scholarly journals The Barbados Cloud Observatory: Anchoring Investigations of Clouds and Circulation on the Edge of the ITCZ

2016 ◽  
Vol 97 (5) ◽  
pp. 787-801 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bjorn Stevens ◽  
David Farrell ◽  
Lutz Hirsch ◽  
Friedhelm Jansen ◽  
Louise Nuijens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Seasonal Migration ◽  
Saharan Dust ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Max Planck ◽  
Research Aircraft ◽  
Meteorological Impact ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Clouds over the ocean, particularly throughout the tropics, are poorly understood and drive much of the uncertainty in model-based projections of climate change. In early 2010, the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology and the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology established the Barbados Cloud Observatory (BCO) on the windward edge of Barbados. At 13°N the BCO samples the seasonal migration of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), from the well-developed winter trades dominated by shallow cumulus to the transition to deep convection as the ITCZ migrates northward during boreal summer. The BCO is also well situated to observe the remote meteorological impact of Saharan dust and biomass burning. In its first six years of operation, and through complementary intensive observing periods using the German High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft (HALO), the BCO has become a cornerstone of efforts to understand the relationship between cloudiness, circulation, and climate change.

Locality and dynamics shaping the global scaling pattern of hourly precipitation extremes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiannis Moustakis ◽  
Christian J Onof ◽  
Athanasios Paschalis
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Ground Temperature ◽  
Precipitation Extremes ◽  
Global Pattern ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Hourly Data ◽  
Global Scaling ◽  
The Tropics

<p>According to thermodynamics, as the climate gets warmer under climate change the water holding capacity of the air increases at a rate of 7%/<sup>o</sup>C (Clausius-Clapeyron; CC). This implies that in the absence of severe changes in relative humidity, precipitation extremes (PEx) will increase likewise. Would this relationship prove to be globally robust, then ground temperature predictions could be used as an indicator for predicting future PEx intensification under climate change. This could be a helpful tool, given the well-documented discrepancies of climate models in simulating PEx and the increased confidence in temperature projections. However, studies based on observational and modelled data have revealed contradicting behaviours regarding the scaling rate of PEx with ground temperature. In this study we use hourly data from weather stations (1,461 sites), two convection permitting models and 40 years of climate reanalysis in order to reveal the global scaling pattern of PEx with ground air and dewpoint temperature at fine spatial and temporal scales based on a robust methodology. Our results suggest that a robust ~CC scaling with both air temperature and dew temperature occurs in high- and mid-latitudes. In the tropics and extra-tropics scaling with temperature ranges from negative up to >CC rates, while scaling with dewpoint is strongly positive with >CC values. An investigation of the emerging global pattern reveals that exhibited divergence from CC is linked to the dynamics of deep atmospheric convection in the tropics and extra-tropics. Topography, larger-scale weather patterns and their associated mechanisms shape the scaling pattern in high- and mid- latitudes and seem to disengage ground measurements from activity at the cloud level. In this study we also prove that non-convection permitting models fail to capture the observed behaviour in regions with strong topographic features and/or distinct deep convection. We show that in such regions convection permitting models which capture those features make more reliable estimations.</p>

Hemispherical Asymmetry of Tropical Precipitation in ECHAM5/MPI-OM during El Niño and under Global Warming

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 1309-1332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chia Chou ◽  
Jien-Yi Tu
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Hadley Circulation ◽  
Seasonal Migration ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Max Planck ◽  
Tropical Precipitation ◽  
Precipitation Anomalies ◽  
Precipitation Changes

Abstract Similarities and differences between El Niño and global warming are examined in hemispherical and zonal tropical precipitation changes of the ECHAM5/Max Planck Institute Ocean Model (MPI-OM) simulations. Similarities include hemispherical asymmetry of tropical precipitation changes. This precipitation asymmetry varies with season. In the boreal summer and autumn (winter and spring), positive precipitation anomalies are found over the Northern (Southern) Hemisphere and negative precipitation anomalies are found over the Southern (Northern) Hemisphere. This precipitation asymmetry in both the El Niño and global warming cases is associated with the seasonal migration of the Hadley circulation; however, their causes are different. In El Niño, a meridional moisture gradient between convective and subsidence regions is the fundamental basis for inducing the asymmetry. Over the ascending branch of the Hadley circulation, convection is enhanced by less effective static stability. Over the margins of the ascending branch, convection is suppressed by the import of dry air from the descending branch. In global warming, low-level moisture is enhanced significantly due to warmer tropospheric temperatures. This enhances vertical moisture transport over the ascending branch of the Hadley circulation, so convection is strengthened. Over the descending branch, the mean Hadley circulation tends to transport relatively drier air downward, so convection is reduced.

