Zonda downslope winds in the central Andes of South America in a 20-year climate simulation with the Eta model

Antico, Pablo Luis; Chou, Sin Chan; Mourão, Caroline

doi:10.1007/s00704-015-1709-2

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The eastern slopes of the southern Andes and Patagonia had the greatest frequency of downslope winds due to their location near the southern hemisphere polar jet (Figure 9). For example, the Zonda is a warm, dry downslope wind along the eastern slopes of the Andes in the extratropical latitudes of South America peaking in winter (JJA) locally exceeding 40 days per winter (Norte, 1988; Antico et al ., 2017). While westerly flow is predominant at these latitudes, offshore downslope winds also impact Chile (e.g., Puleche winds; Montecinos et al ., 2017; Rutllant and Garreaud, 2004) primarily in the cool season.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global climatology of synoptically‐forced downslope winds

Abatzoglou

Hatchett

Fox‐Hughes

et al. 2020

Intl Journal of Climatology

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Downslope winds are mesoscale mountain meteorological phenomena that contribute to localized temperature extremes and contribute to numerous societal and environmental impacts. Whereas previous studies have examined local downslope winds, no known efforts have attempted to identify and characterize meso-to synoptic-scale downslope winds globally using a common approach. We use a conceptual model for downslope winds that employs cross-barrier wind speed, near-mountain top static stability, and downward vertical velocity using thresholds guided by a chronology of local downslope winds and meta-analysis of downslope wind case studies. This approach was applied to ERA-5 reanalysis during 1979-2018 to develop a global atlas of downslope winds. Downslope winds adhered to distinct geographic and seasonal patterns, with peak occurrence in north-south oriented midlatitude mountains in the winter hemisphere associated with strong cross-mountain winds and stability. However, we identify numerous locations from the tropics to the high-latitudes where downslope winds occur at least 60 days a year as a byproduct of the general circulation and local-scale circulation interacting with topography. The four-decade-long data set is also used to examine statistical relationships between the occurrence of downslope winds and El Niño-Southern Oscillation as well as long-term trends in downslope wind occurrence.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global climatology of synoptically‐forced downslope winds

Abatzoglou

Hatchett

Fox‐Hughes

et al. 2020

Intl Journal of Climatology

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“…Data used for foehn detection come from a 20-year climate simulation described in Antico et al (2017) for the period 1989-2008. This simulation was produced using the Eta-CPTEC regional model at 50-km horizontal resolution and 38 vertical levels.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to the aforementioned case studies, Antico et al (2017) obtained a climatology of zonda wind occurrence near Mendoza from a 20-year climate simulation with the Eta-CPTEC model. There is a lack of studies that investigate the foehn to the east of the Andes outside the Central Andes region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The foehn wind east of the Andes in a 20-year climate simulation

Antico

Chou

Brunini

2020

Meteorol Atmos Phys

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This study investigates the spatial structure and the seasonal occurrence of foehn wind to the east of the Andes using a flow blocking analysis in a 20-year climate simulation. The latter was performed by the Eta-CPTEC regional model at 50-km horizontal resolution. This version of the model includes a cut-cell scheme to represent topography and a finite-volume vertical advection scheme for dynamic variables. The results indicate that foehn wind more frequently blows during winter and spring on the eastern slopes of the Andes, except to the south of 37° S where it blows at all seasons. Higher mountains of the Central Andes (27° S-35° S) and the High Plateau (15° S-27° S) result in blocked foehn events, with a weak adjustment to the geostrophic balance. On the Central Andes, rain and snow on mountain tops may also contribute to generate foehn wind on the eastern slopes. The results show that a low pressure develops to the east of the Central Andes, and also to the east of the High Plateau when foehn blows. Lower mountains in Patagonia (to the south of 37° S) result in more frequent non-blocked foehn event, with better adjustment to the geostrophic balance.

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“…The major changes were the modification of the vertical advection, making the model a full finite volume, and the refinement of the eta coordinate discretization, which allowed sloping sides of topography cells. This version showed improvement over the previous version, in particular in capturing the downslope windstorms at the lee of the Andes in South America [59], the zonda winds, a foehn type of wind. The spread of the Eta ensemble runs resulting from the use of different global models at the lateral boundary conditions in [57] was shown to be larger than the spread resulting from the use of the perturbed members of the same global model in [53].…”

Section: Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

The Eta Model: Design, Use, and Added Value

Mesinger¹,

Veljovic²,

Chou³

et al. 2016

Topics in Climate Modeling

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The design of the Eta model goes back to early 1970s, when its original dynamical core was designed following the philosophy of Akio Arakawa of emulating important properties of the atmospheric governing equations. The core's later major features were invented and implemented in the mid-1980s. Once a comprehensive physics package was added, the model became operational as a regional NWP model in the United States in 1993. Its use for regional climate projections followed later, for the South American region and then for a regional reanalysis over the North American region. Summary of the model's dynamical core is given, followed by that of its physics package. Results of experiments revealing the model's ability to generate added value even at large scales when run as a regional climate model (RCM) are summarized. The Eta model is applied on various climate scales seamlessly, from subseasonal, seasonal to multidecadal, from coarse 40 km up to high 5 km resolution. Examples of applications to various socioeconomic sectors, such as for hydropower management, crop yield forecasts, environmental and forest conservation, urban areas management, assessment of natural disaster risks, etc., are given. The Eta RCM capability to reproduce extreme climatic values is pointed out.

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Zonda downslope winds in the central Andes of South America in a 20-year climate simulation with the Eta model

Cited by 9 publications

References 10 publications

Global climatology of synoptically‐forced downslope winds

Global climatology of synoptically‐forced downslope winds

The foehn wind east of the Andes in a 20-year climate simulation

The Eta Model: Design, Use, and Added Value

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