Linking Future Tropical Precipitation Changes to Zonally‐Asymmetric Large‐Scale Meridional Circulation
Abstract Projected tropical precipitation changes by the end of the century include increased net precipitation over the Pacific Ocean and drying over the Indian Ocean, prompting ongoing debate about the underlying mechanisms. Previous studies argued for the importance of the zonal circulation in th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL106072 |
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| author | Dana Raiter Eli Galanti Rei Chemke Yohai Kaspi |
| author_facet | Dana Raiter Eli Galanti Rei Chemke Yohai Kaspi |
| author_sort | Dana Raiter |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Projected tropical precipitation changes by the end of the century include increased net precipitation over the Pacific Ocean and drying over the Indian Ocean, prompting ongoing debate about the underlying mechanisms. Previous studies argued for the importance of the zonal circulation in the longitudinally dependent tropical precipitation response, as the meridional circulation is often defined and analyzed as the zonal mean. Here we show that the projected changes in the meridional circulation are highly longitudinally dependent, and explain the zonally dependent changes in net precipitation. Our analysis exposes a zonal shift in the ascending branch of the meridional circulation, associated with a strengthened net precipitation over the central Pacific and weakened precipitation in the Indo Pacific. The zonal circulation has minor influence on these projected tropical precipitation changes. These results point to the importance of monitoring the longitudinal changes in the meridional circulation for improving our preparedness for climate change impacts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e07e4dbc84444ae69779783b92c06187 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-e07e4dbc84444ae69779783b92c061872025-08-20T01:51:57ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072024-03-01516n/an/a10.1029/2023GL106072Linking Future Tropical Precipitation Changes to Zonally‐Asymmetric Large‐Scale Meridional CirculationDana Raiter0Eli Galanti1Rei Chemke2Yohai Kaspi3Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Weizmann Institute of Science Rehovot IsraelDepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences Weizmann Institute of Science Rehovot IsraelDepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences Weizmann Institute of Science Rehovot IsraelDepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences Weizmann Institute of Science Rehovot IsraelAbstract Projected tropical precipitation changes by the end of the century include increased net precipitation over the Pacific Ocean and drying over the Indian Ocean, prompting ongoing debate about the underlying mechanisms. Previous studies argued for the importance of the zonal circulation in the longitudinally dependent tropical precipitation response, as the meridional circulation is often defined and analyzed as the zonal mean. Here we show that the projected changes in the meridional circulation are highly longitudinally dependent, and explain the zonally dependent changes in net precipitation. Our analysis exposes a zonal shift in the ascending branch of the meridional circulation, associated with a strengthened net precipitation over the central Pacific and weakened precipitation in the Indo Pacific. The zonal circulation has minor influence on these projected tropical precipitation changes. These results point to the importance of monitoring the longitudinal changes in the meridional circulation for improving our preparedness for climate change impacts.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL106072climate changeatmospheric sciencestropical precipitationlarge‐scale meridional circulation |
| spellingShingle | Dana Raiter Eli Galanti Rei Chemke Yohai Kaspi Linking Future Tropical Precipitation Changes to Zonally‐Asymmetric Large‐Scale Meridional Circulation Geophysical Research Letters climate change atmospheric sciences tropical precipitation large‐scale meridional circulation |
| title | Linking Future Tropical Precipitation Changes to Zonally‐Asymmetric Large‐Scale Meridional Circulation |
| title_full | Linking Future Tropical Precipitation Changes to Zonally‐Asymmetric Large‐Scale Meridional Circulation |
| title_fullStr | Linking Future Tropical Precipitation Changes to Zonally‐Asymmetric Large‐Scale Meridional Circulation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Linking Future Tropical Precipitation Changes to Zonally‐Asymmetric Large‐Scale Meridional Circulation |
| title_short | Linking Future Tropical Precipitation Changes to Zonally‐Asymmetric Large‐Scale Meridional Circulation |
| title_sort | linking future tropical precipitation changes to zonally asymmetric large scale meridional circulation |
| topic | climate change atmospheric sciences tropical precipitation large‐scale meridional circulation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL106072 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT danaraiter linkingfuturetropicalprecipitationchangestozonallyasymmetriclargescalemeridionalcirculation AT eligalanti linkingfuturetropicalprecipitationchangestozonallyasymmetriclargescalemeridionalcirculation AT reichemke linkingfuturetropicalprecipitationchangestozonallyasymmetriclargescalemeridionalcirculation AT yohaikaspi linkingfuturetropicalprecipitationchangestozonallyasymmetriclargescalemeridionalcirculation |