Climate of Brazil's nordeste and tropical atlantic sector: preferred time scales of variability

Resuming earlier research, this study explores rainfall variability in Brazil's Nordeste and underlying circulation mechanisms. The semi-arid northern Nordeste has its short rainy season centered around March-April-May, when temperature maximum, low pressure trough and wind confluence reach the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Revista Brasileira de Meteorologia
Main Authors: Dierk Polzin, Stefan Hastenrath
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Portuguese
Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Meteorologia 2014
Subjects:
Nordeste
Atlântico Tropical
precipitação
variabilidade climática
escalas de tempo
análise espectral
Meteorology. Climatology
QC851-999
North Atlantic
North Atlantic oscillation
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-77862014000200001
https://doaj.org/article/6fc5438b836b4723a202f6895ac9554c
Description
Summary:Resuming earlier research, this study explores rainfall variability in Brazil's Nordeste and underlying circulation mechanisms. The semi-arid northern Nordeste has its short rainy season centered around March-April-May, when temperature maximum, low pressure trough and wind confluence reach their southernmost position. Interannual variability can be understood as departures from the average annual cycle. Based on novel long-term datasets, the present study explores the preferred time scales of variability. In Nordeste rainfall and pertinent circulation indices in the tropical Atlantic sector most prominent are frequencies of 13.2, 9.9 and 5.6 years. Frequency peak of 13.1 years appears also in the record of Southern Oscillation, and of 5.6 years in North Atlantic Oscillation, indicative of causality chain.

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