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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]
An orographic map of Eastern Siberia from 1875 by Peter Kropotkin. 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]
It forms above the mountain range, usually at the beginning of a chinook wind as a result of orographic lifting over the range. It appears when seen from downwind to form an arch over the mountain range. A layer of clear air separates it from the mountain. [3] A view of the Front Range of the Rockies capped by a föhn wall.
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.
Orographic or relief rainfall is caused when masses of air are forced up the side of elevated land formations, such as large mountains or plateaus (often referred to as an upslope effect). The lift of the air up the side of the mountain results in adiabatic cooling with altitude, and ultimately condensation and precipitation.
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]
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.