Please find below details about the impact of global warming on amazon forests
- Forests are carbon sinks
- Amazon forests absorb about a quarter of world’s carbon
- But the depleting forest cover due to drought and deforestation has pushed it to the tipping point, where it will become a carbon source
- This will cause a rapid climate change
- The use of satellite imagery by brazil to monitor amazon forests has helped put a check on deforestation
THE 2010 drought
- The 2005 drought was considered by many as a one in century phenomenon
- But 2010 drought was much more severe
- Several states announced emergencies
- Rio negro reached its lowest levels
§ It is the largest left tributary of the Amazon and the largest black water river in the world
- Billions of trees died leading to lesser carbon absorption
- 8.5 bn tonnes of carbon dioxide was released
GLOBAL WARMING
- Global warming is going to cause more frequent droughts in future
- The growing warmth of atlantic sea is the main driving factor
Climate tipping points
- Arctic Icecap
- It has high albedo i.e it relfects most of sunlight back into atmosphere thus keeping the underneath ocean cold
- If it melts, the ocean will be exposed to heat leading to more melting
- Tundra
- It is warming at a rapid apce
- This may melt the permafrost which has trapped within it vast amount of carbon
- Also there are bacterias that feed on frozen soil and generate methane
- Hence its melting will lead to emission of carbon dioxide and methane in large amounts
- Gas hydrates
- Huge reserves of methane remain frozen on or just below ocean floor
- These methane water crystals are highly unstable as they are close to their melting points
- Any small rise in temperature could trigger huge release of methane
- West antarctic ice sheet
- Much of it is below sea level
- It is vulnerable even to small amounts of warming
- When it melts completely, sea level will rise by 6 meters
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