Understanding Feedback Loops: Temperature and Forest Area

[TheMathNoob]

Homework Statement

I am just wondering if my analysis of the following feedback loops are right.

The invariant in this case is Temperature
Solar heating->Temperature->Evaporation cloud cover-> albedo->Solar heating
Second feedback loop

Invariant forest area
Forest area->Plant evapotranspiration and raincloud->rainfall->forest area

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution

Temperature->evaporation cloud cover, it would be a positive coupling hence if more temperature, then more evaporation and cloud cover

Evaporation cloud cover-> albedo, Evaporation is a greenhouse gas , but at the same time it helps clouds form, so I will go with the greenhouse gas trait because evaporation is one of the causes of greenhouse gases. The coupling would be negative

Albedo->solar heating, if the albedo decreases then there would be more solar heating coming to the earth
, so it would be a negative coupling.

solar heating-> Temperature, positive coupling because if more solar heating coming to the Earth then more temperature

Generally it would be a a positive feedback loop

second feedback loop

Forest area-> plant evapotranspiration and raincloud, if the forest area increases then there would be more plants evapotranspirating and more raincloud

Plant evapotranspiration->rainfall, if there is more evapotranspiration and rain cloud then there would be more rainfall hence the vapor condenses and then it produces rainfall

rainfall->Forest Area, this one is tricky, assuming that the process is giving naturally then rainfall will help the forest area to protect from sunlight, so it would be positive coupling

generally it would a positive feedback loop

 

[andrewkirk]

I think the first loop would be negative, because it has albedo as a link. To the extent that evaporation creates clouds, that increases albedo and - other things equal (which they won't be) - reduces solar heating.

The thing that at least partially offsets this is a different loop, with positive feedback, which is of the form:

Solar heating->Temperature->Evaporation-> Increased water vapour in non-cloud covered areas->Solar heating

In this case the water vapour acts purely as a greenhouse gas, which increases heating, because in those areas it has not formed clouds and hence does not generate the white surface needed for albedo.

Of course neither of these water-vapour-focused loops deal with the really important greenhouse gas CO2, which has other feedback loops (eg melting of permafrost releasing ground-stored CO2 into the atmosphere).