Desertification

[godmodd5 0]

desertification happens when moisture loss is signifacantly more than new moisture introduced into an area.

Moisture loss is determined by varyous factors.

Temperature: hotter weather increaces the evaporation rate.

Vegitation: stores moisture and holds it in the ground. Domant vegitation does not store much moisture. In contenental climates the time with the greatest moisture loss is mid spring due to the comantation of high temperatures and still dormant vegitaion,luckily spring rain usualy gives ample mousture to replace the losses.

Urban Areas: runoff is very high and vegitaion is low.

Soil: some soils hold more moisture than others. The amazon soils hold little moisture thus forest is vital to lower moisture loss.

New moisture is determined by..

 

Mountains: increases moisture on west facing slopes while decreacing on east facing ones.

Uban Areas: Signifacantly reduces the amout of moisture stored by the ground.

Oceans/seas: Colossal Increase in new moisture sometimes More than the area can hold(flood)

Elevation: Low areas are close to saturaration and collect moisture runoff. 

Reserve: the amount of perannual moisture in lakes, rivers, and ground water

A few examples:

Denver

New Moisture: Med

Moisture Loss: Med-high

Reserve: Low-med

New Orleans:

New Moisture: High

Moisture Loss: Med

Reserve: Extreme

Edmonton:

New Moisture: Low

Moisture Loss: Low 

Reserve: Med-High

Pheinox:

New Moisture: Very Low

Moisture Loss: Extreme

Reserve: Low

This city likey gets water from damed rivers and deep underground.

Los Angeles:

New Moisture: Low

Moisture Loss: High

Reserve: Med

London(UK)

New Moisture: High

Moisture Loss: Med

Reserve: High

Moscow:

New Moisture: Med

Moisture Loss: Low

Reserve: high

Prince rupert:

New Moisture: Very high

Moisture Loss: Low

Reserve: Very High

Sacramento

New Moisture: Med

Moisture Loss: Med

Reserve: High

These stats are based on what i know about these cities.

Mabe People who live in these cities have a better idea of the Moisture levels in the area. 

. 

 

[Micah 16]

I'm not sure if I get your point.

If I understand you correctly, you are saying vegitation is low in urban areas. Well, I guess that is true in many areas, but in Houston, vegitation actually seems to become more lush. We are actually having a major problem with massive vines traveling for miles just killing trees like crazy.

[Gnargenox 6]

Actually, while it may be humid in southeast Texas, the lower moister content of the ground allows only naturalized or native "weeds" to thrive because there is no natural competition from other plants. All we have left are Virginia Creeper and Chinese Tallow (both introduced and adapted).

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: godmodd5

Mountains: increases moisture on west facing slopes while decreacing on east facing ones.quote>

You're kidding, right? That has absolutely nothing to do with it. It is true that mountain ranges tend to keep the moisture on one side (this is called the "Rainshadow Effect"), but which side that is is not determined by which direction it's facing, but by which side there's more moisture on to begin with. Generally the side closer to the nearest sea or ocean is the wet one. It's the "windward side", where as the dry other side is the "leeward side".

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Is somebody taking a climatology course?  If so, you'd better learn how to spell the terms before you hand in a paper and get a downcheck.

People in Phoenix, AZ are proud of the spelling of their city name, too.

[godmodd5 0]

No i'am not taking no course, I leaned this by myself.

N_O_body OH i didn't know you were obsessed about my spelling. 

[Praetorian Cohort 0]

You're darn right we are, N_O_Body. That, and Tucson.

Duke is right about the Rainshadow effect. Where I live, California is the wet side, and we're the dry side.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Originally posted by: godmodd5 No i'am not taking no course, I leaned this by myself.

N_O_body OH i didn't know you were obsessed about my spelling. 

quote>

Why do you suppose I agreed to edit the Yearbook?  Hmmmm? 

I am not obsessed about your spelling, in particular.  I just have enough real world experience to be sorry for people who can't spell not getting jobs because they can't spell well enough to write a resume or fill out an application form.

Oh, and your grammar is appalling.  "No I am not taking any course, ..."

Yours truly,

The Grammar Nazi.

[godmodd5 0]

Even if i know so much about science dosen't justify that I can Spell perfectly.

I was hardly ever taught spelling in school.

I was in modified for every grade.

For your information I have Tourettes Syndrome and so do 4 others in my familly.

My dad has bad spelling too and he makes $100,000 a year as a database  analist 

You are probably the sort of person that would think i was unteachable and graduate me on a failing grade from K-12.

Is this your way of calling me a retard n_o_body

Don't give me the impression that simtrpolis has intolerance for the diasbled(no mater how mild or severe).

Edit/New:

 You think i cant spell take look at your profile jerk you spelled "Retired" Wrong.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Tourette's syndrome?  Well, I am sorry to hear that.  It is a terrible affliction and I think you are doing well in spite of it.  In any case, you should use all the available tools, like spelling checkers, to make your image as good as possible.  I certainly would, and I don't flame people.

 Spelling is just one of my hot buttons, so get used to it.

Thanks for the heads-up.  I fixed my profile.

[Skink000 0]

Hi godmodd5

Don't give me the impression that simtrpolis has intolerance for the diasbled(no mater how mild or severe).quote>

Whoa, lets back that bus up my friend, this is the last place on the face of the earth where you will find ANY disability held against you. I'm serious! I have a list of disabilities as long as your arm (hearing lose, diabetes, major problems with feet, ankles, knees and hips, cataracts in my eyes, nerve damage in my legs from diabetes (I have had what feels like a permanent sun burn on my legs and feet for over 6 years now and can't stand to put a sheet over my legs at night, it and my other sources of chronic pain give me insomnia so I only sleep for an hour and a half at a time if I can sleep at all), three major heart attacks, and the list goes on)  and am treated just like everybody else (flames and all hahahahaha). Please do not get the wrong impression about this great community. This is one place where we can come and be treated as one of the gang.

