气候变化领域集成服务门户(CCPortal): Seasonal climatology and dynamical mechanisms of rainfall in the Caribbean

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DOI	10.1007/s00382-019-04616-4
	Seasonal climatology and dynamical mechanisms of rainfall in the Caribbean
	Martinez C.; Goddard L.; Kushnir Y.; Ting M.
发表日期	2019
ISSN	0930-7575
起始页码	825
结束页码	846
卷号	53 期号:2020-01-02
英文摘要	The Caribbean is a complex region that heavily relies on its rainfall cycle for its economic and societal needs. This makes the Caribbean especially susceptible to hydro-meteorological disasters (i.e. droughts and floods). Previous studies have investigated the seasonal cycle of rainfall in the Caribbean with monthly or longer resolutions that often mask the seasonal transitions and regional differences of rainfall. This has resulted in inconsistent findings on the seasonal cycle. In addition, the mechanisms that shape the climatological rainfall cycle in the region are not fully understood. To address these problems, this study conducts: (i) a principal component analysis of the annual cycle of precipitation across 38 Caribbean stations using daily observed precipitation data; and, (ii) a moisture budget analysis for the Caribbean, using the ERA-Interim Reanalysis. This study finds that the seasonal cycle of rainfall in the Caribbean hinges on three main facilitators of moisture convergence: the Eastern Pacific ITCZ, the Atlantic ITCZ, and the western flank of the North Atlantic Subtropical High (NASH). The Atlantic Warm Pool and Caribbean Low-Level Jet modify the extent of moisture provided by these main facilitators. The expansion and contraction of the western flank of NASH generate the bimodal pattern of the precipitation annual cycle in the northwestern Caribbean, central Caribbean, and with the Eastern Pacific ITCZ the western Caribbean. This study identifies the Atlantic ITCZ as the major source of precipitation for the central and southern Lesser Antilles, which is responsible for their unimodal rainfall pattern. Convergence by sub-monthly transients contributes little to Caribbean rainfall. © 2019, The Author(s).
英文关键词	Caribbean; Climate variability; Large-scale dynamics; Precipitation
语种	英语
scopus关键词	climate modeling; climate variation; climatology; intertropical convergence zone; precipitation intensity; rainfall; seasonal variation; Lesser Antilles
来源期刊	Climate Dynamics
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://gcip.llas.ac.cn/handle/2XKMVOVA/146173
作者单位	Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, 61 US-9W, Palisades, NY, United States; International Research Institute for Climate and Society, Columbia University, 61 US-9W, Palisades, NY, United States
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Martinez C.,Goddard L.,Kushnir Y.,et al. Seasonal climatology and dynamical mechanisms of rainfall in the Caribbean[J],2019,53(2020-01-02).
APA	Martinez C.,Goddard L.,Kushnir Y.,&Ting M..(2019).Seasonal climatology and dynamical mechanisms of rainfall in the Caribbean.Climate Dynamics,53(2020-01-02).
MLA	Martinez C.,et al."Seasonal climatology and dynamical mechanisms of rainfall in the Caribbean".Climate Dynamics 53.2020-01-02(2019).