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Effects of the subtropical anticyclones over North Africa and Arabian Peninsula on the African easterly jet
Author(s) -
Spinks James,
Lin YuhLang,
Mekonnen Ademe
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
international journal of climatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.58
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-0088
pISSN - 0899-8418
DOI - 10.1002/joc.4017
Subject(s) - anticyclone , african easterly jet , peninsula , climatology , front (military) , subtropics , thermal wind , geography , geology , tropical wave , wind speed , wind shear , meteorology , tropical cyclone , ecology , archaeology , biology
North African climate is analysed between 1979 and 2010 with an emphasis on August using the European Center for Medium‐Range Weather Forecast ( ECMWF ) global dataset to investigate the effects of the subtropical anticyclones over North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula on the African easterly jet ( AEJ ). It was found that the AEJ encloses a core with a local wind maximum ( LWM ) in both West and East Africa, in which the west LWM core has a higher zonal wind speed. The strength of both cores is distinctly different by way of thermal wind balance. As found in previous studies, the AEJ is formed through baroclinicity with influence from Saharan lower level heating along and to the north of the Intertropical Front ( ITF ). As there are two separate anticyclonic centres, the AEJ is maintained by the anticyclonic systems in West Africa, East Africa as well as the Arabian Peninsula. The presence of these two anticyclonic centres provides the AEJ with two separate core maxima with the western LWM located at 15°W, 17°N and the eastern LWM located at 35°E, 15°N for August.