Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Precipitation linked to Atlantic moisture transport: clues to interpret Patagonian palaeoclimate

2014; Inter-Research Science Center; Volume: 62; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3354/cr01272

1616-1572

Eduardo A. Agosta, Rosa Hilda Compagnucci, Daniel Arizteguí,

Climate variability and models

CR Climate Research Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials CR 62:219-240 (2015) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/cr01272 Precipitation linked to Atlantic moisture transport: clues to interpret Patagonian palaeoclimate Eduardo Agosta1,2,3,*, Rosa Compagnucci3,4, Daniel Ariztegui5 1Facultad de Ciencias Fisicomatemáticas e Ingenierías, Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina, Alicia Moreau de Justo 1600, of. 301, C1107AFF Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina 2Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Av. Centenario S/N, Paseo del Bosque, 1900 La Plata, Argentina 3Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas [CONICET], Av. Rivadavia 1917, C1033AAJ Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina 4Departamento de Ciencias de la Atmósfera y los Océanos, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, 1428 Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina 5Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland *Corresponding author: eduardo.agosta@conicet.gov.ar ABSTRACT: Westerlies are the main climatic feature in the mid-latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere (SH), driving the amount and distribution of precipitation. Patagonia is a vast region in South America’s mid-latitudes, which encompasses 2 sub regions with highly distinct precipitation features. These two regions include wet Western Patagonia extending from the Pacific coast to the Andean highs (i.e. maximum elevations), and dry Eastern Patagonia situated leeward of the Andes in the Argentine steppe plains. Patagonia is influenced by strong mid-latitude westerlies throughout the year. Westerlies have been considered the unique driver of climate both in Western and Eastern Patagonia. This research is focused on the Lago Cardiel catchment area in central Eastern Patagonia. A significant link between precipitation in that region and local zonal moisture transport from the Atlantic was established. A fraction of intense precipitation was related to strong local westward moisture transport, partly as a consequence of slow-moving weather systems crossing over Patagonia. As long as a dipolar pattern of long-term precipitation anomaly was observed between dry central Western/Southern Patagonia and wet central Eastern Patagonia, it could be interpreted as due to enhanced synoptic easterly moisture flux from the Atlantic. Thus, the westerlies rule was broken at least under blocking-like flows, which induced moist easterlies. The relatively wet 1940s exemplified this phenomenon. Such a conceptual framework can be applied to palaeoclimatic proxy record reconstructions as well as to general circulation model (GCM) outcomes for the late and mid-Holocene. KEY WORDS: Southern Hemisphere · Westerlies · Patagonia · Synoptic-climatology · Lakes · Blocking flow Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Agosta E, Compagnucci R, Ariztegui D (2015) Precipitation linked to Atlantic moisture transport: clues to interpret Patagonian palaeoclimate. Clim Res 62:219-240. https://doi.org/10.3354/cr01272 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in CR Vol. 62, No. 3. Online publication date: February 05, 2015 Print ISSN: 0936-577X; Online ISSN: 1616-1572 Copyright © 2015 Inter-Research.