OceanObs’09 Community White Paper Proposal Title Ocean observations in the Intra-Americas Sea Lead author
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Community White Paper Proposal Title Ocean observations in the Intra-Americas Sea Lead author David B. Enfield NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory Miami, FL 33149
(305) 361-4351 Contributing authors Michael Douglas NOAA/OAR National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)
Julio Sheinbaum Centro de Investigacion Cientifica de Educacione Superior de Ensenada (CICESE)
Mark Jury Universidad de Puerto Rico en Mayaguez (UPRM)
Jason Dunion NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory
Rick Lumpkin NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory
Recent research has pointed to the importance of the Atlantic warm pool (AWP) in modulating the summer climate of the Western Hemisphere, eclipsing the importance of direct ENSO effects during that season. The AWP primarily occupies the region of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and western tropical North Atlantic, and its interannual and multidecadal variations in area are comparable to its mean summer extent. The AWP size and intensity covaries with – and to a great extent, controls – the variations of fundamental climate processes in the region, such as the Caribbean low-level jet and associated moisture transports into surrounding land areas; the Norh Atlantic subtropical high; and the atmospheric moist static stability and vertical wind shear that control the development of hurricanes. Other influences whose relationship to the AWP is less clear include the mid-summer hiatus in wet season rainfall, and the prevalence of African dust and dry air over the inter-American region. Predicting these climate factors hinges on our ability to forecast anomalous warm pool growth in the boreal winter and spring, which appears to respond to climate patterns such as ENSO and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). To forecast warm pool development requires (1) an improved knowledge of the air-sea interactions primarily responsible for anomalous AWP growth; (2) improved ocean and atmosphere models, requiring adequate observations for model validation and verification; (3) improved observations for ingestion into state-of-the-ocean model-based analyses; and (4) improved observations of interactions at the air-sea interface. Subsurface information is especially critical because we know virtually nothing of the 3-D variations in the warm pool and how they affect the thermal energy potential for hurricanes. Unfortunately, while observations in the open Atlantic – especially drifters and Argo floats – have increased greatly in the last decade, there remains an unattended dearth of observations in the Intra-Americas Sea (IAS). It is especially critical that observations be ramped up quickly, to complement and take advantage of the recently established CLIVAR-VAMOS climate research program, the Inter-Americas Study of Climate Processes (2009-1014). A wide panoply of enhanced observations is open for consideration. Most obvious and most easily expanded is the deployment of surface drifters and shallow-modified Argo floats, and the adoption of new XBT transects across the IAS. A further enhancement of 3-D coverage could include semi-autonomous glider profilers and twice-yearly research cruises coordinated between several countries (e.g., United States, Mexico and Colombia). Ocean and atmospheric sensors can be added to new and existing moored buoys, especially the east-west array of four large NDBC buoys currently moored in the Caribbean. These measures will be coordintated and complemented by regular meetings and experimental forecasts conducted in the context of IASCLIP and other international programs such as the IRI and IAI. Directory: work -> cwp proposals -> docs work -> Where there is no vision the people perish: reflections on the african renaissance work -> Journal of Latin American Studies (2006) work -> The Media and Intercollegiate Sports work -> Title (in capital letters, Tahoma 11 Bold + Centre) work -> Chapter 1 The History of Intercollegiate Athletics and the ncaa work -> Chapter 2 Cartels in College Sports work -> Election Directory for docs -> The present and future system for measuring the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and heat transport Download 8.92 Kb. Share with your friends:
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