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There are two main effects associated with climate
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change:
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(1) An increase in global mean temperature, which we
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have discussed already.
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(2) An increase in evaporation everywhere, driven by
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increased greenhouse gas concentrations and increased
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temperatures. The increase
in evaporation also implies
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an increase in precipitation, because the atmosphere
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can’t store water vapor indefinitely. There is no clear
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consensus on how the increase in precipitation will be
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distributed. However, we
do know that it will not be
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distributed uniformly.
This increase in evaporation and
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precipitation is known as the intensification of the
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hydrologic cycle.
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