Monday, September 17, 2012

"When it Rains, It Pours: Intensification of Extreme Tropical Rainfall with Global Warming Modeled"


Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "When it rains, it pours: Intensification of extreme tropical rainfall with global warming modeled." ScienceDaily, 17 Sep. 2012. Web. 17 Sep. 2012.

         In “When it Rains, It Pours: Intensification of Extreme Tropical Rainfall with Global Warming Modeled,” the reader learns that there is a correlation between global warming and how heavy the rain is.  Green house gases, such as carbon dioxide increase the air temperature, which also means that the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere will also increase.  This is a problem because the increase in humidity causes heavier rain, especially in tropical areas.  Studies show that for every 1-degree (Celsius) rise in temperature, tropical regions have 10 percent heavier rainfalls.  Heavier rain can have catastrophic impacts, as it increases the risk of flooding in tropical areas.  Scientists have been able to develop models and stimulations showing how global warming effects rain in places outside the tropics, such as the United States.  However, models are not successful in predicting how global warming effects rain in tropical areas because tropical regions have more quick, strong storms, compared to the United States, which often has larger storms that can span from Great Britain all the way to The United States.  Scientists do not no the full effect of global warming on rain in tropical areas, but they do know that the effects are extreme.  Scientists have gathered this information by looking at weather patterns and the rain intensity during El Niño. El Niño and global warming are similar in the fact that they both make an increase in the air temperature.  Since rain is extremely heavy during El Niño, scientists can conclude that global warming will extremely increase the heaviness of rain in tropical regions.  This is a relatively new research, so scientists do not know the full statistics.
            We all know that with the ice caps melting amongst other things, the danger of flooding is high.  Now if you add the research about global warming affecting the heaviness of rain, especially in tropical areas, everyone around the world must try even harder to prevent global warming.  There are a billion different ways to help stop global warming, most of which kids, like ourselves cannot follow.  For example, people say to use less air conditioning and heat in the house, but children don’t really have much say in the temperature of the house, and it not like people are going to start wearing big, heavy jackets in the house.  But, there are still so many ways that kids can help.  For instance, people in Bronxville can easily walk to school.  And even if you are too lazy to get up ten minutes earlier to walk, you can walk home from school.  In addition, try to carpool with your friends to sporting events or schools, so then fewer cars have to be used.  A third way to help prevent global warming is to turn off the lights when you leave a room.  These three things are quick, easy things to do, but together can make a huge difference.
         Even though I knew a lot about the effects of global warming before reading this article, I did not know that it makes heavier rain.  I think this topic is very interesting and want everyone to know about it.  I know that this is relatively new information, but to improve the article I would have liked to see more statistics, facts, and examples.  For example, I would have likes to know which cities are in danger of flooding and how much heavier the rain will get in the 10 years.  In addition, I would have likes to know some ways that I can help the scientists’ progress in their research.  But overall, this article was extremely interesting and informative.

3 comments:

  1. Chris Gay did a rather good job of analyzing the article “When it Rains, it Pours.” He stated many of the important statistics and facts that were essential to this article, while not just listing all of them. He did a very good job with analyzing the article and saying what he thought people should take out of this article. A third aspect that he exceeded in explaining the article in a more simple way, and making it sound interesting.
    Though his review was very good, it could have been made better by doing several things. First, he could have analyzed the author’s way he wrote a little more. He could have also said a little more of the information that was given in the article.
    Lastly, I was very interested in the idea that global warming was connected to the severity of rain-related storms. This was a very interesting fact that I had never thought about before.

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  2. The review on “When it Rains it Pours” was very well done. The information on how an one-degree of temperature change can effect rain fall amounts was very easy to follow. The affects on the tropics was interesting because they already get so much rain fall that any more rain fall could cause serious damage. Suggestions on how we as kids can help slow global warming were very helpful.
    Not knowing much about weather I was confused by El Nino. A brief explanation of what El Nino is, and how it too causes global temperatures to rise would be very helpful. Also are there any other green house gasses other than carbon dioxide? It is mentioned that Carbon Dioxide is a greenhouse gas that causes global warming, but what are the others?
    One aspect that I was not aware of and found very interesting was that storms could be so large that they could affect both the US and Europe at the same time. The distance between Europe and the US seems so large, that it is very hard to believe that a storm could be that big. I would be interested to know the name of any of the storms that were that size.

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  3. Chris Gay did a terrific job analyzing the article “When it Rains, It Pours: Intensification of Extreme Tropical Rainfall with Global Warming Modeled.” He gave many interesting facts about the topic of global warming. For instance, he says greenhouse gases increase the air temperature means the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere will also increase. He also gave great statistical facts. For example, Chris stated that for every 1 degree Celsius rise in temperature, tropical regions have a 10 percent heavier rainfalls. Lastly, Chris gave many examples of how we can start slow down global warming. He gives many examples that even young children can do that can help the environment.
    Even though Chris did a good job, it could have been better. He could have added a quote or two from the article that explains the scientists view on global warming. Also, he could have explained what El Nino was because when I read the article, I did not know, so I had to look it up.
    One aspect of the article that I was not aware of was that as the temperature increases, rain becomes heavier. I did not know that the temperature would control how heavy the rain was. I thought it just rained.

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