Easterly wave disturbances over Northeast Brazil: an observational analysis

Gomes, H. B., Ambrizzi, T., Herdies, D. L., Hodges, K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0894-229X and Pontes da Silva, B. F. (2015) Easterly wave disturbances over Northeast Brazil: an observational analysis. Advances in Meteorology, 2015. pp. 1-20. ISSN 1687-9309 doi: 10.1155/2015/176238

Abstract/Summary

This paper aims to identify the circulation associated with Easterly Wave Disturbances (EWDs) that propagate toward the Eastern Northeast Brazil (ENEB) and their impact on the rainfall over ENEB during 2006 and 2007 rainy seasons (April–July). The EWDs identification and trajectory are analyzed using an automatic tracking technique (TracKH). The EWDs circulation patterns and their main features were obtained using the composite technique. To evaluate the TracKH efficiency, a validation was done by comparing the EWDs number tracked against observed cases obtained from an observational analysis. The mean characteristics of EWDs are 5.5-day period, propagation speed of ~9.5 m·s−1, and a 4500 km wavelength. A synoptic analysis shows that between days −2 d and 0 d, the low level winds presented cyclonic relative vorticity and convergence anomalies both in 2006 and 2007. The EWDs signals are strongest at low levels. The EWDs propagation is associated with relative humidity and precipitation positive anomalies and OLR and omega negative anomalies. The EWDs tracks are seen over all ENEB and their lysis occurs between the ENEB and marginally inside the continent. The tracking captured 71% of EWDs in all periods, indicating that an objective analysis is a promising method for EWDs detection.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/41493
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > Department of Meteorology
Publisher	Hindawi Publishing Corporation
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