L R AS Published on Monday 14 March 2022 - n° 397 - Categories:Middle East
Evaporation from the Red Sea: panels to reduce land aridity!
Researchers have found that the Red Sea loses 0.7 tera tonnes of water per year through evaporation, which is equivalent to almost 8% of the mass of all water vapour in the Earth's atmosphere.
On the Red Sea coast, sea breezes circulate this water over land, but it hardly ever falls as rain. Instead, it is transported southwards towards the equator and the central Indian Ocean.
Extensive afforestation and an increase in surface albedo along the Arabian Red Sea coastal plain could reduce rainfall. Sea breezes in the region are due to the horizontal thermal contrast between land and sea. The warmer land and cooler sea create a pressure gradient that pushes moist sea air towards the land. Models show that afforestation and a more reflective surface cool the land, which attenuates sea breezes and reduces the movement of water vapour from the sea to the land.
In contrast, solar panels are known to alter the energy balance of the surface by absorbing solar energy and warming the surface. The deployment of large photovoltaic power plants could change the reflectivity of the land enough to alter the air circulation on the coast.
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/03/08/solar-parks-could-help-to-increase-rainfall-in-arid-regions/
PV Magazine, 8 March 2022
Editor's note: This is one of the discoveries of the contribution of solar panels, being able to make arid land fertile. Gradually we will discover the benefits of solar panels.
