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- Title
Saharan dust and the African easterly jet-African easterly wave system: Structure, location and energetics.
- Authors
Bercos‐Hickey, Emily; Nathan, Terrence R.; Chen, Shu‐Hua
- Abstract
The radiative effects of Saharan mineral dust ( SMD) aerosols on the structure, location and energetics of the African easterly jet-African easterly wave ( AEJ-AEW) system are examined for July-September 2006. Experiments are conducted with and without SMD using the Weather Research and Forecasting ( WRF) model, which is radiatively coupled to an interactive dust model. The SMD-modified heating field shifts the AEJ northward, upward and westward, and enhances its zonal asymmetry. These SMD-induced changes to the AEJ are manifest in the AEWs: the northern and southern tracks of the AEWs shift northward (like the AEJ); and the zonal-scale of the AEWs expands and their westward propagation increases. The SMD also strengthens the energetics of the AEJ-AEW system. The domain and temporally averaged baroclinic energy conversion, which is an order of magnitude larger than the barotropic conversion, increases by a factor of 2.5. The eddy kinetic energy and generation of available potential energy increase by factors of 1.5 and 2.7, respectively. The implications of an SMD-modified AEJ-AEW system for West African precipitation and tropical cyclogenesis in the eastern Atlantic Ocean are discussed.
- Subjects
WEST Africa; MINERAL dusts; ATMOSPHERIC aerosols; METEOROLOGICAL research; WEATHER forecasting
- Publication
Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 2017, Vol 143, Issue 708, p2797
- ISSN
0035-9009
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1002/qj.3128