21The Earth’s Climate System
to make reasonable predictions of at least the large scale changes that we
should expect from global warming” (Vecchi, 2006).
Vecchi believes climate change is to blame because in order for the ocean
and atmosphere to maintain an energy balance, the rate at which the atmo-
sphere absorbs water from the ocean must equal the amount that it loses to
rainfall. As climate change increases the air temperature, more water evapo-
rates from the ocean into the air. The atmosphere cannot convert it to rainfall
and return it back fast enough. Because the air is gaining water faster than
it can release it, it gets overloaded, and the natural system compensates by
slowing the trade wind down, decreasing the amount of water being ...