is used to estimate evaporation using the

The Impact Of Humanitarian Engineering On The United...
Introduction The EWB challenge is devoted improving lives, their slogan is: "Welcome to Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Australia. We 're here to
engineer a better world" (Engineers Without Borders Australia, 2016) The challenge they set before themselves is to allow everyone to lead a life
without poverty through engineering knowledge and resources. "We connect, educate and empower people through humanitarian engineering.
Humanitarian engineering uses a people centred, strength based approach to improve community health, wellbeing and opportunity" (About Us –
Engineers Without Borders Australia, 2016). They place value on the construction of relationships based on mutual trust and respect and thrive on the
sharing of knowledge and culture from both parties. The challenge taken on by EWB in Zambia with the assistance of the UNHCR, (the United
Nations refugee agency) is focused on the Mayukwayukwa refugee settlement in the Kaoma District of Zambia's Western Province. This settlement
houses over eleven thousand refugees, most of which have been displaced due to the war of liberation in Angola. Other refugees in the settlement
come from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Rwanda. (UNHCR Zambia | EWB Challenge, 2016). EWB has taken the challenge of
developing engineering and technological solutions to assist the integration and creation of sustainable livelihoods for the refugees thanks to pledges
by the Government of the Republic of Zambia in 2011 and 2013

How Does Climate Change Affect Cocoa
Climate change is a major factor, that impact the growth in cocoa. Cocoa is produced mainly in the rainforest area of the country, known as the cocoa
belt. The increasing rates of climate change have a major influence on the 3 stages of cocoa productions, which are the seedling phase, establishment
phase and processing phase. This is a result due to the fact that most of the production is based around the climate for an instance for warming the soil,
plants, air and metabolic processes solar radiation produces energy. When to plant cocoa seeds is regulated when rain starts and may become
unpredictable due to climate change which may then destroy the survival of the crops. Climate change helps determine the economic value to the cocoa.
Cocoa

Geographic Information Systems and Evapotranspiration
Introduction
Evapotranspiration (ET) is a primary component of determining crop water requirement and ultimately irrigation requirement. ET consists of
transpiration of water from plants and evaporation of water from the soil surface. 65% of the precipitation is lost into the atmosphere through
evaporation and transpiration (Kite, 2000).Potential evapotranspiration (PET) is a representation of the evapotranspiration rate of a short green crop
(grass/alfalfa), completely shading the ground, of uniform height and with adequate water status in the soil profile. Analysis of potential
evapotranspiration (PET) is essential in irrigation water management and planning.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has been used in the analysis of PET in agricultural fields such as soybean and corn fields; and mapping of the
extent of irrigation throughout the growing period of such crops.
In order to investigate the extent to which GIS capability has been applied in mapping of PET and Irrigated fields, the following papers were reviewed:
"Zhao C. et al. 2003GIS–assisted spatially distributed modeling of the potential evapotranspiration in semi–arid climate of the Chinese Loess Plateau";
"Ray, .S.S. et al. 2000 Application of Remote Sensing and geographic Information systems in irrigation management of Mahi command Area in Gujarat,
India.";
"Zhao C. et al. 2003. GIS–assisted spatially distributed modeling of the potential evapotranspiration in

Drylands
Homework #11Drylands in the western United States are subject to generally low soil moisture content. Understanding the hydrology and moisture
levels of these soils is crucial to understanding dryland ecosystems (Newman et al. 1997 Journal of Hydrology; Wythers et al. 1999 SSSAJ). Soil
water is lost through bare–soil evaporation and transpiration (Wythers et al. 1999 SSSAJ). Commonly, these processes have been linked together as
evapotranspiration; distinguishing between the two is a difficult yet important task (Villegas et al. 2010 Journal of Arid Environments; Wythers et al.
1999 SSSAJ). One way to better estimate evapotranspiration and understand the water budget in drylands is to determine the processes driving soil
evaporation. It

