The role of El Ni?o in modulating the effects of deforestation in the Maritime Continent
Journal
Environmental Research Letters
Journal Volume
16
Journal Issue
5
Date Issued
2021
Author(s)
Lee T.-H
Abstract
The deforestation rate in the Maritime Continent (MC) has been accelerating during the past several decades. Understanding the changes in local hydro-climatological cycles as deforestation takes place is essential because the MC is suffering from frequent and extreme droughts and fires, which often occur during the dry season and are more severe during El Ni?os. Therefore, this study explores how deforestation affects the hydrological cycle and precipitation in the MC during El Ni?os, focusing on the boreal autumn season and using the coupled atmosphere-land model simulations. It is found that the precipitation over the MC increases in the deforestation experiments, and the precipitation responses can be magnified during El Ni?o events. A strong subsidence anomaly associated with El Ni?o does not prevent enhanced convection associated with local deforestation. Instead, the subsidence reduces the cloud cover in the MC region during El Ni?o, which increases the incoming solar radiation and increases surface temperatures. Thus, a warmer environment induced by El Ni?o modulates the biogeophysical feedbacks associated with deforestation that also play a critical role in more substantial land surface warming. A warmer land surface induces a more unstable atmospheric environment associated with a tendency toward enhanced local convection and lateral moisture convergence. This study highlights how the different mean climate states may modulate the impact of local land-use changes on hydroclimatological cycles in the MC, and sheds light on the state of our knowledge of interactions between the local land surface and remote large-scale atmospheric circulations. ? 2021 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd.
Subjects
Drought; Land use; Subsidence; Surface measurement; Atmospheric circulation; Atmospheric environment; Enhanced convection; Hydrological cycles; Land-use change; Maritime Continent; Moisture convergence; Surface temperatures; Deforestation; climate effect; deforestation; El Nino; marine environment
Other Subjects
Drought; Land use; Subsidence; Surface measurement; Atmospheric circulation; Atmospheric environment; Enhanced convection; Hydrological cycles; Land-use change; Maritime Continent; Moisture convergence; Surface temperatures; Deforestation; climate effect; deforestation; El Nino; marine environment
Type
journal article