Expansion of the world's deserts due to vegetation-albedo feedback under global warming

• Published in: Geophysical research letters Vol. 36; no. 17; pp. np - n/a
• Main Authors: Zeng, Ning, Yoon, Jinho
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.09.2009; American Geophysical Union; John Wiley & Sons, Inc
• Subjects: Albedo; Atmospheric sciences; Biosphere; Carbon dioxide; Climate change; Computer simulation; desertification; Deserts; Earth; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; Feedback; Global warming; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Mathematical models; Vegetation; vegetation feedback; Africa; Sahara; simulation; climate warming; vegetation; climate; ocean-atmosphere interaction; subtropical zone; lead; expansion; Dynamical climatology; Ocean-atmosphere model; dynamics; deserts; global warming; Feedback; global change; standard samples; style; Forcing; projection; albedo; climate change

Many subtropical regions are expected to become drier due to climate change. This will lead to reduced vegetation which may in turn amplify the initial drying. Using a coupled atmosphere‐ocean‐land model with a dynamic vegetation component that predicts surface albedo change, here we simulate the cl...