Local biomass burning is a dominant cause of the observed precipitation reduction in southern Africa.
Nat Commun
; 7: 11236, 2016 Apr 12.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27068129
ABSTRACT
Observations indicate a precipitation decline over large parts of southern Africa since the 1950s. Concurrently, atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases and aerosols have increased due to anthropogenic activities. Here we show that local black carbon and organic carbon aerosol emissions from biomass burning activities are a main cause of the observed decline in southern African dry season precipitation over the last century. Near the main biomass burning regions, global and regional modelling indicates precipitation decreases of 20-30%, with large spatial variability. Increasing global CO2 concentrations further contribute to precipitation reductions, somewhat less in magnitude but covering a larger area. Whereas precipitation changes from increased CO2 are driven by large-scale circulation changes, the increase in biomass burning aerosols causes local drying of the atmosphere. This study illustrates that reducing local biomass burning aerosol emissions may be a useful way to mitigate reduced rainfall in the region.
Texto completo:
1
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Lluvia
/
Biomasa
/
Incendios
País/Región como asunto:
Africa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Nat Commun
Asunto de la revista:
BIOLOGIA
/
CIENCIA
Año:
2016
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Noruega