Deforestation Effects On Amazon Forest Resilience
Trees and any plantation for that matter are often taken for granted as they provide many of the essentials such as photosynthesis regulation, habitat,
food, and even save ground to build construction. However, as more people demand more, more space will be needed and cutting away the trees for
humans to use. Deforestation is the act of cutting and clearing a large area of trees. It is the cause of extreme damage to the ecosystem and sustainability
of life. Deforestation is negatively affecting the interaction between the water cycle, soil sustainability, and trees stability.
There is a chain reaction due to deforestation. Deforestation leads to decrease in biotic pump disrupting the water cycle leading to a decrease in
transpiration and ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
2017). Deforestation also indirectly affects the water cycle by disturbing the atmospheric circulation patterns. As evapotranspiration occurs in the
water cycle from the forests, the water rises up to the atmosphere and the wind moves the rain. So when trees are cleared, the cycle of losing natural
resources continues as fewer trees lead to less water to evaporation in the water cycle which decreases the precipitation the Amazonian forest need.
This finally leads to more death of trees and the ecosystem within the forest. Zemp et al.'s result on forest resilience in their simulation supports that
the Amazon's forest survival also decrease as there is an overlap in Zemp et al.'s statement when they state that in their simulations, forest resilience
decreases overlap with deforested areas. Despite the evidence showing the detrimental effects of deforestation, Zemp et al.'s research focus on the
quantity of the forest and deforestation, therefore, the research has a gap such that other geographical influences such as fertilization, greenhouse
gases, and water use are not accounted for. However, Zemp et al.'s had gained more understanding as they have used other research papers, like
[Spracklen and Garcia–Carreras, 2015; Lejeune et al., 2015], to close the gap of unanswered gaps in the deforestation issue. Although the paper has

Emerald Ash Borer Essay
The Emerald Ash Borer is a phloem–feeding beetle that is native to Asia and has been increasing its presence in the US. The beetle is invasive,
harmful to native ash trees, and has the ability to spread (Kovacs et al., 2010). The invasive beetles cause destruction to ash trees in a gradual process,
that usually lasts three years. The beetles initiate the attack along the upper trunk and bases of main branches and then work their way down (Winners,
2002). The adult beetles lay eggs on the ash tree's bark and when they hatch, the larvae bore into the bark and feed on the transportation tissues of the
tree (NCFS, 2016). This causes disruption of the movement of nutrients and water within the tree. Since the bug resides and lays eggs within the tree's
bark, they are hard to recognize until the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The trees do a lot of evapotranspiration, so if the borer destroyed them, the watershed levels would increase. This increase would negatively affect plant
diversity because invasive species and grasses would start to become present. In urban areas, there is usually more diversity, so the absence of black
ash would not affect the habitat that significantly. Also, if a tree dies in an urban environment, another one can be planted. On the other hand, in a
forested wetland, if black ash trees start dying they would be very hard to replace and replenish. Slesak et al., 2014 state that if evapotranspiration is
affected, a shift in the vegetation would occur and favor herbaceous vegetation rather than trees. There are various methods used to manage the spread
of EAB to black ash forested wetlands. Mercader et al., 2011 bring up one method, which consists of removing ash trees to reduce available host
phloem resource. Basically, foresters cut down trees that can host EAB, attempting to eliminate their presence. A different method, brought up by
BenDor et al., 2006, consists of implementing firewood

Effects Of Deforestation On Amazon Forest Resilience Research
transpiration and increase in temperature. Such rise in temperature leads to lack of rainfall, increase droughts and forest fires to which the fires will
disrupt the water cycle even more. The effects of deforestation on Amazon forest resilience research by Zemp et al. (2017), build upon previous
research done in the field of forestry studies and used similar methods to collect data. Although they have come to some shortcomings such as the risk
of underestimating the differences which are introduced in evapotranspiration following deforestation, compared to study using fine–scale observations
... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Zemp et al. (2017)'s result on forest resilience in their simulation supports that the Amazon's forest survival also decrease as there is an overlap
between reductions of forest resilience with deforested areas. Despite the evidence showing the detrimental effects of deforestation, Zemp et al.
(2017)'s research focuses primarily on the quantity of the forest and deforestation, as such, the research has a gap such that other geographical
influences like fertilization, greenhouse gases, and water use, are not accounted for. However, Zemp et al. (2017) had gained more understanding as
they had used other research papers, like [Spracklen and Garcia–Carreras, 2015; Lejeune et al., 2015], to close the unanswered gaps in the deforestation
issue. Although the paper has explained the effect of deforestation on water fluxes, the problem remains that in the short and long term, regardless of
any deforestation, many of the Amazon rainforest regions will continue to lose precipitation and become more vulnerable to disturbances from fire and
droughts, even more so in the dry season (Zemp et al. 2017).
The Drought and Deforestation: Has Land Cover Change Influenced Recent Precipitation Extremes in the Amazon? By Bagley et al. (2014), argue that
current level of deforestation influences recent drought severity and magnitude of impacts from the land cover change which are altered in drought
relative to pluvial years. They test their hypothesis using the Weather

