Impacts of the Nile Delta land-use on the local climate.

This is a numerical study of the effects of the Nile Delta (ND) man-made greening on local climate. We compared a control simulation, which employs the present-day ND vegetation, with a desertification experiment. It was found that the low surface albedo of the agricultural ND increases net radiation, which in turn raises potential evapotranspiration (PET). This suggests that agricultural use increases the water demand by enhancing PET. Non-local effects are also observed on a frontal system over the eastern Mediterranean Sea that shifted farther away from the coast. This shift is attributed to a stronger land breeze in the present-day land-cover. Copyright © 2012 Royal Meteorological Society [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]