TY - JOUR
T1 - Modulation of Winter Precipitation Dynamics Over the Arabian Gulf by ENSO
AU - Sandeep, S.
AU - Ajayamohan, R. S.
N1 - Funding Information:
The Center for Prototype Climate Modeling is fully funded by the Government of Abu Dhabi through New York University Abu Dhabi Research Institute grant. The NYUAD High Performance Computing resources are used for some computations. The authors gratefully acknowledge the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) for the provision of the HYSPLIT transport and dispersion model and READY website (http://www.ready.noaa.gov) used in this publication. The Niño 3.4 SST is obtained from NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/ data/correlation/nina34.data).
PY - 2018/1/16
Y1 - 2018/1/16
N2 - The Arabian Gulf (Gulf) and the surrounding regions are centers of intense economic activity. The precipitating weather systems that form over the Gulf are important for this predominantly arid region. It is suggested that El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influences the Middle East precipitation variability through an equatorward shift of the subtropical jet. Here we present compelling evidence to illustrate the role of ENSO in modulating the local dynamics and moisture transport in initiating precipitation during different ENSO phases using satellite and reanalysis data. It is found that the moisture transport from the Red and Arabian Seas toward the Gulf is stronger during El Niño years. The pattern and strength of moisture transport toward the Gulf is weakened during La Niña and neutral years, with most of the transport directed toward the northern Gulf. Using a 120 h back trajectory analysis, it is found that while the air parcels coming toward the Gulf from the Arabian and Red Seas side originate at lower tropospheric levels, the air parcels from the Mediterranean originate at middle and upper tropospheric levels during El Niño years. In contrast, upper tropospheric air parcels originating over the southern Arabian Sea plays a dominant role on Gulf precipitation during La Niña and neutral years. The seasonal mean transients of zonal winds show a robust ENSO signature over the Gulf, indicating a favorable (less favorable) condition for the penetration of midlatitude eddies over the region during El Niño (La Niña) winters.
AB - The Arabian Gulf (Gulf) and the surrounding regions are centers of intense economic activity. The precipitating weather systems that form over the Gulf are important for this predominantly arid region. It is suggested that El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influences the Middle East precipitation variability through an equatorward shift of the subtropical jet. Here we present compelling evidence to illustrate the role of ENSO in modulating the local dynamics and moisture transport in initiating precipitation during different ENSO phases using satellite and reanalysis data. It is found that the moisture transport from the Red and Arabian Seas toward the Gulf is stronger during El Niño years. The pattern and strength of moisture transport toward the Gulf is weakened during La Niña and neutral years, with most of the transport directed toward the northern Gulf. Using a 120 h back trajectory analysis, it is found that while the air parcels coming toward the Gulf from the Arabian and Red Seas side originate at lower tropospheric levels, the air parcels from the Mediterranean originate at middle and upper tropospheric levels during El Niño years. In contrast, upper tropospheric air parcels originating over the southern Arabian Sea plays a dominant role on Gulf precipitation during La Niña and neutral years. The seasonal mean transients of zonal winds show a robust ENSO signature over the Gulf, indicating a favorable (less favorable) condition for the penetration of midlatitude eddies over the region during El Niño (La Niña) winters.
KW - Arabian Gulf winter precipitation
KW - ENSO
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U2 - 10.1002/2017JD027263
DO - 10.1002/2017JD027263
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85041093329
VL - 123
SP - 198
EP - 210
JO - Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
JF - Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
SN - 2169-897X
IS - 1
ER -