Fog and rain in the Amazon

Journal Article · Mon Aug 31 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1505077112· OSTI ID:1235125

Anber, Usama ^[1]; Gentine, Pierre ^[2]; Wang, Shuguang ^[3]; Sobel, Adam H. ^[4]

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1. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964,, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027,
2. Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering and Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027,
3. Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027
4. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964,, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027,, Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027

The diurnal and seasonal water cycles in the Amazon remain poorly simulated in general circulation models, exhibiting peak evapotranspiration in the wrong season and rain too early in the day. We show that those biases are not present in cloud-resolving simulations with parameterized large-scale circulation. The difference is attributed to the representation of the morning fog layer, and to more accurate characterization of convection and its coupling with large-scale circulation. The morning fog layer, present in the wet season but absent in the dry season, dramatically increases cloud albedo, which reduces evapotranspiration through its modulation of the surface energy budget. Finally, these results highlight the importance of the coupling between the energy and hydrological cycles and the key role of cloud albedo feedback for climates over tropical continents.

• Research Organization: Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
• Grant/Contract Number: FOA-0000885; SC0011094
• OSTI ID: 1235125
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1348828
• Journal Information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Vol. 112 Journal Issue: 37; ISSN 0027-8424
• Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
land−atmosphere interactions
Amazon
hydrologic cycle
fog
cloud-resolving models