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Subtropical cold surges: regional aspects and global distribution
Author(s) -
Garreaud René D.
Publication year - 2001
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.687
Subject(s) - subtropics , climatology , tropics , subtropical ridge , latitude , geography , environmental science , geology , meteorology , precipitation , geodesy , fishery , biology
Shallow surges of cold dry air are frequently observed to the east of the major mountain ranges, moving from mid‐latitudes well into the Tropics in about 4 days. Because of their strong impact on weather, regional aspects of cold surges have received considerable attention, particularly over Southeast Asia, to the east of the Rockies and Mexican Sierras, and to the east of the subtropical Andes. Both observational and numerical studies reveal a similar structure and evolution of cold surges in different regions. These common aspects are reviewed in this work, as well as the mechanisms responsible for the development and subsequent advance of cold surges over the subtropics. Atmospheric reanalysis data are used to document the global distribution of cold surges on the basis of their continental‐scale imprints on relevant fields, as well as to estimate their contribution on the regional and global energy balances. It is found that cold surges have a major cooling and drying effect over the regions where they are prevalent (e.g. subtropical South America) and represent a sizeable sink of energy for the Tropics. Copyright © 2001 Royal Meteorological Society