A lagrangian analysis of the moisture supply from the Mediterranean sea during the drought episodes occurred over the central Europe during 1980-2015

Ponencia presentada en: XXXV Jornadas Científicas de la AME y el XIX Encuentro Hispano Luso de Meteorología celebrado en León, del 5 al 7 de marzo de 2018.During the 20th century, the climate in Central Europe has been characterized by an overall temperature increase, and the beginning of 21st century is marked by intensified severe and prolonged drought events. The purpose of this work is to analyze possible variations in the moisture supply from Mediterranean Sea (MDS) during the meteorological drought episodes occurred over the Central Europe (CEU) in the last three decades

Synoptic conditions responsible for an extreme precipitation event in the Danube river basin

Ponencia presentada en: XXXV Jornadas Científicas de la AME y el XIX Encuentro Hispano Luso de Meteorología celebrado en León, del 5 al 7 de marzo de 2018.Extreme precipitation events in the latest few decades show increasing trend all around the world, including the areas in central Europe where are recorded a few catastrophic extreme hydrological events happened in the last 10 years resulting in human causalities, economic losses and other accompanying disasters. The Danube River Basin is one of the major catchment basin in Europe and the only river in the world specific for that receiving water from 18 countries and flowing through 10 countries. Extreme precipitation events in the area of the Danube River Basin are not homogeneous in the timing and locations. Their intensity and frequency strongly depend on locations and present cyclones responsible for generation of precipitation. The characteristic of the cyclones such as orography, sea-surface temperature and availability of moisture has a huge impact on heavy precipitation in the Danube area. In this work, we show the synoptic conditions that end in the major extreme precipitation event over the Danube River Basin

Enzymatic Potential Of Heterotrophic Bacteria From A Neutral Copper Mine Drainage

Copper mine drainages are restricted environments that have been overlooked as sources of new biocatalysts for bioremediation and organic syntheses. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the enzymatic activities (esterase, epoxide hydrolase and monooxygenase) of 56 heterotrophic bacteria isolated from a neutral copper mine drainage (Sossego Mine, Canaa dos Carajas, Brazil). Hydrolase and monooxygenase activities were detected in 75% and 20% of the evaluated bacteria, respectively. Bacterial strains with good oxidative performance were also evaluated for biotransformation of organic sulfides. Fourteen strains with good enzymatic activity were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, revealing the presence of three genera: Bacillus, Pseudomonas and Stenotrophomonas. The bacterial strains B. megaterium (SO5-4 and SO6-2) and Pseudomonas sp. (SO5-9) efficiently oxidized three different organic sulfides to their corresponding sulfoxides. In conclusion, this study revealed that neutral copper mine drainages are a promising source of biocatalysts for ester hydrolysis and sulfide oxidation/bioremediation. Furthermore, this is a novel biotechnological overview of the heterotrophic bacteria from a copper mine drainage, and this report may support further microbiological monitoring of this type of mine environment. (C) 2016 Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda.47484685

Poluentes atmosféricos associados a condições meteorológicas de superfície na região do ABC em São Paulo

