Atmospheric Rivers in southern Africa

Atmospheric rivers in Southern Africa .

Andre Willers

22 Apr 2013

 

Synopsis :

Endorrheic Atmospheric Rivers form over the old Makgadigadi sea after good rains and dump on the Witwatersrand in a periodic fashion .

 

Discussion :

1.Logic flow :

1.1The old bottom of the Makgadigadi Sea ( see http://andreswhy.blogspot.com/2010/10/makgadikgadi-sea.html ) bakes hot .

1.2 Rains flow in from the tropics , falling to the ground , heating up , leading to heavy evaporation .

1.3 This establishes a bottom level for the Atmospheric river . Hot water molecules evaporating from the ground forms an interface with moist air from the tropics at about 1000 m  . Standard atmospheric river formation .

1.4 Hot , moist air from the tropics continue to flow over this interface level . Sort of skips over it .

1.5 But instead of falling  as rain , it skews to the East (coriolis) and ends up against the mountain range at the eastern end of the Makgadigadi basin . The Witwatersrand .

1.6 Here it dumps it’s load of moisture .

1.7 This happened now in April 2013 .

1.8 This will increase as global warming increases .

1.9 This is a process which is periodic . See http://www.eyesonafrica.net/updates/flood-update.htm .Driven mainly by the temperature (which determines the moisture content) .

1.10 As it gets hotter , the frequency of sky rivers will increase and the Makgadigadi Sea will start to refill .  The Okavango will drown .

1.11 Johannesburg better get some good drains .

1.12 Tectonic instability : all that water weighs a lot , causing stresses in a tectonically unstable area . The Victoria Falls might well close again . It has done so repeatedly in the past due to exactly these reasons .

1.13 Acid  Mine Drainage (AMD) :

The Witwatersrand is a watershed system . To the east , Vaal river . If to the west , into the Makgadigadi Sea .

1.14 Has this happened before ?

This whole territory had been mined heavily in prehistoric times . It does not take much to have an acidic , radioactive poisonous pollution . Check radioactivity levels at various strata in Makgadigadi bed .

1.15 All those hundreds of kilometres of ruins might be analogous to Angkor Watt , where humans also poisoned their wellspring .

1.16 Feedback cycle :

This has happened many times before .

A goodly sized atmospheric endorrheic river like this might not equal 15 Mississippi’s ,

 (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_river)

 but it jolly well is more than 2 or 3 Zambezi’s.

Which means that the Makgadigadi Sea does not depend on the closing of the Victoria falls in order to start filling up .

 

2. Global Warming and Johannesburg :

Johannesburg can thus expect increasing frequencies of Sky River inundations . As should the Okavango .

3. Funnily enough , really fierce electrical storms should decrease . Too much moisture in the air . Just more steady , soaking rain .

 

4. From history , the Eastern borders of the old Makgadigadi Sea should become really , really desirable property . This is where humans evolved , and resonate with even deeper level than the Savannah-Tree copse model .

 

5. What would that look like ?

See http://i1.trekearth.com/photos/76332/orange_2.jpg .

This is where a human can really relax down to his muddy toes . Just like on the shores of the dear old Makgadigadi .

Come to think about it , it does look a lot like the temple of Hatshepshup . Just add the vegetation . Which was there in Phaoronic times . The Greek ideal was but a pale copy .

 See https://www.google.co.za/search?hl=en&authuser=0&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=940&bih=540&q=hatshepshup&oq=hatshepshup&gs_l=img.12...3200.8914.0.10854.11.11.0.0.0.0.1237.8311.2j3-1j0j1j3j4.11.0...0.0...1ac.1.9.img.IYsTjRdVPqY#hl=en&authuser=0&site=imghp&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=temple+hatshepshup&oq=temple+hatshepshup&gs_l=img.12...11395.13133.0.15265.7.7.0.0.0.0.1253.2680.3j1j0j1j6-1j1.7.0...0.0...1c.1.9.img.KbKtoBvQ8R0&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.45512109,d.ZWU&fp=4f8a197d5eeda91a&biw=940&bih=540

 

6. Civilized Note :

The tree analogues (pillars) are not on top (like with the Akropolis) , but at the base of steep hill . With a flood plain and free flowing water in front of it . If there is no threat , then this is a hominin’s idea of heaven .

Inversely , a superimage of it will induce a deep calm in humans . At deeper than sub-conscious levels . Amygdala levels .

Should work with PTSD .

7. Take Hatshepshup’s creation , add gardens in front and a flowing river in front of that . In Virtual Reality this will be an idoru .

Good for PTSD , relaxation , pondering your sins , pondering others’ sins , and contemplating the various follies of mankind .

8. Add some pipes made from the reeds in the river .

The closest I can come to the spirit of it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilZgAM_Q6b8

And the guitars  ? Have you never heard of the Makgadigadi Guitar ?

That is the strings of your ancestral soul  being plucked .

See that great dream  drama “Love canoe’s of the Makgadigadi”

 

Kindler , gentler times .

Andre .

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