Temperatures in the Tropics
A main character of the entire tropics are the very low longitudinal gradients of air temperature of only 1 °C/1,000 km. In Fig. 1 (above) this is indicated by the broad reddish sector around the equator between 30°N and S and even beyond. A closer look a
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Contents Distribution and Annual Variation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Seasonal and Diurnal Cycle of Air Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Surface and Soil Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “Warm Tropics” and “Cold Tropics” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Macroscale Cold (and Warm) Air Intrusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mesoscale Warm and Cool Surges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Abstract
A main character of the entire tropics are the very low longitudinal gradients of air temperature of only 1 C/1,000 km. In Fig. 1 (above) this is indicated by the broad reddish sector around the equator between 30 N and S and even beyond. A closer look at the upper image reveals darker patterns and hence the globally “hottest ecozone” over the Sahel and southern Sahara to the SE of the Arabian Peninsula. By far most of this section is part of the outer tropics. This “heat crest” north of the equator represents a thermal asymmetry and is linked to the large dimension of landmass in the northern half of Africa. Vertical termperature gradients in tropical mountains as well as changing meridional gradients of temperature amplitudes between the outer and inner tropics are presented by Figs. 2 and 3, resp. Diurnal an seasonal cycles are illustrated by thermoisopleths for different altitudes and under arid up to perhumid conditons (Figs. 4 and 5), which are also exampled for soil and surface temperatures (Fig. 6). Impacts of cold as well as of dry air intrusions (Figs. 7–9) are related to plant reactions and phenological aspects (Fig. 10).
M. Richter (*) Institute of Geography, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany e-mail: [email protected] # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016 L. Pancel, M. Ko¨hl (eds.), Tropical Forestry Handbook, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-54601-3_38
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Keywords
Air intrusions and surges • Continentality • Phenology • Soil temperatures • Temperature gradients • Thermal seasonality • Warm and cold tropics
Distribution and Annual Variation A main character of the entire tropics is the very low longitudinal gradients of air temperature of only 1 C/1,000 km. In Fig. 1 (above) this is indicated by the broad reddish sector between the equator and around 30 N and S and even beyond. A closer look at the upper image reveals darker patterns a
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