Air pollution is one the main environmental problems in urban areas like the Metropolitan Area of São Paulo (MASP) in Brazil, where millions of inhabitants are exposed to pollution concentrations above the standards, with potential health impacts. Exposure is unequal throughout MASP, relying on the dynamics of local emission sources interplaying with weather and climate in a regional scale. The ABC region — ABC standing for Santo André, São Bernardo do Campo and São Caetano do Sul, the cities the area originally comprised of — is MASP’s largest industrial center, sitting in its southeast border, and encloses environmental protection areas. That leads to a unique emission profile that differ from the metropolis center. This study aims to characterize the variability of atmospheric pollutants in the ABC region in 2015, investigating possible sources and associations with surface meteorological conditions. Multivariate statistical analyses were applied to data from seven air quality monitoring stations and surface meteorological variables. Results show that São Bernardo do Campo stood out, with O3 concentrations 20% higher (43±19 μg.m-3) than the other sites, while São Caetano do Sul had the highest annual mean PM10 concentrations (39±19 μg.m-3), mostly related to vehicular emissions. Relative humidity was negatively correlated with primary pollutants, while temperature and radiation correlated with O3. Unusually high O3 concentrations were observed in January of 2015, concomitant with negative anomalies of precipitation and relative humidity, likely associated with the 2014/2015 summer drought event in Southeast Brazil. Overall, results show that local emission sources significantly impact air pollution loading and its diurnal variability, particularly in the case of primary pollutants. Climate modulates the seasonal concentration variability, and regional scale weather phenomena may impact air quality conditions. To reach concentration standards everywhere, policy makers must be aware of processes occurring in different spatial scales that determine air quality.A poluição atmosférica é um dos principais problemas ambientais em áreas urbanas como a Região Metropolitana de São Paulo (RMSP), no Brasil, onde milhões de habitantes estão expostos a concentrações acima dos padrões, com potenciais impactos à saúde. A exposição à poluição atmosférica é desigual na RMSP, dependendo da dinâmica de fontes emissoras locais e da influência do tempo e do clima em escala regional. A região do ABC — sigla originada a partir das iniciais de suas cidades originais: Santo André, São Bernardo do Campo e São Caetano do Sul — é o maior centro industrial da RMSP, localizada em sua fronteira sudeste, e inclui áreas de proteção ambiental. Essas características resultam em um perfil de emissões singular, que difere do centro da metrópole. Este estudo visa caracterizar a variabilidade na concentração de poluentes atmosféricos na região do ABC em 2015, investigando possíveis fontes e associações a condições meteorológicas de superfície. Análises estatísticas multivariadas foram aplicadas a dados de qualidade do ar de sete estações de monitoramento e variáveis meteorológicas de superfície. São Bernardo do Campo se destacou, com concentrações de O3 20% maiores (43±19 μg.m-3) do que as outras estações, enquanto São Caetano do Sul apresentou a maior média anual de PM10 (39±19 μg.m-3), relacionada principalmente a emissões veiculares. A umidade relativa apresentou correlação negativa com os poluentes primários, enquanto a temperatura e a radiação se correlacionaram ao O3. Elevadas concentrações de O3 foram atipicamente observadas em janeiro de 2015 (59±19 μg.m-3), simultaneamente a anomalias negativas de precipitação e umidade relativa, possivelmente associadas ao evento de seca no Sudeste do Brasil no verão de 2014/2015. Os resultados mostram que fontes emissoras locais podem impactar significativamente a carga de poluição e sua variabilidade diurna, especialmente no caso de poluentes primários. O clima modula a variabilidade sazonal das concentrações, e fenômenos meteorológicos de escala regional podem impactar a qualidade do ar. Para atingir os padrões de concentração em toda a parte, o poder público deve ficar atento aos processos que ocorrem em diferentes escalas espaciais e que determinam a qualidade do ar

Variability of moisture sources in the Mediterranean region during the period 1980-2000

In this study, seasonal and interannual variability of the main atmospheric moisture sources over eight regions in the Mediterranean basin were investigated along a 21 year period. The Lagrangian dispersion model FLEXPART, developed by Stohl and James [2004, 2005], was applied to identify the contribution of humidity to the moisture budget of each region. This methodology is used to compute budgets of evaporation minus precipitation (E-P) by calculating changes in the specific humidity along backward trajectories, for the preceding 10 day periods. The results show clear seasonal differences in the moisture sources between wet and dry seasons. The Western Mediterranean Sea is the dominant moisture source for almost all the regions in the Mediterranean basin during the wet season, while the local net evaporation dominates during the dry season. The highest interannual variability is found in contributions to the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, and the Eastern Mediterranean. It is seen that the role of teleconnections is more limited than for the precipitation recorded in the region

