Authors: Wolfgang Knorr KarlGeorg Schnitzler
Publish Date: 2005/10/27
Volume: 26, Issue: 1, Pages: 55-63
Abstract
It has long been recognized that albedo related vegetation feedbacks amplify climate variability in North Africa Recent studies have revealed that areas of very high albedo associated with certain desert soil types contribute to the current dry climate of the region We construct three scenarios of North African albedo one based on satellite measurements one where the highest albedo resembles that of soils in the desert transition zones and one based on a vegetation map for the “green Sahara” state of the middle Holocene ca 6000 years ago Using a series of climate model simulations we find that the additional amplitude of albedo change from the middle Holocene to the present caused by the very bright desert soils enhances the magnitude of the JunetoAugust precipitation change in the region of the present Sahara from 06 to 10 mm/day on average We also find that albedo change has a larger effect on regional precipitation than changes in either the Earth’s orbit or sea surface temperatures between 6000 years ago and today Simulated precipitation agrees rather well with present observations and mid Holocene reconstructions Our results suggest that there may exist an important climate feedback from soil formation processes that has so far not been recognizedWe would like to thank the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting for providing computing resources and Philipp Hoelzmann for stimulating discussions This work was supported through the German Ministry for Research and Education’s DEKLIM programme project Nr 01 LD 0106
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