Transport pathways across the West African Monsoon as revealed by Lagrangian Coherent Structures

The West African Monsoon (WAM) system is the main source of rainfall in the agriculturally based region of the Sahel. Understanding transport across the WAM is of crucial importance due to the strong impact of humidity and dust pathways on local cloud formation. However, the description of this tran...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Niang, Coumba, Mancho, Ana María, García Garrido, Víctor José, Mohino Harris, Elsa, Rodríguez De Fonseca, María Belén, Curbelo, Jezabel
Format: article
Publication Date:2020
Country:España
Institution:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repository:Docta Complutense
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/6535
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/6535
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:52
Phase-spaces structures
Southerns stratosphere
Seasonal evolution
Moisture
Climatology
Descriptors
Dust
Precipitation
Circulation
Reanalysis
Física atmosférica
2501 Ciencias de la Atmósfera
Description
Summary:The West African Monsoon (WAM) system is the main source of rainfall in the agriculturally based region of the Sahel. Understanding transport across the WAM is of crucial importance due to the strong impact of humidity and dust pathways on local cloud formation. However, the description of this transport is challenging due to its 3D complex nature. Lagrangian Coherent Structures (LCS) simplify transport description across the WAM by providing a geometrical partition of the troposphere into domains. Air parcels within each domain have similar dynamical characteristics. LCS make it possible to achieve an integrated vision of transport pathways across this system. Using this approach we unveil new connections in the WAM system. In particular, we identify transport pathways between the Tropical Easterly Jet (TEJ) and the African Easterly Jet (AEJ). Furthermore, the clockwise circulation associated with the divergent upper part of the Sahara heat low is clearly delimitated. Additionally, we show the presence of mixing regions in the AEJ and the lower part of the TEJ that are linked to pathways to sources of dust and humidity.

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