
194 Engineering Response to Climate Change
Another term that leads to many of the same conclusions as the water-
shed perspective is “systems,” sometimes expressed as systems thinking,
systems engineering, and so on, and appears in the Corps of Engineers’
denition above.
5.3 Hydrometeorologic Cycle
As the atmosphere warms, its ability to hold water vapor will increase at an
approximate rate of 5%–6% per °C (Rosenberg et al. 1989). Higher air tem-
peratures will also increase surface evaporation. To maintain equilibrium in
the moisture budget, the precipitation rate must also increase (MacCracken
and Luther 1985).
The global average increases in ...