Cotton and Cattle in the Pacific Lowlands of Central America

1965 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
James J. Parsons
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Central American ◽  
Private Land ◽  
Remarkable Change ◽  
Land Owners ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Volcanic Chain ◽  
Gulf Of Nicoya

The well-drained, fluvio-volcanic outwash plain of the Pacific coast of Central America, stretching from the Mexican border to the Gulf of Nicoya, has undergone remarkable change in recent years. Malarial control, highway and port construction, and the initiative of governments and private land-owners, have made this the most active zone of agricultural development in Central America. Large-scale mechanized cotton farms and livestock ranches have been eating rapidly into the dry tropical forest that until recently covered most of this coastal apron at the foot of the 700-mile long Central American volcanic chain, producing important new sources of employment and foreign exchange earnings. Acreage in sugar cane and essential oil grasses (citronella and lemon grass) also has been expanding, and the booming shrimp export trade has added yet another fillup to the economies of these pocket-sized countries so long plagued with coffee or banana monoculture.

scholarly journals A Transbasin Mode of Interannual Variability of the Central American Gap Winds: Seasonality and Large-Scale Forcing

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (20) ◽  
pp. 8223-8235
Author(s):  
Jun-Chao Yang ◽  
Xiaopei Lin ◽  
Shang-Ping Xie
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Walker Circulation ◽  
Central American ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Wind Variability ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Gap Winds

Abstract A transbasin mode (TBM) is identified as the leading mode of interannual surface wind variability over the Intra-Americas Seas across Central America based on empirical orthogonal function analysis. The TBM is associated with variability in Central American gap winds, most closely with the Papagayo jet but with considerable signals over the Gulfs of Tehuantepec and Panama. Although El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the main large-scale forcing, the TBM features a distinct seasonality due to sea level pressure (SLP) adjustments across the Pacific and Atlantic. During July–September, ENSO causes meridional SLP gradient anomalies across Central America, intensifying anomalous geostrophic winds funneling through Papagayo to form the TBM. During wintertime, ENSO peaks but imparts little anomalous SLP gradient across Central America with a weak projection on the TBM because of the competing effects of the Pacific–North American teleconnection and tropospheric Kelvin waves. Besides ENSO, tropical Atlantic sea surface temperature anomalies make a weak contribution to the TBM in boreal summer by strengthening the cross-basin gradient. ENSO and the Atlantic forcing constitute a cross-basin seesaw pattern in SLP, manifested as an anomalous Walker circulation across the tropical Americas. The TBM appears to be part of the low-level branch of the anomalous Walker circulation, which modulates Central American wind jets by orographic effect. This study highlights the seasonality of gap wind variability, and calls for further research into its influence on regional climate.

Identification of Tropical Cyclones’ Critical Positions Associated with Extreme Precipitation Events in Central America

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo G. Hidalgo ◽  
Eric J. Alfaro ◽  
Franklin Hernández-Castro ◽  
Paula M. Pérez-Briceño
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
Tropical Cyclones ◽  
Critical Path ◽  
Central American ◽  
Pacific Basin ◽  
Extreme Precipitation Events ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Indirect Impacts ◽  
Precipitation Events

<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>

scholarly journals Assessment of tsunami hazards for the Central American Pacific coast from southern Mexico to northern Peru

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 1889-1903 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Brizuela ◽  
A. Armigliato ◽  
S. Tinti
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Probabilistic Approach ◽  
Central American ◽  
Southern Mexico ◽  
Extended Region ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Northern Peru ◽  
Run Up ◽  
Tsunami Run Up

Abstract. Central America (CA), from Guatemala to Panama, has been struck by at least 52 tsunamis between 1539 and 2013, and in the extended region from Mexico to northern Peru (denoted as ECA, Extended Central America in this paper) the number of recorded tsunamis in the same time span is more than 100, most of which were triggered by earthquakes located in the Middle American Trench that runs parallel to the Pacific coast. The most severe event in the catalogue is the tsunami that occurred on 2 September 1992 off Nicaragua, with run-up measured in the range of 5–10 m in several places along the Nicaraguan coast. The aim of this paper is to assess the tsunami hazard on the Pacific coast of this extended region, and to this purpose a hybrid probabilistic-deterministic analysis is performed, that is adequate for tsunamis generated by earthquakes. More specifically, the probabilistic approach is used to compute the Gutenberg–Richter coefficients of the main seismic tsunamigenic zones of the area and to estimate the annual rate of occurrence of tsunamigenic earthquakes and their corresponding return period. The output of the probabilistic part of the method is taken as input by the deterministic part, which is applied to calculate the tsunami run-up distribution along the coast.