Often times we can get into some great discussions about our disabilities and learn a great deal from each other. Some day you might want to start a new topic about Tourette's Syndrome and give us some info about it and how it effects people with it from a personal view point. I know very little about it and think that the more I can learn the better I can understand. 

As for spelling, hahahahahahaha, I'm one of the wosrtist in the wurld. The spell checker here turns 6 shades of green when it sees me coming and has been known to have fainting spells when I post. I have a dictionary on my hard drive that swares I have yet to learn English. I have been 50 - 75% deaf most of my life and if it isn't spelled like it sounds I don't have a prayer. I use AltaVista for a search engine just because it knows how to spell what I am looking for a lot better than I do and corrects me 999 out of 1000 times.

My dad couldn't spell worth a lick either, he was dyslexic and had enough trouble telling his left from his right and he was an aeronautical engineer. 

Anyway I liked your post, I thought Geography was a dead science, at least that is how they treat it here in Florida schools.

Speaking of Geography, what the heck is a Wet ask i winy whozits anyway? How you Canadians find your way around I'll never know . Follow that moose, he looks like he knows the way! Hahahahahaha. Thats OK, I think we Americans named every other town Springfield just so we could act like we knew where we were. Hahahahahaha 

OK, I gotta go catch that darn spell checker,and don't worry about the flames around here (not that you have been flamed yet), I know I have earned most of mine (some say I have earned all of them but don't believe them). I keep a flame retardant suit draped over the back of my chair in case it gets to hot around here.

Have a great day and help keep those Earth Siences alive.

P.S. N_O_Body is one very smart dude and is one of the first to offer good advice and info when needed so we all look out for those "hot buttons" , besides he owns the Moose Factory where every one (I think) is welcome.

[defcon pilot 0]

I'm with N_O_Body about the spelling and grammar. And godmodd, I think you're overreacting severely. Calm down a bit. He's not calling you retarded, stupid, or whatever.

I think I did a little bit on this stuff last year... I don't remember much about it, though. But this was helpful. This and the reader's comments.

[Micah 16]

Okay... okay... The topic is about moisture, not spelling.

[godmodd5 0]

The topic on climate needs to revived as it is changing rapidly.

I can understand why People in florida aren't interested.

It's called the sunshine state after all. 

In canada it can be Scorching hot week and snowing the next.

Weather changes by the hour.

In edmonton in 2004 it went from a warm summer day to a foot of hail and flooding in  a single hour.

Wetaskiwin is basicly a town.

It's was called a city so that alberta could be a provence in 1905. If not alberta would be a territory until the 1950s.

The name is cree for "peace hills".

 

[toxicpiano 125]

Originally posted by: N_O_Body

Yours truly,

The Grammar Nazi.quote>

YAYNESS FOR GRAMMER FACISM!

moving on I remember that BC has a very desert like area. There's that dry piece of the rockies that runs down the north american continent.

[Skink000 0]

Hi godmodd5

I can understand why People in florida aren't interested.

It's called the sunshine state after all. quote>

Ahhhhh Grasshopper, people in Florida most interested. About ten minutes ago we had our first rain for the YEAR. Ok, down here we call it "liquid sun shine", but we are in our fire season and just here in Lee County a dozen homes have been totaled and many more damaged by fires.

Rain is not just the solution but is often the problem if it comes in the form of a thunderstorm. Lightening is the most common cause if fires here. The fires we have had up until now have either been from car accidents (2 at least) and arson. Our fire season will last until the summer rains start which may not be until July. The 1/2" of rain we had this morning will not help anything.

Summertime we can have thunderstorms every day around sunset. It may be hard on computers but it can drop the temp 10-15 degrees. 

Summer will also bring our hurricane season, and take it from me, our climate is of GREAT concern. My house has taken sever damage two years in a row and I no longer have insurance.

"The Sunshine State" was thought up by the tourism people and bureaucrats, Hahahahaha

Good topic, have a great day.

[Gnargenox 6]

Many plants have chemicals in them that are flammable or down right explosive when exposed to high heat. Perhaps mother natures way of propagating the species during natural fires.

[Skink000 0]

 @Gnargenox:

Many plants have chemicals in them that are flammable or down right explosive when exposed to high heat. Perhaps mother natures way of propagating the species during natural fires.quote>

Very true, the paragraph below is from the St. Johns River Water Management District
 in Florida and exlpains the need for prescribed burns. 

"Fire is a natural process in many plant communities -- sandhills, pine flatwoods, scrub and marsh, to name a few. Without fire, these communities change; the plants and animals unique to the original habitat maintained by fire are lost. Fox squirrels, gopher tortoises, scrub jays, red-cockaded woodpeckers, wiregrass and longleaf pines are just a few of the many species which depend on fire."  (site)

We have over managed our forest by preventing as many fires as we can. Many of our National Forest have far more undergrowth and tinder then nature intended due to the prevention of fires over the years. When these forest (the protected ones) do burn the temperatures are far higher than what the fire adapted plants can tolorate and they are killed. The cycle of natural fires controled the underbrush and native vegitation evolved to it.

The Indians were known to burn areas of forest. This allowed new shoots and grasses to grow which would attract deer that liked to feed on them. It was a way of bringing the deer to them.