High-Frequency Mixed Rossby-Gravity Waves in the Mid-Troposphere Triggered Kerala Floods of 2018

2021 ◽  
pp. 2150014
Author(s):  
S. R. Kiran
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Extreme Event ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Equatorial Indian Ocean ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
The South ◽  
South West ◽  
Rainfall Trends ◽  
South West Monsoon ◽  
The Tropics

Kerala, the South-West coastal state of India, was ravaged by a series of floods during the South-West Monsoon of 2018. The season was marked by severely anomalous rainfall trends, with over 100 mm of departures from the mean daily precipitation in the northern districts of the State. Unlike previous works, this study not only documents the extreme event, but also identifies the tropical dynamics responsible for it. The synoptic disturbances of the tropical Pacific triggered high-frequency Mixed Rossby-Gravity (MRG) waves in the mid-troposphere during Boreal Summer, which meddled with the Monsoon trough, as it propagated westward from the east Equatorial Indian Ocean to the east coast of Africa. Interestingly, these equatorially-trapped waves were found to have teamed up with Madden–Julian Oscillations (MJO) to fuel deep convection in the tropics and caused heavy rainfall over Kerala in 2018.

Aeolus Calibration, Validation and Science Post-Launch Campaigns

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thorsten Fehr ◽  
Vassilis  Amiridis ◽  
Jonas von Bismarck ◽  
Sebastian Bley ◽  
Cyrille Flamant ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Convection ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Saharan Dust ◽  
Aerosol Layer ◽  
Satellite Mission ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Wind Lidar ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Doppler Wind Lidar

<p>ESA supported airborne and ground-based campaigns constitute an essential element in the development and operation of satellite missions, providing the opportunity to test novel observation technologies, acquire representative data for the development of the mission concepts, processors and use cases, as well as in their calibration and validation phases once in orbit.</p><p>For the Aeolus Doppler Wind Lidar satellite mission, ESA has implemented a campaign programme that started in 2007 and has continued beyond the launch of the mission on 22. August 2018. Building on the successful WindVal-I and –II campaigns with DLR’s A2D and 2µm Doppler Wind Lidar systems on-board the DLR Falcon aircraft, a number of validation campaigns have been successfully implemented: WindVal-III in November 2018, AVATAR-E in May 2019, and AVATAR-I in September 2019. In addition, ESA supported the CNES pre-Stratéole-2/TAPAPA campaign with eight stratospheric balloons having been launched from the Seychelles in November/December 2019 providing unique upper level wind data in the Tropics. The validation by stratospheric balloons has been extended in the frame of a collaboration with Loon LLC for a test case covering the months August and September 2019.</p><p>As the largest impact of the Aeolus observations is expected in the Tropics, and in particular over the Tropical oceans, ESA, in close collaboration with NASA and European partners, is currently implementing a Tropical campaign in July 2021.  With its base in Cape Verde the activity comprises both airborne and ground-based activities addressing the tropical winds and aerosol validation, as well as a wide range of science objectives. The location is unique as it allows the study of the Saharan Aerosol layer, African Easterly Waves and Jets, the Tropical Easterly Jet, as well as deep convection in ITCZ and tropical cyclogenesis, with a focus on the impact of Saharan dust on micro-physics in tropical cloud systems. The campaign builds on remote and in-situ observations from aircraft (DLR Falcon-20, the Safire Falcon-20, the NASA DC-8 and an Aerovizija/UNG light aircraft) and drone systems, as well as an extensive aerosol and cloud measurement programme with a range of lidar, radar and radiometer systems coordinated by NOA.</p><p>This paper will provide a summary of the Aeolus campaign activities, focussing on the completed and planned post launch campaigns.</p>

scholarly journals Seasonal labour migration and livelihood in the middle hill of Nepal: Reflections from Arghakhanchi District

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanhaiya Sapkota
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Human Mobility ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Seasonal Migration ◽  
Mobility Patterns ◽  
Indian States ◽  
Agricultural Income ◽  
The Relationship

People’s livelihood in the villages of the middle hill of Nepal are based on farming system. The relationship between climate change and seasonal labor migration in the middle hill areas is a relatively understudied research topic, particularly from an empirical point of view. This article aims at contributing to the literature by analyzing the relationship between livelihoods and human mobility in two rural communities located in the Province 5, Arghakhanchi district, Nepal. Traditional rain-fed agriculture is the most important economic activity in the area. This article highlights differences in livelihood and human mobility patterns between households. The economy of the middle hill is primarily agrarian. Over 80% of the population of the middle hill districts still lives in rural areas/settings, where levels of poverty are higher than in the neighbouring countries. They depend on farming and collecting forest products for their livelihoods. In Arghakhanchi district, during the dry season, many migrate in search of temporary work as labourers particularly in Indian states. Arghakhanchi is the district where the proportion of inhabitants from low income is relatively higher than the other surrounding districts of Province 5. These people are marginalized and experience high rates of poverty, low levels of education and poor health. They are highly vulnerable to climate change, due to poverty and dependence on climate-sensitive livelihoods in a vulnerable region. Consequently, more households are likely to participate in seasonal migration and those already migrating are credible to do so for longer times. Currently, such migrants take up low-paying unskilled works, mainly in urban areas in Uttarakhand, Panjab and Bhopal of India, which enables them to make meager savings, hardly enough to repay the debt of their family has incurred during food shortages. In the study area, the non-agricultural diversification is widespread and income from non-agricultural activities exceeds agricultural income. However, though mobility patterns in the area are determined primarily by broader economic considerations.Research Nepal Journal of Development Studies Vol.1(1) 2018 42-57