PADRÕES CLIMATOLÓGICOS ASSOCIADOS A EVENTOS DE SECA NO LESTE DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO

Os mecanismos de ocorrência de secas no Sudeste do Brasil são complexos, pois a região encontra-se em uma zona de transição entre os regimes atmosféricos tropical e extratropical. Este trabalho apresenta as condições climatológicas médias sazonais no início de eventos de seca na faixa leste do estado de São Paulo no período de 1901 a 2010. Estes eventos foram identificados utilizando o índice de evapotranspiração-precipitação padronizado (SPEI) calculado a partir dos dados da reanálise ERA20C. Durante o verão e o outono, os eventos de seca são associados a uma teleconexão atmosférica originada por anomalias quentes do oceano na região da Indonésia. Um padrão de bloqueio no Pacífico Sul desfavorece o avanço de perturbações de médios e altos níveis em direção à América do Sul, e o transporte de umidade das regiões tropicais em direção a São Paulo é desfavorecido pelo enfraquecimento do Jato de Baixos Níveis. No inverno, as secas se iniciam com a intensificação da Alta Subtropical sobre a costa do Sudeste por um trem de ondas barotrópico propagando-se desde o Índico, e com o aumento das temperaturas e da evapotranspiração provocados pela fase negativa da Oscilação Antártica. Nos eventos de seca da primavera, o escoamento de grande escala remete ao padrão de teleconexão da La Niña. Os índices climáticos melhor correlacionados à série temporal do SPEI na faixa leste de São Paulo são da Oscilação Antártica (outono e inverno), da oscilação do Atlântico Tropical Sul (outono e primavera), e do El Niño-Oscilação Sul (primavera)

Recent changes of relative humidity: regional connections with land and ocean processes

We analyzed changes in surface relative humidity (RH) at the global scale from 1979 to 2014 using both observations and the ERA-Interim dataset. We compared the variability and trends in RH with those of land evapotranspiration and ocean evaporation in moisture source areas across a range of selected regions worldwide. The sources of moisture for each particular region were identified by integrating different observational data and model outputs into a Lagrangian approach. The aim was to account for the possible role of changes in air temperature over land, in comparison to sea surface temperature (SST), but also the role of land evapotranspiration and the ocean evaporation on RH variability. The results demonstrate that the patterns of the observed trends in RH at the global scale cannot be linked to a particular individual physical mechanism. Our results also stress that the different hypotheses that may explain the decrease in RH under a global warming scenario could act together to explain recent RH trends. Albeit with uncertainty in establishing a direct causality between RH trends and the different empirical moisture sources, we found that the observed decrease in RH in some regions can be linked to lower water supply from land evapotranspiration. In contrast, the empirical relationships also suggest that RH trends in other target regions are mainly explained by the dynamic and thermodynamic mechanisms related to the moisture supply from the oceanic source regions. Overall, while this work gives insights into the connections between RH trends and oceanic and continental processes at the global scale, further investigation is still desired to assess the contribution of both dynamic and thermodynamic factors to the evolution of RH over continental regions.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. PCIN-2015-220Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. CGL2014-52135-C03-01Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. CGL2014-60849-JINEuropean Commission | Ref. n. 69046

A Lagrangian Identification of the Main Sources of Moisture Affecting Northeastern Brazil during Its Pre-Rainy and Rainy Seasons

This work examines the sources of moisture affecting the semi-arid Brazilian Northeast (NEB) during its pre-rainy and rainy season (JFMAM) through a Lagrangian diagnosis method. The FLEXPART model identifies the humidity contributions to the moisture budget over a region through the continuous computation of changes in the specific humidity along back or forward trajectories up to 10 days period. The numerical experiments were done for the period that spans between 2000 and 2004 and results were aggregated on a monthly basis. Results show that besides a minor local recycling component, the vast majority of moisture reaching NEB area is originated in the south Atlantic basin and that the nearby wet Amazon basin bears almost no impact. Moreover, although the maximum precipitation in the “Poligono das Secas” region (PS) occurs in March and the maximum precipitation associated with air parcels emanating from the South Atlantic towards PS is observed along January to March, the highest moisture contribution from this oceanic region occurs slightly later (April). A dynamical analysis suggests that the maximum precipitation observed in the PS sector does not coincide with the maximum moisture supply probably due to the combined effect of the Walker and Hadley cells in inhibiting the rising motions over the region in the months following April

