Living with Climate Change – the Water Challenge

Water Paradigmkey role of water in the climate system of the Earth

Jan Pokorný, M. Kravčík, J. Kohutiar

Climate change (IPCC)

• Floods and droughts

• Heavy rains

• Strong winds

• Lower weather predictivity

• Temperature increase

• Temperature fluctuations and differences

• Decline of galciers

Topics of the presentation

Water cycle

Solar energy at the Earth

Mankind affect solar energy fluxes

through management of water and plants

Effect of green house gases x effect of

landscape drainage

Old/New Water Paradigm

Recomendations to UN Climate Change

Conference Copenhagen

Human impact in water

cycle

Breakdown of short water cycle

On July 22d [1494], he [Columbus] departed for Jamaica…. every

afternoon there was a rain squall that lasted for about an hour.

The admiral attributes this to the great forests of that land; he

knew from experience that formerly this also occurred in the

Canary, Madeira, and Azore Islands, but since the removal of

forests that once covered those islands they do not have so

much mist and rain as before.”

• Christopher Columbus’ biography

• by his son Ferdinand

Small and large water cycles

Freshwater stock on Earth

Solar energy at the Earth

surface

SUN 6000 KExists 5 billion years

Earth 300 K

Solar constant

1351 W m-2 to 1431 W m-2

Solar constantamount of solar energy from Sun on troposhere

Ranges during one year

1351 W m-2 to 1431 W m-2

Long term variability

W m-2 (0.1%)

Wave lenght l (mm)

Sp

ec

tra

l c

ha

rac

teri

sti

c o

f ra

dia

tio

n

(W.m

-2.m

m-1

)

Solar energy flux through

atmosphere

Wien´s law

lmax = 2897 / T

Distribution of solar energy in drained

and wet landscape

Latent heat of water

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Solar radiation

Air-conditioning power of a tree

Changes in distribution of solar

energy caused by drainage can

be monitored

Mankind influences distribution of

solar energy in landscape

Main square of Třeboň town

thermovision picture

Open Cast Mines – North Bohemia

10 km2

Medieval fishpond system – South Bohemia

Satellite pictures

Fishponds regionDrained mines

MOUNTAINS

TOWN

OPEN

CAST

MINES

FISHPONDS

TOWN

FOREST

Drained mines Fishpond region

CR = 79 000 km2

Evapotranspiration decrease of

1 mm a day

Sensible heat release of cca 56 000 GWh a day

(Annual production of all Power Plants in Czech Rep.)

Sensible heat flux from 20 km2 of drained land

Energy production of all power plants in CR

(12 000 MW)

300 K

6000 K

Radiative

forcing

Fluxes of energy in ecosystems, solar

constant, and radiative forcing

• Primary production (photosynthesis): W. m-2

• Evapotranspiration: hunderds W. m-2• Decomposition of organic matter in soil: tens W. m-2

• Heating of plant stands: several to tens W. m-2

• Radiative forcing: 0.2 W.m-2 for 10 years

• Solar constant during one year: 1351 W m-2 - 1431 W m-2

• Life processes can easily compensate for radiative forcing

Desertification

• Earth losses annualy 200 000 km2 of

productive land due to lack of water

• Desertification: 60 000 km2/year

• According to FAO: 30 - 40 % of

continents surface suffer from water

defficiency. (6.45 x 107 km2).

Eastern Africa

Overgrazing, fire wood or greenhouse effect?

Forests cover only 2% of Ethiopia, Kenya

Rain distribution in Slovakia has

changed

Hot climatic umbrella of a city

Soil sealing resulting in the lack of evapotranspiration

in urban areas is the main reason of “urban heat

island” effects

Precipitation shifts to mountains in the Danube

watershed

Recovery of the climate

Old

Water Paradigm

New

Water Paradigm

Old

water paradigm

• Drainage,

urbanisation of a

landscape has

minimal impact on

the water cycle

• Research is the

impact of global

warming on the

water cycle

New

water paradigm

• Drainage,

urbanisation of a

landscape has a

fundamental

impact on the water

cycle

• Research is the

impact of changes

in the water cycle

on global change

Old

water paradigm

soil sealing has

minimal impact

on the water

cycle

New

water paradigm

• soil sealing has a

fundamental

impact on the

water cycle and

global warming

Old

water paradigm

• rainwater is an

inconvenience,

needs to be

quickly removed

New

water paradigm

rainwater is an asset

that needs to be

retained

(especially in

soil/plants) –

convert blue water

into green water

Old

Water Paradigm

• Vegetation has

low albedo and

facilitates

greenhouse

effect. Water

vapour acts as

greenhouse gas.

New

Water Paradigm

• Water and vegetation

alleviate unwanted

temperature

differences;

cloudiness

moderates intensity

of solar radiation

coming on the

Earth´s surface

Old

Water Paradigm

• Global warming is

the main climatic

problem

New

Water Paradigm

• Extremes of

weather are the

main climatic

problem

Stop desertification and bring back

water and vegetation:

• Air-conditioning via short water cycle

• More biomass, more food

• Biodiversity increase

• Carbon sequestration

• Recycling of nurients and water

• Employment

• Any negative effect??

UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen

7 – 18 December 2009

• documents in process limit their attention to anthropogenic CO2 emissions (and few other greenhouse gases) as they only form of human impact on climate

• Water vapour is not mentioned in main documents and its role is not expressed

• Distortion of water cycleis ignored despite scientific recogniton of its impact on climate

• Evaporation of water – the most important energy conversion on the Earth is overlooked

• White Paper – Adapting to climate change: Towards a European framework for action, 1st April 2009 (page 5):emphasises managing and conservation water, land and biological processes in mitigation of climate change.

• World Water Forum in Istanbull claims „pro-active land and water management

Following principles to be included to UN

Climate Change Conference Copenhagen

• Water in all its forms has substantial role in the

climate system of the Earth

• Human draining of the land by deforestation, some

forms of agriculture and urbanisation contributes to

the climate change

• Restoration of water and vegetation on large

territories is the key mitigating and adaptive measure

with respect to the climate change

What to do?

WATER & PLANTS

The perfect airconditioning of the

Earth

Learn from ecosystems - RECYCLING

We order to all towns to build up ponds so that Our Kingdom, Bohemia,

has a lot of fishes and moisture…Water in swamps and bogs

accumulated should evaporate under the condition of sun and warm

breeze and so will affect healthy on plants as a vapour.“

Maiestas Carolina (1351 – 1353)

Bohemian King, Holy Roman

Emperor

(son of count of Luxemburg, John the

blind)

CHARLES IV.

Nothing new …