The Factors Affecting Safe Drinking-Water (Planning and...
The factors affecting safe drinking water:
Describe and explain the different factors effecting access to safe drinking water. (10 marks)
Planning and Notes: * From 1996 – 2006 +/– 1.56 billion people gained access to improved drinking–water sources. * Today 87% people drink from
improved water sources compared to 77% in 1990.
Physical factors that affect safe drinking water: * Amount of precipitation * Seasonal distribution of precipitation * Physical ability of the surface
area to store water E.g. Ethiopia pg 192 * Rate of evapotranspiration * Density of surface access points to water * Ease of access to groundwater
supplies if they exist
Human factors that affect safe drinking water: * The wealth of a nation ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Evapotranspiration is the water that is lost from the plants stomata. The faster plants lose water, the more water they require. If the rate of
evapotranspiration is high, plants will grow their roots deep and absorb water from the ground, potentially depleting aquifer and/or lowering the water
bed. This uses up a good sources of safe drinking–water.
Density of surface access points to water is an important influence over drinking–water access. This is the density of the surface area of a country (or
area) that has points at which safe drinking water can be accessed from. Countries with a high density will find that water access is easy, whereas
countries with a low density may find that some people have to travel long distances, or may not have any access to water, as there are no water
access points nearby.
Alongside the density of surface access points to water, ease of access to groundwater supplies if they exist is very important. There may be
groundwater supplies may be present but could be inaccessible. For example, the area could be covered with a layer of solid rock which cannot be
bored through.
Human factors that affect safe drinking water can be just as large of a problem as physical factors, if not a bigger problem. These factors are caused
by human action, or lack of action.
A very important factor is the wealth of a nation or region in terms of its ability to construct and maintain water

Deforestation Global Scale
This paper will examine the various components of deforestation on a local and global scale. The following data seen throughout the research paper
will analyze the different types of deforestation and the detrimental impact it leaves on the earth.. I contributed my own data and analysis in analyzing
the time analysis of the concentration of carbon dioxide in the troposphere represented in Figure A. I created a time analysis map with NASA
Giovanni between 1980 and 2002. The time period was chosen to represent the effects once deforestation began to increase around the 1980s. I also
generated a map of deforestation in California through Global Forest Watch.
II.Introduction
Climate change is such a prevalent topic of concern in modern day that it is important to understand the contributions to it, deforestation being one of
them. Deforestation exacerbates the already negative consequences of climate change. Forests play a fundamental role in many different aspects of
earth systems and deforestation is decreasing the benefits of forests. Forests cover approximately thirty–one percent of the land cover in the world;
however, 46–56 square miles of forestlands are lost each year (World Wildlife Fund). As technology continues to advance and the world increasingly
becomes more industrialized, deforestation has the potential to get so extreme it will be difficult to go back and fix the negative effects.
III.Types of Deforestation
There is a wide range of causes of

Riding The American Landscape Of Lawn Analysis
Ridding The American Landscape Of Lawn In Will Yandik's article, "Riding The American Landscape Of lawn," he attempts to persuade his readers
that lawns are outdated and need revamped due to their effect on the environment. Yandik writes about "chemical pollution and runoff, a voracious
appetite for water, mowers that belch hydrocarbons," (Will 539) all of which have been documented for. Yandik struggles with "the aesthetic problem
with the lawn is that it allows no room for innovation, growth, or art" (Will 540). In the text "Ridding The Americanlandscape of lawn" he persuades
the reader to think differently about "the lawn", however, I feel as if the lawn is a vital key to our environment along with the way we live by
providing an inviting

