NASA scientists have studied our planet's gravity for 17 years to understand how the global water cycle is changing.
The rate at which plants and the land surface release moisture into the air increased on a global scale between 2003 and 2019. These processes are collectively known as transpiration evapotranspiration, and a new NASA study has calculated its increase using observations from gravity satellites.
By estimating the difference in water mass between the oceans and continents, the researchers determined that the rate of increase in respiratory evaporation is up to twice as high as previous estimates. This is important because evapotranspiration represents a critical branch of the global water cycle—a cycle that creates the conditions for life on earth.
While it is known that a warming climate should increase evapotranspiration rates, precise global measurements have, until now, been elusive.
"Our study found that respiratory evaporation has increased by about 10% since 2003, which is more than previously estimated and is largely due to warming temperatures," said Madeleine Pascolini-Campbell, a postdoctoral researcher in the Laboratory of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, who led the study. "We hope that this information about the water cycle will help to better inform the development and evaluation of climate models."
The finding that respiratory evaporation is increasing at a faster rate than previously known has implications for understanding how climate change may affect Earth in the future. As the world warms, evaporation and transpiration will accelerate, accelerating the drying of soil and vegetation. Weather patterns can also be affected: Increased evaporation from the ground can create droughts in some regions. This is a symptom of a warming world that could have far-reaching consequences for ecosystems and human societies as stress on surface and groundwater supplies increases.
"Images of melting glaciers and shrinking ice sheets are an obvious way for us to understand the impacts of global warming," Pascolini-Campbell said. "But dramatic changes are also happening to other key components of our planet's water cycle that aren't as obvious, such as when water evaporates from the ground before entering rivers as runoff
(BalkanWeb)
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