Analysis of meteorological data for la selva station by applying the biotic pump theory

Abstract

This worksought to analyzethe relationshipsamongthe atmospheric variablesreported daily by the La Selva biological station, which is located on the mountain slopes of the Costa Rican Caribbean,covering 1614 hectares of tropical humid lowlands,throughthe biotic pump theorydevelopedbyAnastassia Makarieva and Victor Gorshkov,which states the importanceof the participationof los forests during the processof generating winds in the intertropical convergence zone,being a dynamic and vital factor for the permanenceof the hydrological cyclethat fulfills the mission of delivering rains to the interior of the continents. In the biotic pump theory, Makarievaand colleaguespostulate that the high rate of evapotranspirationis maintained by Tropical rainforeststhroughout the yearand it gives way to a net force, which results from changes of the partial pressureofwater vapor. Thesechangeshave a double element:first, the partial pressureof water vaporand, second, condensation. Upon combining these elements,temperature is reducedwith altitudeand the liberationby the vegetationof cloud condensation nuclei(CCN).The end resultof the theoryis a water vaporpump from the vegetation, throughevapotranspirationonto the atmosphere, followed by condensation, whichleads to upward acceleration, hence,on the vertical planeof the lower air mass. This workestablished the relationships among the thermodynamic variablesinsinuated by the biotic pump theory,using available informationoffered by La Selvastation.