 |
| Titel |
Extreme Precipitation Events over the Iberian Atlantic Margin: The Role of Atmospheric Rivers |
| VerfasserIn |
Jorge Eiras, Gonzalo Míguez-Macho |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2014
|
| Medientyp |
Artikel
|
| Sprache |
Englisch
|
| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 16 (2014) |
| Datensatznummer |
250096726
|
| Publikation (Nr.) |
 EGU/EGU2014-12240.pdf |
|
|
|
|
|
| Zusammenfassung |
| Between 90%-95% of precipitable water meridional transport is concentrated in narrow and
elongated structures (hundred of km wide and thousands of km long), labelled as
Atmospheric Rivers (ARs). These areas, classically associated to the pre-cold frontal warm
conveyor belt region; are located within the warmest and wettest sector of extra-tropical
cyclones. Such cyclones are mostly associated to the polar front but occasionally
originated as tropical storms, acquiring baroclinic structures when leaving the tropical
latitudes.
ARs inject water vapor and latent heat from the tropics to mid-latitudes, with a
predominant zonal-wind component tracking. The Northern Hemisphere has its main impact
areas on the West US and European coast.
Atmospheric Rivers are associated to extreme precipitation events (EPE) within the
continents. This association is due to the huge amount of precipitable water that
they carry and the fact that they are located in a 850hPa-900hPa level, exposing
them to an orographic lift that is usually translated into heavy rainfall and flood
events.
We examine the impact of the advent of Atmospheric Rivers from the North Atlantic
Corridor (with origin in the Gulf of Mexico), over the Iberian Peninsula, and its
relationship with extreme precipitation and flood events over the Iberian Atlantic
Margin. We precisely investigate the Extreme Precipitation Event-Atmospheric
River advent ratio, and analyze the advent-annual cycle and the correlation with the
NAO-Index.
We use a Spain-Portugal interpolated precipitation Database, together with ECMWF
ERA-Interim (0.7°x 0.7° horizontal resolution) vertical integrated column of eastward and
northward water vapor flux to identificate the AR presence, extreme precipitation and
EPE-AR coincidence events, using a detection algorithm based on water vapor integrated
flux.
We find a substantial EPE-AR coincidence ratio, with an slight correlation with negative
NAO and running predominantly in the winter time of the year. |
|
|
|
|
|
|