Less Rain and More Heat”: Smallholders’ Perception and Climate Change Adaptation Strategies in Tropical Environments

2019 ◽  
pp. 77-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karla Diana Infante Ramírez ◽  
Ana Minerva Arce Ibarra
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Variability ◽  
Tropical Forest ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Coastal Zone ◽  
Weather Forecasting ◽  
Adaptation Strategies ◽  
Seasonal Migration ◽  
Forest Zone ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation Strategies

The main objective of this study was to analyze local perceptions of climate variability and the different adaptation strategies of four communities in the southern Yucatán Peninsula, using the Social-Ecological System (SES) approach. Four SESs were considered: two in the coastal zone and two in the tropical forest zone. Data were collected using different qualitative methodological tools (interviews, participant observation, and focal groups) and the information collected from each site was triangulated. In all four sites, changes in climate variability were perceived as “less rain and more heat”. In the tropical forest (or Maya) zone, an ancestral indigenous weather forecasting system, known as “Xook k’íin” (or “las cabañuelas”), was recorded and the main activity affected by climate variability was found to be slash-and burn farming or the milpa. In the coastal zone, the main activities affected are fishing and tourism. In all the cases analyzed, local climate change adaptation strategies include undertaking alternative work, and changing the calendar of daily, seasonal and annual labor and seasonal migration. The population of all four SESs displayed concern and uncertainty as regards dealing with these changes and possible changes in the future.

INTERCONNECTION OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT COMPONENTS FOR THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF THE NORTH

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (8) ◽  
pp. 101-110
Author(s):  
N. N. ILYSHEVA ◽  
◽  
E. V. KARANINA ◽  
G. P. LEDKOV ◽  
E. V. BALDESKU ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Ecological Footprint ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
The North ◽  
Strong Positive Relationship ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Relationship

The article deals with the problem of achieving sustainable development. The purpose of this study is to reveal the relationship between the components of sustainable development, taking into account the involvement of indigenous peoples in nature conservation. Climate change makes achieving sustainable development more difficult. Indigenous peoples are the first to feel the effects of climate change and play an important role in the environmental monitoring of their places of residence. The natural environment is the basis of life for indigenous peoples, and biological resources are the main source of food security. In the future, the importance of bioresources will increase, which is why economic development cannot be considered independently. It is assumed that the components of resilience are interrelated and influence each other. To identify this relationship, a model for the correlation of sustainable development components was developed. The model is based on the methods of correlation analysis and allows to determine the tightness of the relationship between economic development and its ecological footprint in the face of climate change. The correlation model was tested on the statistical materials of state reports on the environmental situation in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Yugra. The approbation revealed a strong positive relationship between two components of sustainable development of the region: economy and ecology.

Protecting Natural Resources

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérémie Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Environmental Law ◽  
Conservation Of Natural Resources ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Do So

This chapter focuses on the connection between the international legal framework governing the conservation of natural resources and human rights law. The objective is to examine the potential synergies between international environmental law and human rights when it comes to the protection of natural resources. To do so, it concentrates on three main areas of potential convergence. It first focuses on the pollution of natural resources and analyses how human rights law offers a potential platform to seek remedies for the victims of pollution. It next concentrates on the conservation of natural resources, particularly on the interconnection between protected areas, biodiversity, and human rights law. Finally, it examines the relationship between climate change and human rights law, focusing on the role that human rights law can play in the development of the current climate change adaptation and mitigation frameworks.

The Historiography of Environmental History

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. McNeill
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental History ◽  
Industrial Pollution ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
Environmental Concerns ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter discusses the emergence of environmental history, which developed in the context of the environmental concerns that began in the 1960s with worries about local industrial pollution, but which has since evolved into a full-scale global crisis of climate change. Environmental history is ‘the history of the relationship between human societies and the rest of nature’. It includes three chief areas of inquiry: the study of material environmental history, political and policy-related environmental history, and a form of environmental history which concerns what humans have thought, believed, written, and more rarely, painted, sculpted, sung, or danced that deals with the relationship between society and nature. Since 1980, environmental history has come to flourish in many corners of the world, and scholars everywhere have found models, approaches, and perspectives rather different from those developed for the US context.

Global Health and International Development

2018 ◽  
pp. 216-235
Author(s):  
Andrew Harmer ◽  
Jonathan Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Economic System ◽  
International Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Global Population

This chapter explores the relationship between international development and global health. Contrary to the view that development implies ‘good change’, this chapter argues that the discourse of development masks the destructive and exploitative practices of wealthy countries at the expense of poorer ones. These practices, and the unregulated capitalist economic system that they are part of, have created massive inequalities between and within countries, and potentially catastrophic climate change. Both of these outcomes are detrimental to global health and the millennium development goals and sustainable development goals do not challenge these dynamics. While the Sustainable Development Goals acknowledge that inequality and climate change are serious threats to the future of humanity, they fail to address the economic system that created them. Notwithstanding, it is possible that the enormity and proximity of the threat posed by inequality and global warming will energise a counter movement to create what Kate Raworth terms ‘an ecologically safe and socially just space’ for the global population while there is still time.

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