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::: TEACHER :::
In recent years, wildfires in California have reached unprecedented levels. The topography of California features mountains and deserts to the east, allowing moisture from the Pacific to experience orographic lifting, which causes rainfall in California. Additionally, due to California's unique Mediterranean climate, the state experiences a dry season from April to October and rainfall from November to March, providing ideal conditions for forest growth.
However, the warming trend caused by human anthropogenic activities has intensified this cycle. On the one hand, higher temperatures accelerate vegetation growth during the rainy season; on the other hand, they increase forest mortality during the dry season. The drought-induced forest mortality has made California particularly vulnerable to wildfire, as the abundance of dry vegetation provides ample “fuel” for prolonged and severe burning.
In recent years, wildfires in California have reached unprecedented levels. The topography of California features mountains and deserts to the east, allowing moisture from the Pacific to experience orographic lifting, which causes rainfall in California. Additionally, due to California's unique Mediterranean climate, the state experiences a dry season from April to October and rainfall from November to March, providing ideal conditions for forest growth.
However, the warming trend caused by human anthropogenic activities has intensified this cycle. On the one hand, higher temperatures accelerate vegetation growth during the rainy season; on the other hand, they increase forest mortality during the dry season. The drought-induced forest mortality has made California particularly vulnerable to wildfire, as the abundance of dry vegetation provides ample “fuel” for prolonged and severe burning.
::: STUDENT :::
LIANG Ming Shan Michelle; CHEN Rutao; CHU Fansong; DING Man; QU Zijie
::: TEACHER :::
Professor CHU Jung-Eun
School of Energy and Environment
GE1301 - Climate Change and Extreme Weather