scholarly journals Role of moisture transport for Central American precipitation

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana María Durán-Quesada ◽  
Luis Gimeno ◽  
Jorge Amador
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
Moisture Transport ◽  
Rainy Season ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Caribbean Sea ◽  
Central American ◽  
Moisture Supply ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Precipitation Trends

Abstract. A climatology of moisture sources linked with Central American precipitation was computed based upon Lagrangian trajectories for the analysis period 1980–2013. The response of the annual cycle of precipitation in terms of moisture supply from the sources was analysed. Regional precipitation patterns are mostly driven by moisture transport from the Caribbean Sea (CS). Moisture supply from the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETPac) and Northern South America (NSA) exhibits a strong seasonal pattern but weaker compared to CS. The regional distribution of rainfall is largely influenced by a local signal associated with surface fluxes during the first part of the rainy season, whereas large scale dynamics forces rainfall during the second part of the rainy season. The Caribbean Low Level Jet (CLLJ) and the Chocó Jet (CJ) are the main conveyors of regional moisture, being key to define the seasonality of large scale forced rainfall. Therefore, interannual variability of rainfall is highly dependent of the regional LLJs to the atmospheric variability modes. The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) was found to be the dominant mode affecting moisture supply for Central American precipitation via the modulation of regional phenomena. Evaporative sources show opposite anomaly patterns during warm and cold ENSO phases, as a result of the strengthening and weakening, respectively, of the CLLJ during the summer months. Trends in both moisture supply and precipitation over the last three decades were computed, results suggest that precipitation trends are not homogeneous for Central America. Trends in moisture supply from the sources identified show a marked north-south seesaw, with an increasing supply from the Caribbean Sea to northern Central America. Long term trends in moisture supply are larger for the transition months (March and October). This might have important implications given that any changes in the conditions seen during the transition to the rainy season may induce stronger precipitation trends.

scholarly journals Identification of Tropical Cyclones’ Critical Positions Associated with Extreme Precipitation Events in Central America

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1123
Author(s):  
Hugo G. Hidalgo ◽  
Eric J. Alfaro ◽  
Franklin HernÃandez-Castro ◽  
Paula M. Pérez-Briceño
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
Tropical Cyclones ◽  
Critical Path ◽  
Central American ◽  
Pacific Basin ◽  
Extreme Precipitation Events ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Indirect Impacts ◽  
Precipitation Events

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.

scholarly journals Role of moisture transport for Central American precipitation

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana María Durán-Quesada ◽  
Luis Gimeno ◽  
Jorge Amador
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
Moisture Transport ◽  
Rainy Season ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Regional Distribution ◽  
Central American ◽  
Moisture Supply ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Precipitation Trends

Abstract. A climatology of moisture sources linked with Central American precipitation was computed based upon Lagrangian trajectories for the analysis period 1980–2013. The response of the annual cycle of precipitation in terms of moisture supply from the sources was analysed. Regional precipitation patterns are mostly driven by moisture transport from the Caribbean Sea (CS). Moisture supply from the eastern tropical Pacific (ETPac) and northern South America (NSA) exhibits a strong seasonal pattern but weaker compared to CS. The regional distribution of rainfall is largely influenced by a local signal associated with surface fluxes during the first part of the rainy season, whereas large-scale dynamics forces rainfall during the second part of the rainy season. The Caribbean Low Level Jet (CLLJ) and the Chocó Jet (CJ) are the main conveyors of regional moisture, being key to define the seasonality of large-scale forced rainfall. Therefore, interannual variability of rainfall is highly dependent of the regional LLJs to the atmospheric variability modes. The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) was found to be the dominant mode affecting moisture supply for Central American precipitation via the modulation of regional phenomena. Evaporative sources show opposite anomaly patterns during warm and cold ENSO phases, as a result of the strengthening and weakening, respectively, of the CLLJ during the summer months. Trends in both moisture supply and precipitation over the last three decades were computed, results suggest that precipitation trends are not homogeneous for Central America. Trends in moisture supply from the sources identified show a marked north–south seesaw, with an increasing supply from the CS Sea to northern Central America. Long-term trends in moisture supply are larger for the transition months (March and October). This might have important implications given that any changes in the conditions seen during the transition to the rainy season may induce stronger precipitation trends.

scholarly journals Nineteenth Century Navies Role in Developing an understanding of the Pacific Coast of Central America

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Jorge León Sáenz
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
Central American ◽  
Technical Knowledge ◽  
Traditional Use ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The 19Th Century

Navies, apart from their traditional use by nations as instruments for the projection of power, for the protection of maritime interests and for exercising peacekeeping and war activities, have also had an important role in developing scientific and technical knowledge.  The survey work undertaken by various navies since the 18th century, has in particular been of great benefit in improving and making navigation safer on high seas and coasts, through the provision of maritime charts and sailing directions, to all mariners.  The technical efforts and geopolitical interests behind those efforts in the 19th century and how they affected the maritime trade and foreign affairs of the Central American countries located on the Pacific Coast are the subject of this study.

