scholarly journals Relationships between Gulf of California Moisture Surges and Tropical Cyclones in the Eastern Pacific Basin

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (22) ◽  
pp. 4601-4620 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. W. Higgins ◽  
W. Shi

Abstract Relationships between Gulf of California moisture surges and tropical cyclones (TCs) in the eastern Pacific basin are examined. Standard surface observations are used to identify gulf surge events at Yuma, Arizona, for a multiyear (July–August 1979–2001) period. The surges are related to TCs using National Hurricane Center 6-hourly track data for the eastern Pacific basin. Climate Prediction Center (CPC)- observed daily precipitation analyses and the NCEP Regional Reanalysis are used to examine the relative differences in the precipitation, atmospheric circulation, and moisture fields for several categories of surge events, including those that are directly related to TCs, indirectly related to TCs, and not related to TCs. It is shown that the response to the surge in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico is strongly discriminated by the presence or absence of TCs. Surges related to TCs tend to be associated with much stronger and deeper low-level southerly flow, deeper plumes of tropical moisture, and wetter conditions over the core monsoon region than surges that are unrelated to TCs. The response to the surge is also strongly influenced by the proximity of the TC to the Gulf of California (GOC) region. Tropical cyclones that track toward the GOC region exert a stronger, more direct influence on Yuma surges than those that track away from the GOC.

2007 ◽  
Vol 135 (4) ◽  
pp. 1208-1224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis M. Farfán ◽  
Ira Fogel

Abstract The influence of tropical cyclone circulations in the distribution of humidity and convection over northwestern Mexico is investigated by analyzing circulations that developed in the eastern Pacific Ocean from 1 July to 21 September 2004. Documented cases having some impact over the Baja California Peninsula include Tropical Storm Blas (13–15 July), Hurricane Frank (23–25 August), Hurricane Howard (2–6 September), and Hurricane Javier (15–20 September). Datasets are derived from geostationary satellite imagery, upper-air and surface station observations, as well as an analysis from an operational model. Emphasis is given to circulations that moved within 800 km of the southern part of the peninsula. The distribution of precipitable water is used to identify distinct peaks during the approach of these circulations and deep convection that occurred for periods of several days over the southern peninsula and Gulf of California. Hurricane Howard is associated with a significant amount of precipitation, while Hurricane Javier made landfall across the central peninsula with a limited impact on the population in the area. An examination of the large-scale environment suggests that advection of humid air from the equatorial Pacific is an important element in sustaining tropical cyclones and convection off the coast of western Mexico.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo G. Hidalgo ◽  
Eric J. Alfaro ◽  
Franklin Hernández-Castro ◽  
Paula M. Pérez-Briceño

<p>Tropical cyclones are one of the most important causes of disasters in Central America. Using historical (1970–2010) tracks of cyclones in the Caribbean and Pacific basin, we identify critical path locations where these low-pressure systems cause the highest number of floods in a set of 88 precipitation stations in the region. Results show that tropical cyclones from the Caribbean and Pacific basin produce a large number of indirect impacts on the Pacific slope of the Central American isthmus. Although the direct impact of a tropical cyclone usually results in devastation in the affected region, the indirect effects are more common and sometimes equally severe. In fact, the storm does not need to be an intense hurricane to cause considerable impacts and damage. The location of even a lower intensity storm in critical positions of the oceanic basin can result in destructive indirect impacts in Central America. The identification of critical positions can be used for emergency agencies in the region to issue alerts of possible flooding and catastrophic events.</p>


Author(s):  
Aída Martínez-López ◽  
Olivia de Los Ángeles Flores-Castillo ◽  
Romeo Saldívar-Lucio ◽  
Diana Cecilia Escobedo-Urías ◽  
Gerardo Verdugo-Díaz ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 497-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mio Terada ◽  
Shoshiro Minobe ◽  
Curtis Deutsch

AbstractThe future change in equatorial upwelling between 1971–2000 and 2071–2100 is investigated using data from 24 coupled climate models. The multimodel ensemble (MME) mean exhibits substantial equatorial upwelling decrease in the eastern Pacific and weaker decrease in the western Atlantic Ocean. The MME mean of upwelling change and intermodel variation of that are decomposed into distinct isopycnal and diapycnal components. In the Pacific, the diapycnal upwelling decreases near the surface, associated with a weakened Ekman pumping. The isopycnal upwelling decreases at depths of 75–200 m around the core of the Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC) due to flattening of the density layer in which it flows. Both the weakened Ekman pumping and the EUC flattening are induced by the locally weakened trade wind over the eastern Pacific basin. In the equatorial Atlantic, both the change in MME mean and the intermodel variation of upwellings are significantly related to the weakened trade wind and enhanced stratification, although these drivers are not independent. The results for the Pacific Ocean imply that future reduction in upwelling may have impacts at different depths by different mechanisms. In particular, the rapid warming of sea surface temperature in the eastern Pacific basin may be mainly caused by the near-surface diapycnal upwelling reduction rather than isopycnal upwelling reduction associated EUC flattening, which is important at deeper levels.


Zootaxa ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 2505 (1) ◽  
pp. 65
Author(s):  
MARGARITA HERMOSO-SALAZAR ◽  
VIVIANNE SOLÍS-WEISS

A significant intraspecific morphological variation was observed in the eastern Pacific snapping shrimp Synalpheus superus Kim & Abele, 1989, especially in the proportions of some cephalotoracic appendages. The northern limit of the distribution of S. superus is expanded from Panama to Guerrero, Mexico. We also consider that Synalpheus fritzmuelleriCoutière, 1909 is most probably not an amphi-American species. Its former status as such was due to taxonomic misinterpretations by Hernández Aguilera et al. (1986) and probably by Coutière (1909) himself, although his questionable record of a single specimen of S. fritzmuelleri from the Gulf of California could not be verified, because the specimen could not be located and may be lost.


Plant Ecology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 212 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Peinado ◽  
M. Á. Macías ◽  
F. M. Ocaña-Peinado ◽  
J. L. Aguirre ◽  
J. Delgadillo

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