The Negative Effects Of Deforestation
Introduction
Trees and any plantation for that matter are often taken for granted as they provide many of the essentials such as photosynthesis regulation, habitat,
food, and even save ground to build construction. However as more people demand more, more space will be needed and cutting away the trees for
humans to use. Deforestation is the act of cutting and clearing a large area of trees. It is the cause of extreme damage to the ecosystem and sustainability
of life. Deforestation is negatively affecting the interaction between the water cycle, soil sustainability, and trees stability.
transpiration and increase in temperature. Such rise in temperature leads to lack of rainfall to the forest and increase droughts and forest fires to which
fires will disrupt the water cycle even more. Deforestation effects on Amazon forest resilience (Zemp et al. 2017) build on upon previous research done
and used similar methods to collect data. Although they have come to some shortcomings such as "risk of underestimating the differences introduced
in evapotranspiration following deforestation, compared to study using fine–scale observations over already deforested areas [SilvГ©rio et al., 2015]"
(Zemp et al. 2017), acknowledging that deforestation has a grave effects on the water cycle, it is expected that hydroclimate would support the effects

Isp Extra Credit
ISP 203A Concept Redesign Extra Credit Step 1: Hydrologic Cycle Step 2: 1. Third Grade Student = Bill Nye Episode 47 (The Water Cycle) 2.
Grand/parent or other non expert = NASA's video explaining the water cycle 3. A professional = "Water Vapor, the Hydrological Cycle, and Climate
Change" by Isaac M. Held, Senior Research Scientist, head of Weather and Atmospheric Dynamics Group, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
/NOAA (Princeton, NJ); Lecturer with rank of Professor in the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Program, Princeton University. (Lecture presented
by Harvard University) Step 3: Teaching the hydrologic cycle, also known as the... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Children love television, and I know when I was in third grade and I saw the tv rolling into class I didn't care what program we were about to see I
was just glad we were watching tv. But this isn't all about a "fun" video. Bill Nye the Science Guy is generally a great show for children. My main
goal for showing these third graders Bill Nye is to not teach them the Hydrologic Cycle, but more to get them to like Bill Nye the Science Guy.
Just think, as an educator, if you can teach your lesson while getting the students hooked on the whole subject. I watched Bill Nye the Science Guy
as a child and I believe it was one of the few reasons why I was interested in science. When teaching third graders them learning the material at hand
is the key lesson, but it't not the final goal. Getting them interested and to enjoy science is the main take away here. Teaching a parent or grandparent
is much different as our goal isn't to "get them hooked on science" but more to just teach them the lesson. One thing I've noticed when teaching an
adult is that they become less interested with the teaching the more childish it is. So basically, Bill Nye would not work. So I found another video
online that would teach adults the Hydrologic Cycle perfectly. It is a video from NASA. This video contains all the information they would need to
master what the hydrologic cycle is, while including visual evidence, yet at the same time not being too childish. The

Oak Trees Lab Report
Three different sub species of Oak was sampled: White, Red, and Bur to study adaptation within a species. We hypothesised that each sub species
would have different adaptations in their leaves. We sampled multiple leaves from sub species of oak by cutting off a part of the branch. We then
found the surface area and weight of the leaves. The curves of the surface area and weight were all different for each sub species showing that leaf size
is adapted differently. With our Kruskal Wallis test we concluded that the dry weight and specific leaf values are different for each sub species of
Oak with a H value of 6.918 for surface area and 7.029 for dry weight. The Kruskal Wallis test also rejected that the surface areas of the subspecies
were inherently different.
Introduction: The oak species have two difference types ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Our results show that the dry weight and specific leaf weight are different for each sub species supporting the hypothesis that the subs species each
adapted in their own way. Our results also showed that the surface area between the subspecies were very close in values which could reject our null
hypothesis. You can tell by looking at the leaves that they each have their own shape which could be a sign of different adaptations. We could not
test in the lab thought special adaptations such as how well the leaves are at preventing evapotranspiration. Our results on what we did test are not
highly reliable. We had 6 leaves to represent the all the leaves on these sub species. We also only tested 2 trees for each subspecies. Our sample size
was not large enough to draw a definitive result. Also our LiCor 3100 leaf area meter had spots on it that were included in the surface area of the
leaves so the area was not at zero when we first started. In future experiments a larger sample size should be used and a clean 3100 leaf area meter with
no spots on it should be

