Resonant modulation of Nordeste precipitation by tropical Atlantic and Pacific sea surface temperatures

Conference · Fri Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:10116136

Sperber, K R ^[1]; Hameed, S ^[2]

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1. Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)
2. State Univ. of New York, Stony Brook, NY (United States). Inst. for Terrestrial and Planetary Atmospheres

In teleconnection studies of regional precipitation we need to understand how the remotely connected climatic variables interact to produce the observed variations of precipitation. The work of several authors over the past decades has established that precipitation variations over a number of regions are associated with changes in sea surface temperature (SST) in the different oceans. One such region is the Nordeste in Brazil, which is known for its large interannual fluctuations in rainfall. Here we investigate the relationship of these precipitation variations and COADS SSTs during March and April, the months during which the Nordeste receives the bulk of its precipitation, for the period 1950--1985. Their relationship shows that increased Nordeste precipitation occurs with a warm tropical south Atlantic and a cold tropical north Atlantic. There is a negative relationship between tropical Pacific SSTs and Nordeste precipitation. For each of the three regions, we calculate the mean March--April SST time series, which we will utilize to explain the time scales of variation of Nordeste precipitation. SST data from only within these significantly correlated regions are used because we expect their averages to preserve the temporal variations that are coherent with Nordeste precipitation.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48; FG02-85ER60314
• OSTI ID: 10116136
• Report Number(s): UCRL-JC--109331; CONF-9110279--1; ON: DE92006824
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540110
AMBIENT TEMPERATURE
ANNUAL VARIATIONS
ATLANTIC OCEAN
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
BASIC STUDIES
BRAZIL
DATA ANALYSIS
MODULATION
PACIFIC OCEAN
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
SURFACE WATERS