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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.
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.
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.
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).
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 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.
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]
How Earth systems interact across a mountain belt is dependent upon the mountain belts location and orientation. [1] Different mountain belts exist at different latitudes which means that different mountain belts experience different climatic conditions including temperature and degree of glaciation (which can shape relief [50] [51]). This ...