Summary
The impact of the changes on soil cover and land use brought about by the construction of the Sobradinho Dam in the semi-arid region of the São Francisco River Hydrographic Basin is analyzed by means of a numerical model RAMS. Disregarding the influence of a large scale flow, a set of factors were responsible for the creation of a rather complex circulation system that includes mountain-valley winds, lake breeze (LB) and non-conventional circulation all induced by the surface non-homogeneous aspect. Results have demonstrated that the implementation of works of such magnitude brings about environmental changes in an area that stretches far beyond the surroundings of the reservoir. The soil cover alterations due to the ever increasing development of the area with the presence of irrigated crops in a sparsely vegetated region (caatinga) does affect land surface characteristics, occasioning for that matter the splitting of the available energy into latent and sensible heat fluxes. LB behavior varies in accordance with atmospheric conditions and also in view of the type of vegetation found in the lake surrounding areas. Hydro availability in root zones, even under adverse atmospheric conditions (high temperature and low air humidity) brings up the high rates of evaporation and plant transpiration that contribute towards the increase of humidity and the fall of temperature in lower atmospheric layers.
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Correia, M., da Silva Dias, M. & da Silva Aragão, M. Soil occupation and atmospheric variations over Sobradinho Lake area. Part two: a regional modeling study. Meteorol. Atmos. Phys. 94, 115–128 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-005-0174-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-005-0174-3