Effects Of The Great Plains Region
Introduction
During the 1930's, a period of severe dust storms caused great damage to the ecology and agriculture of the Great Plains region in the United States.
This period, known as the Dust Bowl, was caused by severe drought conditions and poor farming practices put into place without proper understanding
of Great Plains ecology. The erosion of topsoil during this time produced extreme dust storms that could reduce visibility down to one metre and had
some dust storms even reaching the east coast.
Today, the threat of human–induced global warming has caused some scientists to speculate that the Great Plains region is set to experience
semipermanent drought conditions similar to what was experienced during the Dust Bowl. However, other scientists have claimed that conditions will
be much tamer by comparison.. This inconsistency of results is discussed by Hoerling et al in their paper "Is a Transition to Semipermanent Drought
Conditions Imminent in the U.S. Great Plains?" In their paper, it is suggested that the variance in results is due to the fact that the primary studies that
have been conducted have used different methods and models to predict drought conditions and temperature in the Great Plains area. The models and
methods discussed include the Palmer Drought Severity Index, the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, and the Community Climate System Model.
In this paper, I will describe in fuller detail the three models discussed in the paper by Hoerling et al as

The Hydrologic Cycle : The Causes And Effects Of The...
The biogeological cycle is defined as the movements of matter between and within ecosystems that include the chemical, biological, and geological
processes. Their movements are kept track of by pools and the process in which pools move are in flows. Since all of Earth relies on the hydrogen,
nitrogen, carbon, phosphorous, sulfur, and carbon cycles, humans have managed to change it at least one way. Human interaction within these cycles
causes destruction to Earth and can destroy the systems if nothing is done to stop it.
The hydrologic cycle is the movement of water within the biosphere. Earth is a closed system, meaning that water can never leave Earth. Due to
human interaction, humans have managed to hurt and alter the water cycle. Water that falls on the land does one of three things : evapotranspiration,
evaporation and transpiration, be absorbed by the soil and go down into the groundwater, or move as a runoff into rivers and streams and reach the
ocean where the water evaporates the cycle starts over again. Humans harm the hydrologic cycle by cutting down trees. By reducing
evapotranspiration and its biomass, it causes runoff and percolation to increase. An increase in runoff leads to erosion and flooding. Humans harm the
cycle by covering land resources due to paving roads. This decreases the amount of percolation in a specific area and leads to more evaporation and
runoff. Humans have the ability to change the water cycle by moving water from area to another for

California Is Going On A Four Year Drought
California is going on a four–year drought, having many devastating implications that are being felt by everyone in the state. The population hit the
hardest has been the farmers of California. California, being economically driven by its agricultural production, is losing hundreds of thousands of
jobs every year due to the lack of water. Farmers' use 80% of water the state produces, directly influencing their production (Mieszkowski, 2014).
The country heavily relies on California for much of its produce such as tomatoes, nuts, avocados, strawberries, broccoli, grapes and various others
(Cooley et al. 2015). In 2014, harvested acreage was 6.9 million acres, the lowest it has been for the past 15 years. Farmers are now being forced to use
significantly less land then before, but also ditch old irrigation techniques and implement new techniques to better conserve water; maximizing
production as much as possible in order to combat the drought.
California is the leading state in agricultural production; however, the state has taken a blow from this four–year drought. Farmers have been forced to
re–evaluate their irrigation systems and make necessary changes to conserve water. In order to judge the agricultural water use efficiency, scientists are
using a ratio of evapotranspiration of the crop grown to the water applied to the crop. Evapotranspiration is the total evaporation and plant transpiration
from land surface to the atmosphere (Marin et al. 2015). Through various

