We recently read an interesting article on TerraDaily, which reports that new research from the Carnegie Global Ecology Department has revealed that evaporated water can help cool the entire earth, not just the area in which the water evaporation originated from. According to the article, this demonstrates that “evaporation of water from trees and lakes could have a cooling effect on the entire atmosphere.”
The team of researchers used a climate model to conduct an assortment of studies, and through that climate model they found that an increase in evaporation leads to an overall cooling effect on global climate. This is because increased evaporation usually causes clouds to form in the lowest parts of the atmosphere. Those clouds then reflect the sun’s warming rays out into space and away from the earth.
Researcher Ken Caldeira said “This shows us that the evaporation of water from trees and lakes in urban parks, like New York’s Central Park, not only help keep our cities cool, but also helps keep the whole planet cool.”
You can check out the entire article on TerraDaily for more information.
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