21: Atmospheric Research

Question 1

Atmospheric circulation on earth

Answer 1

focus on trade winds at equator ITCZ (intertropical congruence zone) shifts south in January, north in July, this affects the rainy season

Question 2

Why Kilimanjaro?

Answer 2

• worlds highest freestanding mountain
• feeds >10 million people
• shrinking glacier, land cover change
• symbol for global and local climate change
• vulnerable ecosystem
• well documented environmental changes

Question 3

Research question

Answer 3

How much water is recycled in the Kilimanjaro region?

What are the driving factors and how are these affected by other systems?

Question 4

Regional climate model

Answer 4

simulation of atmospheric processes to understand the precipitation and moisture flux in eastern Africa

output:
pressure, temperature, humidity, radiation, precipitation, wind

Question 5

Process

Answer 5

1. input data
2. set domain for climate model at a large scale and a coarse resolution
   - 20x20km resolution for a study area of 240x240km
3. test accuracy of model by comparing observed and predicted
4. model output analysed with moisture flux calculation
   - box analysis (local vs non-local precipitation ratio)
   - calculation of vectors (visual interpretation/animation of moisture flux vectors)
   - PCA (leading moisture fluxes)
5. animation of vectors and moisture on an hourly basis

Question 6

Principal Component Analysis (PCA)

Answer 6

• used to eliminate dimensions in the data set

- reduce 740 hours to 1 to see what is the dominate feature in the data set for each month

Question 7

Box Analysis

Answer 7

• find out how much precipitation is locally created
• what over-regional influences/effects create local precipitation?

calculate net incoming and outgoing moisture

Question 8

New knowledge

Answer 8

• general weather patterns are well modelled
• local created precip is especially found in JJA, in ND and J the lowest rates are found
• effect of cyclones in Indian Ocean is linked to local created precipitation, which is linked to higher outgoing moisture
• leading moisture fluxes reveal connection of the Madagascar tip jet wind in April, May an dJJAS
• proved connection of east African topography for total column moisture flux and water input at Mt Kilimanjaro