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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.
A rain shadow is a dry area on the leeward side of a mountainous area (away from the wind). The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems and cast a "shadow" of dryness behind them. Wind and moist air are drawn by the prevailing winds towards the top of the mountains, condensing and precipitating before it crosses the top.
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.
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.
Effect of a rain shadow The Tibetan Plateau (center), perhaps the best example of a rain shadow. Rainfalls from the southern South Asian monsoon do not make it far past the Himalayas (seen by the snow line at the bottom), leading to an arid climate on the leeward (north) side of the mountain range and the desertification of the Tarim Basin (top).
The causes of the Foehn effect in the lee of mountains (adapted from: [1]) Dissolving Föhn clouds over Cumbre Nueva, La Palma, at an elevation of 1,400 m (4,600 ft) A Foehn, or Föhn (UK: / f ɜː n /, US: / f eɪ n / fayn, [2] [3] US also / f ʌ n, f ɜːr n / fu(r)n [4] [5]), is a type of dry, relatively warm downslope wind in the lee of a mountain range.
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]
The subsequent tectonic uplift caused by exhumation reinforced the orographic effects of the climatic change and made the system interaction self-reinforcing. The pattern of the South Asian monsoon system correlates with Himalayan lithospheric processes through time including exhumation rates and thrusting activity along the Main Central Thrust ...