Oceanic and terrestrial sources of continental precipitation

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Reviews of Geophysics 50 (2012): RG4003, doi:10.1029/2012RG000389.The most important sources of atmospheric moisture at the global scale are herein identified, both oceanic and terrestrial, and a characterization is made of how continental regions are influenced by water from different moisture source regions. The methods used to establish source-sink relationships of atmospheric water vapor are reviewed, and the advantages and caveats associated with each technique are discussed. The methods described include analytical and box models, numerical water vapor tracers, and physical water vapor tracers (isotopes). In particular, consideration is given to the wide range of recently developed Lagrangian techniques suitable both for evaluating the origin of water that falls during extreme precipitation events and for establishing climatologies of moisture source-sink relationships. As far as oceanic sources are concerned, the important role of the subtropical northern Atlantic Ocean provides moisture for precipitation to the largest continental area, extending from Mexico to parts of Eurasia, and even to the South American continent during the Northern Hemisphere winter. In contrast, the influence of the southern Indian Ocean and North Pacific Ocean sources extends only over smaller continental areas. The South Pacific and the Indian Ocean represent the principal source of moisture for both Australia and Indonesia. Some landmasses only receive moisture from the evaporation that occurs in the same hemisphere (e.g., northern Europe and eastern North America), while others receive moisture from both hemispheres with large seasonal variations (e.g., northern South America). The monsoonal regimes in India, tropical Africa, and North America are provided with moisture from a large number of regions, highlighting the complexities of the global patterns of precipitation. Some very important contributions are also seen from relatively small areas of ocean, such as the Mediterranean Basin (important for Europe and North Africa) and the Red Sea, which provides water for a large area between the Gulf of Guinea and Indochina (summer) and between the African Great Lakes and Asia (winter). The geographical regions of Eurasia, North and South America, and Africa, and also the internationally important basins of the Mississippi, Amazon, Congo, and Yangtze Rivers, are also considered, as is the importance of terrestrial sources in monsoonal regimes. The role of atmospheric rivers, and particularly their relationship with extreme events, is discussed. Droughts can be caused by the reduced supply of water vapor from oceanic moisture source regions. Some of the implications of climate change for the hydrological cycle are also reviewed, including changes in water vapor concentrations, precipitation, soil moisture, and aridity. It is important to achieve a combined diagnosis of moisture sources using all available information, including stable water isotope measurements. A summary is given of the major research questions that remain unanswered, including (1) the lack of a full understanding of how moisture sources influence precipitation isotopes; (2) the stationarity of moisture sources over long periods; (3) the way in which possible changes in intensity (where evaporation exceeds precipitation to a greater of lesser degree), and the locations of the sources, (could) affect the distribution of continental precipitation in a changing climate; and (4) the role played by the main modes of climate variability, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation or the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, in the variability of the moisture source regions, as well as a full evaluation of the moisture transported by low-level jets and atmospheric rivers.Luis Gimeno would like to thank the Spanish Ministry of Science and FEDER for their partial funding of this research through the project MSM. A. Stohl was supported by the Norwegian Research Council within the framework of the WATER‐SIP project. The work of Ricardo Trigo was partially supported by the FCT (Portugal) through the ENAC project (PTDC/AAC-CLI/103567/2008).2013-05-0

Variability of moisture sources in the Mediterranean region during the period 1980-2000

In this study, seasonal and interannual variability of the main atmospheric moisture sources over eight regions in the Mediterranean basin were investigated along a 21 year period. The Lagrangian dispersion model FLEXPART, developed by Stohl and James [2004, 2005], was applied to identify the contribution of humidity to the moisture budget of each region. This methodology is used to compute budgets of evaporation minus precipitation (E-P) by calculating changes in the specific humidity along backward trajectories, for the preceding 10 day periods. The results show clear seasonal differences in the moisture sources between wet and dry seasons. The Western Mediterranean Sea is the dominant moisture source for almost all the regions in the Mediterranean basin during the wet season, while the local net evaporation dominates during the dry season. The highest interannual variability is found in contributions to the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, and the Eastern Mediterranean. It is seen that the role of teleconnections is more limited than for the precipitation recorded in the region