The Water Systems And Landforms
Introduction While studying water systems and landforms in our lab, we begin to wonder about certain climates and regions. In this paper, I will
discuss the water systems and landforms found in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as well as two other cities in the United States. I will explore the amount
of water that comes and leaves their systems, as well as the natural landforms that occupy their regions. Background Throughout this paper, there are
terms you will need to know. While discussing the water systems of Baton Rouge, we will discuss both precipitation and evapotranspiration.
Precipitation is the process of weather in the form of rain, snow, hale, or sleet falling to the ground. Evapotranspiration is the process in which water is
transferred from the land to the atmosphere by evaporation (merriam–webster.com). Also understanding what a deficit is, or when the amount of water
being provided is too small an amount. While discussing the landforms of Baton Rouge we will discuss the Topography, or the arrangement of the
natural and artificial physical features of an area (merriam–webster.com). Methods Data Baton Rouge, Louisiana is located at 30Лљ27'N, 91Лљ08 and
has an average elevation of 51 feet above sea level. It is located in the southeastern part of the United States. To establish data, I used the water
balance charts that we completed during lab 6. This analysis provided a collection of the average annual rainfall in inches and as well as the potential

The Rapid Decline in Urmia Lake Levels Essay
Introduction
The rapid decline in Urmia lake levels, the largest inland wetland in Northwest of Iran and the third hyper–saline lake in the world, as the biggest
environmental disaster has been of great concern. In recent decades, a frequent occurrence of dry periods has experienced in the North West. In early
2000 the depth of the lake has dropped about 6 meters, which is mainly due to changing patterns of water for agricultural uses, construction of
numerous dams and dry periods (Deljo, 2013).
Abbaspour and Javid (2012) by hydrodynamic model which developed to simulate the condition of Urmia Lake and validated using the 35–yr data of
annual precipitation, evaporation, run off, river discharges and water level, showed if very dry ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
al.2012).The principal weather parameters affecting evapotranspiration are radiation, air temperature, humidity and wind speed. The reference crop
evapotranspiration represents the evapotranspiration from a standardized vegetated surface which water is abundantly available on it (FAO 56).
As the evaporative power of the atmosphere is expressed by the reference crop evapotranspiration (ETo), understanding the current trend, future changes
of this variable can be used to project the future condition of Urmia Lake levels.
Few studies, mostly focused on the estimating ETo using different methods or predicting, have been carried on in Urmia region but there is no
information about the impact of climate change in the trend and magnitude of this variable and the projection of ETo for future periods under climate
change condition is still an open problem, especially when GCMs output is taken into account.
To project the future changes, General Circulation Models (GCMs) are instrumental and providing a realistic quantitative prediction of climate change,
especially at continental scale. GCM are coupled atmosphere – ocean models which their output are available as monthly for the baseline and the
period 1961–2100. However, the coarse spatial resolution of GCMs and large uncertainty in their output on a daily scale limits their usefulness for
impact climate change studies which

The Importance of the Planet EarthВґs Hydrologic Cycle
Hydrologic Cycle The hydrologic cycle is the reason our planet is able to sustain the life we have on it. If it were not for this constant cycle of
evaporation and condensation of the water from the ocean and waterways to land and back again we would not be able to exist. Water is essential for
life on Earth and without it no life would exist such as on the moon. This will examine some of the ways this cycle occurs and also look at a land
formation from the eyes of the writer. The wonders of Devils Tower in northeaster Wyoming has been admired by many over the years.
A Look at the Hydrological Cycle The Hydrologic cycle is an endless cycle where the water on our planet Earth is moving from the ocean to the
atmosphere to land and back again. I live in northern California and there is a lot of water in my area. This cycle begins here at the Pacific Ocean where
evaporation of water starts its hydrologic cycle. Living about 50 miles from the ocean this area is prone to fog that condenses over the land and is
deposited on the ground and everything that is on the land under it. This precipitation lends itself to helping the foliage around the bay have plenty of
moisture to help sustain its growth. Lutgens, Tarbuck, & Tasa (2014) stated that winds transport this moisture laden air, often great distances (p. 83).
The water that is deposited on land will then take one of two routes back to the ocean to start the cycle all over again. WW2010 (2014) stated that
"Some of the water

