9 research outputs found
A macroeconomics-inspired interpretation of the terrestrial water cycle
This article develops an approach that applies macroeconomic concepts to the
interpretation of complex, water related natural processes. By translating and reinterpreting these processes into a language that is more accessible to a broader
audience otherwise unaccustomed to its terms will likely help sharpen our understanding of the terrestrial water cycle. For economists, we describe climate-forming
natural processes in a manner consistent with the fundamentals of the mainstream
approach. For noneconomists, parallels from economically determined, relatively
short-term observations can be applied conceptually to identify dynamics which
occur over much longer and therefore more elusive natural occurrences, in particular considering the role of forests and how persistent land conversion over a millennium has shaped the earth's surface and impacted climate stability. The set of
âsupporting ecosystem servicesâ highlighted in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) coincides with the ground phase of the terrestrial water cycle, taking
the concept beyond the ecosystem service perspective and identifying it as a planetary service. Ecosystem and planetary services differ in the same way that microeconomic and macroeconomic perspectives do. The water cycle intensity of a
geographical area may well be related to a rainfall multiplier that measures the ability of continental ecosystems to increase the amount of water moving across terrestrial surfaces and descending as rainfall through transpiration and deposition, and
re-transpiration and re-deposition of the water content in the air that originally
arrives from the oceans. Building upon the MEA's association of human wellbeing
with ecosystem features, the rainfall multiplier serves as a physical indicator and
measure of the natural basis of wellbeing creation