The Comparative Analysis of the Thermal Regime in the Rucăr-Bran Corridor and the Prahova-Timiş Corridor

Abstract

Abstract Comparative analysis of thermal regime in the Rucăr-Bran Corridor and the Prahova-Timiş Corridor. The authors analyze the thermal regime of two close corridors - one in the mountains and one in a valley; the first one - the Rucar-Bran Corridor is situated in the east of the Southern Carpathians e separates the Bucegi group from the Fagaras group; the second - the Prahova Timis Corridor is situated at the contact between the Southern and the Eastern Carpathians, between the Bucegi-Postavaru Mountains and Teleajenului Mountains. In order to determine from a thermal point of view the similarities and the differences between the two negative landforms, the authors used the vertical temperature gradients on the northern, southern, eastern and western slopes, based on the annual average temperatures and of the two characteristic months of the year (January/February and July/August) from seven weather stations installed in the region, at altitudes between 461 and 2504 meters, for a 47 year period (1961-2007). This way, they discussed the temperature differences in winter and summer between the mountain peaks and the depression areas, as well as the thermal anomalies caused by the geographic location: the position of the corridors’ regions with regard to the main atmospheric circulation and the exposure of the slopes to the sun, as well as the landform, which can alter the general distribution of the air temperature on the vertical.