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Intraseasonal variability of the Atlantic Intertropical Convergence Zone during austral summer and winter

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Abstract

The Atlantic Intertropical Convergence Zone (A-ITCZ) exhibits variations on several time-scales and plays a crucial role in precipitation regimes of northern South America and western Africa. Here we investigate the variability of the A-ITCZ on intraseasonal time-scales during austral summer (November–March) and winter (May–September) based on a multivariate index that describes the main atmospheric features of the A-ITCZ and retains its variability on interannual, semiannual, and intraseasonal time-scales. This index is the time coefficient of the first combined empirical orthogonal function mode of anomalies (annual cycle removed) of precipitation, and zonal and meridional wind components at 850 hPa from the climate forecast system reanalysis (1979–2010). We examine associations between the intraseasonal variability of the A-ITCZ and the activity of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO). We show that during austral summer intraseasonal variability of the A-ITCZ is associated with a Rossby wave train in the Northern Hemisphere. In austral winter this variability is associated with the propagation of a Rossby wave in the Southern Hemisphere consistent with the Pacific-South American pattern. Moreover, we show that intense A-ITCZ events on intraseasonal time-scales are more frequent during the phase of MJO characterized by convection over western Pacific and suppression over the Indian Ocean. These teleconnection patterns induce anomalies in the trade winds and upper level divergence over the equatorial Atlantic that modulate the intensity of the A-ITCZ.

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Acknowledgments

Authors thank Dr. Charles Jones and Dr. Brant Liebmann for the fruitful discussions and Dr. Jones for providing the MJO index used in this study. A.C.N. Tomaziello thanks the support of Fundaçao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP) (process 2010/17224-0) and Coordenaçao de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES). L.M.V. Carvalho thanks the support of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (grant NA10OAR4310170) and National Science Foundation (Grant AGS-1053294). The CFSR data were developed by NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and provided by National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and OLR data provided by the NOAA/OAR/ESRL PSD, Boulder, Colorado, from their Web site at http://www.cdc.noaa.gov.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departament of Atmospheric Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Ana Carolina Nóbile Tomaziello & Adilson W. Gandu

  2. Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

    Leila M. V. Carvalho

  3. Earth Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

    Leila M. V. Carvalho

  4. Research Institute for Meteorology and Water Resources, FUNCEME, Fortaleza, Brazil

    Adilson W. Gandu

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  1. Ana Carolina Nóbile Tomaziello
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Correspondence to Ana Carolina Nóbile Tomaziello.

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Tomaziello, A.C.N., Carvalho, L.M.V. & Gandu, A.W. Intraseasonal variability of the Atlantic Intertropical Convergence Zone during austral summer and winter. Clim Dyn 47, 1717–1733 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-015-2929-y

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