Cloud Forest Ecosystems: Tropical Rainforest
Cloud forests are tropical ecosystems scattered throughout Central and South America, Africa, and Oceania (Scatena, Hamilton, & Juvik, 1995).
Frequent, low level moisture shrouds the flora and fauna found in these jungles in a constant hazy mist. This fog cover differentiates the cloud forest
environment from lowland tropical rainforests or temperate rainforests (Doumenge, 1995). To support an ecosystem, many processes such as
photosynthesis, evapotranspiration, nutrient cycling, and predator–prey dynamics must work together to sustain life (Buddle, 2015). The hydrological
cycle, specifically the processes of cloud formation and water interception, is the critical factor that shapes the emergence of a cloud forest and its
species composition (Gotsch, Nadkarni, and Amici, 2016). ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Montane forests occur in the tropics on the windward side of mountains at elevations between 1000 and 3500 meters (Scatena, Hamilton, & Juvik,
1995). These high–altitude environments generate orographic lift, the process of a geographic barrier forcing an air mass to ascent from a low to
high altitude, which rapidly cools the air, and condenses water vapor into clouds (Fabry & Lapointe, 2015). At sea level, tropical regions also receive
larger year–round energy inputs from the sun than higher latitude areas, which promotes greater evaporation, thus increasing orographic lift (Fabry, &
Lapointe, 2015). On the mountain, however, the persistent cloudiness lowers radiation, which reduces air temperature and light availability. (Reinhardt,
Smith, & Carter,

Causes And Effects Of Deforestation
Deforestation happens every day without us knowing that it happens. Deforestation is the removal of a forest where the land is converted to a
non–forest use; such as farms, ranches, or urban use. I will inform you of the history, effects, disadvantages, and what can be done about deforestation.
Deforestation dates back to the late 1960s when Brazil began to cut down forests at an alarming rate. According to Schwartzman, S. (2013) Brazil has
cleared 18 percent of the original Amazon – an area the size of France. In 2005 Brazil's deforestation rate began to fall, which is good news because it
went from 27,000 square kilometers to about 4,500 square kilometers. This is a good thing because if more rainforests are cleared, lower rainfall,
combined with climate change–related drought could turn a large amount of the remaining forest in to savanna. The leading cause for the deforestation
in the Amazon was to make way for cattle ranching. The figure above shows the sq. km deforested, per year and it shows what years have the highest
in deforestation. Between 1995 and 1996 Brazil has deforested around 300002 km.
Deforestation effects many animals that live in a forest habitat, but it significantly impacts large carnivores that depend on large tracts of
interconnected forest habitat. Zemanova, M. and her team conducted a study that focused on assessing fragmentation and natural vegetation structural
connectivity applying the scale of habitat used by jaguars. The loss of natural

Modeling The Agrometeorological Indices Of The Surface...
. Modeling the agrometeorological indices
The surface temperature (T0) product was not used because with a lower spatial resolution (1000 km), there were cloud contaminations in some parts
of the Minas Gerais state along the years. Instead, T0 was retrieved by residue in the radiation balance after having estimated the atmospheric and
surface emissivities (Teixeira et al., 2016a,b).
Cleugh et al. (2007) pointed out that the use of instantaneous measurements of the radiometric surface temperature to calculate time–averaged fluxes led
to errors. They emphasized uncertainties in models which use the MODIS 8–day that is a composite of once–daily overpass at ~ 10:30 h local time. In
this case, the radiometric temperature is determined under a view angle at the satellite overpass time, using emissivities based on vegetation classes at a
1–km grid that differs from that of the MODIS pixel location.
The parameterizations involved in the agrometeorological indices by using the SAFER algorithm in this chapter were done in Brazil with simultaneous
satellite and field measurements, under strong contrasting agro–ecosystems and thermohydrological conditions throughout different years (Teixeira et
al., 2008, 2014a). In addition, acquiring T0 as residue in the radiation balance gives mutual compensation, reducing possible errors in this model input
parameter, and as in the upward and downward longwave fluxes, they are self–canceling. Moreover, a correction factor is applied to ET/ET0

Drought As A Natural Phenomenon

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