scholarly journals 300-years of hydrological records and societal responses to droughts and floods on the Pacific coast of Central America

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alvaro Guevara-Murua ◽  
Caroline A. Williams ◽  
Erica J. Hendy ◽  
Pablo Imbach
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Guatemala City ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Inter Tropical Convergence Zone ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Dry Conditions

Abstract. The management of hydrological extremes and impacts on society is inadequately understood because of the combination of short-term hydrological records, an equally short-term assessment of societal responses and the complex multi-directional relationships between the two over longer timescales. Rainfall seasonality and interannual variability on the Pacific coast of Central America is high due to the passage of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and large-scale phenomena El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Here we reconstruct hydrological variability and the associated impacts drawing on documentary sources from the cities of Santiago de Guatemala (now Antigua Guatemala) and Guatemala de la Asunción (now Guatemala City) over the period from 1640 to 1945. Near continuous records of city and municipal council meetings provide a rich source of information dating back to the beginning of Spanish colonisation in the 16thC. Beginning in 1640, we use almost continuous sources, including > 190 volumes of Actas de Cabildo and Actas Municipales (minutes of meetings of the city and municipal councils) held by the Archivo Histórico de la Municipalidad de Antigua Guatemala (AHMAG) and the Archivo General de Centro América (AGCA) in Guatemala City. For this 305-year period (with the exception of a total of 11 years where the books were either missing or damaged), information relating to Catholic rogation ceremonies and reports of flooding events and crop shortages, were used to classify the annual rainy season (May to October) on a 5 point scale from very wet to very dry. In total 12 years of very wet conditions, 25 years of wetter than usual conditions, 34 years of drier conditions and 21 years of very dry conditions were identified. An extended drier period from the 1640s to the 1740s was identified as well as two shorter periods (the 1820s and the 1840s) dominated by dry conditions. Wetter conditions dominated the 1760s–1810s, possibly coincident with reconstructions of more persistent La Niña conditions that are typically associated with higher precipitation over the Pacific Coast of Central America. The 1640s–1740s dry period coincides with the onset of the Little Ice Age and the associated southward displacement of the ITCZ.

Prehistoric Footprints from El Salvador

1957 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 282-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Haberland ◽  
Willi-Herbert Grebe
Keyword(s):  
El Salvador ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Central American ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
The North ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Volcanic Chain ◽  
River Deposits ◽  
Original Vegetation

In the Central American Republic of El Salvador the Rio Lempa divides the eastern third of the country from the rest. In its lower course it flows through a large coastal plain, built up in geologically recent times by river deposits and sediments from the volcanic chain in the north (San Vicente and the volcanic group of the east). From west (Balsam range) to east (Colinas de Jucuarán) this plain has a length of about 100 km. and a width of 20 km. Some 20 years ago the nearly flat land, which slopes only very slightly from the volcanic chain to the Pacific coast, was still heavily wooded, but since then most of the forest has been cleared away for cotton crops, only leaving tiny patches of the original vegetation. In this process a number of archaeological sites were revealed, especially east of the Rio Lempa, in the department of Usulután.

Effects of Central American Mountains on the Eastern Pacific Winter ITCZ and Moisture Transport*

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (18) ◽  
pp. 3856-3873 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haiming Xu ◽  
Shang-Ping Xie ◽  
Yuqing Wang ◽  
R. Justin Small
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Warm Pool ◽  
Central American ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Boreal Winter ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Pacific Warm Pool ◽  
Eastern Pacific Warm Pool

Abstract The intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is displaced to the south edge of the eastern Pacific warm pool in boreal winter, instead of being collocated. A high-resolution regional climate model is used to investigate the mechanism for this displaced ITCZ. Under the observed sea surface temperature (SST) and lateral boundary forcing, the model reproduces the salient features of eastern Pacific climate in winter, including the southward displaced ITCZ and gap wind jets off the Central American coast. As the northeast trades impinge on the mountains of Central America, subsidence prevails off the Pacific coast, pushing the ITCZ southward. Cold SST patches induced by three gap wind jets have additional effects of keeping the ITCZ away from the coast. In an experiment in which both the Central American mountains and their effect on SST are removed, the ITCZ shifts considerably northward to cover much of the eastern Pacific warm pool. The Central American mountains are considered important to freshwater transport from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, which in turn plays a key role in global ocean thermohaline circulation. The results of this study show that this transport across Central America is not very sensitive to the fine structure of the orography because the increased flow in the mountain gaps in a detailed topography run tends to be compensated for by broader flow in a smoothed topography run. Implications for global climate modeling are discussed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document