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- Title
Climatology and classification of Spring Saharan cyclone tracks.
- Authors
Hannachi, A.; Awad, A.; Ammar, K.
- Abstract
Spring Saharan cyclones constitute a dominant feature of the not-well-explored Saharan region. In this manuscript, a climatological analysis and classification of Saharan cyclone tracks are presented using 6-hourly NCEP/NCAR sea level pressure (SLP) reanalyses over the Sahara (10°W-50°E, 20°N-50°N) for the Spring (March-April-May) season over the period 1958-2006. A simple tracking procedure based on following SLP minima is used to construct around 640 Spring Saharan cyclone tracks. Saharan cyclones are found to be short-lived compared to their extratropical counterparts with an e-folding time of about 3 days. The lee side of the west Atlas mountain is found to be the main cyclogenetic region for Spring Saharan cyclones. Central Iraq is identified as the main cyclolytic area. A subjective procedure is used next to classify the cyclone tracks where six clusters are identified. Among these clusters the Western Atlas-Asia Minor is the largest and most stretched, whereas Algerian Sahara-Asia Minor is composed of the most long-lived tracks. Upper level flow associated with the tracks has also been examined and the role of large scale baroclinicity in the growth of Saharan cyclones is discussed.
- Subjects
SAHARA; ATLAS Mountains; CLIMATOLOGY; CLASSIFICATION; SPRING; CYCLONE tracks; SEA level; ATMOSPHERIC pressure
- Publication
Climate Dynamics, 2011, Vol 37, Issue 3/4, p473
- ISSN
0930-7575
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s00382-010-0941-9