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Title: Kelvin Waves during GOAmazon and Their Relationship to Deep Convection

Journal Article · · Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4]
  1. Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies
  2. Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
  3. Univ. Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City (Mexico)
  4. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Silver Spring, MD (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

The 2014–15 Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GOAmazon) field campaign over the central Amazon near Manaus, Brazil, occurred in coordination with the larger Cloud Processes of the Main Precipitation Systems in Brazil: A Contribution to Cloud-Resolving Modeling and to the Global Precipitation Measurement (CHUVA) project across Brazil. These programs provide observations of convection over the central Amazon on diurnal to annual time scales. Here, we address the question of how Kelvin waves, observed in satellite observations of deep cloud cover over the GOAmazon region during the 2014–15 time period, modulate the growth, type, and organization of convection over the central Amazon. The answer to this question has implications for improved predictability of organized systems over the region and representation of convection and its growth on local to synoptic scales in global models. Our results demonstrate that Kelvin waves are strong modulators of synoptic-scale low- to midlevel free-tropospheric moisture, integrated moisture convergence, and surface heat fluxes. These regional modifications of the environment impact the local diurnal cycle of convection, favoring the development of mesoscale convective systems. As a result, localized rainfall is also strongly modulated, with the majority of rainfall in the GOAmazon region occurring during the passage of these systems.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0016222; NA15OAR4320063
OSTI ID:
1690232
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1828372
Journal Information:
Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, Vol. 77, Issue 10; ISSN 0022-4928
Publisher:
American Meteorological SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (2)

kasacrgridppi.c0
  • Wang, Meng; Giangrande, Scott; Hardin, Joseph
  • Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Archive, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (US); ARM Data Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States) https://doi.org/10.5439/1768878
dataset January 2020
kasacrcfrcorppiv.c0
  • Wang, Meng; Giangrande, Scott; Johnson, Karen
  • Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Archive, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (US); ARM Data Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States) https://doi.org/10.5439/1768874
dataset January 2020

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Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Amazon region
convective-scale processes
mesoscale processes
water vapor
intraseasonal variability
tropical variability
Kelvin waves
GoAmazon
tropical convection