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- Info
Impact of urbanization and land-use change on climate
| Author: |
Kalnay, Eugenia; Cai, Ming |
| Date: |
2003 |
| Periodical: |
Nature |
| Link: |
http://www.nature.com/nature/links/030529/030529-7.html
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| Abstract: |
The impacts of human activity on global temperatures stem from two main sources: greenhouse gases and the effects of changes in land use. It is difficult to distinguish the respective contributions of these two factors, as both cause warming. But by comparing surface temperatures deduced from a 50-year reconstruction of global climate with actual temperatures recorded in urban and rural areas across the United States, Kalnay and Cai calculate that half the observed change in daily temperature range is due to urban and other land-use change. In addition, their estimate of 0.27 °C mean surface warming per century due to land-use change is twice as high as previous estimates based on the effect of urbanization alone. |
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