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Tectonic–climatic interaction is the interrelationship between tectonic processes and the climate system. The tectonic processes in question include orogenesis, volcanism, and erosion, while relevant climatic processes include atmospheric circulation, orographic lift, monsoon circulation and the rain shadow effect.
Wind and moist air are drawn by the prevailing winds towards the top of the mountains, condensing and precipitating before it crosses the top. In an effect opposite that of orographic lift, the air, without much moisture left, advances behind the mountains, creating a drier side called the "rain shadow". [citation needed]
Heating of solids, sunlight and shade in different altitudinal zones (Northern hemisphere) [5] A variety of environmental factors determines the boundaries of altitudinal zones found on mountains, ranging from direct effects of temperature and precipitation to indirect characteristics of the mountain itself, as well as biological interactions of the species.
As air flows over mountain barriers, orographic lift can create a variety of cloud effects. Orographic fog is formed as the air rises up the slope and will often envelope the summit. When the air is humid, some of the moisture will fall on the windward slope and on the summit of the mountain.
An orographic map of Eastern Siberia by Peter Kropotkin, 1875. Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, [1] and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. [2] Orography (also known as oreography, orology, or oreology) falls within the broader discipline of geomorphology. [3]
Earth systems across mountain belts include the asthenosphere (ductile region of the upper mantle), lithosphere (crust and uppermost upper mantle), surface, atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, and biosphere. Across mountain belts these Earth systems each have their own processes which interact within the system they belong.
The orographic effect causes rainfall when moist air originating in the Gulf of Mexico and western Atlantic Ocean is forced upwards by the mountains. [29] [30] Winter and spring months see a gradient precipitation pattern, with higher rainfall concentrated in the south. [29]
On the leeward side of mountains, desert climates can exist due to the dry air caused by compressional heating. The movement of the monsoon trough, or Intertropical Convergence Zone, brings rainy seasons to savannah climes. The urban heat island effect leads to increased rainfall, both in amounts and intensity, downwind of cities.