Premium
Correlations between the tropical atlantic trade winds and precipitation in northeastern Brazil
Author(s) -
Chung James C.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
journal of climatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.58
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-0088
pISSN - 0196-1748
DOI - 10.1002/joc.3370020104
Subject(s) - tropical atlantic , precipitation , climatology , sea surface temperature , atlantic hurricane , atlantic equatorial mode , oceanography , north atlantic deep water , trade wind , geology , wet season , dry season , geography , environmental science , atlantic multidecadal oscillation , tropical cyclone , thermohaline circulation , meteorology , cartography
Surface wind and sea surface temperature data for the tropical Atlantic Ocean for the period 1911‐1972 are analysed in relation to the precipitation at Quixeramobim, Ceará in northeastern (NE) Brazil. Stratified correlations between the March‐April‐May Quixeramobim rainfall and the December, January, February, and March values of SST, and u ‐ and v ‐components of surface wind are presented for the tropical Atlantic. The implications of the correlations are that the months preceding an abnormally dry rainy season in NE Brazil are characterized by a strengthened South Atlantic trade flow and a North Atlantic circulation slightly weaker than normal. Cold SST anomalies are found in the South Atlantic and warm anomalies in the North Atlantic, suggesting a wind‐induced change in surface mixing or in evaporation from the surface. The divergence over the South Atlantic is seen to be stronger and more extensive preceding a dry season, and the equatorial convergence appears to be compressed northward and also strengthened. This northward compression is concluded to be responsible for the lack of rainfall in Ceará.