Details zur Publikation

Kategorie Textpublikation
Referenztyp Zeitschriften
DOI 10.1029/2021GL097089
Titel (primär) Fewer troughs, not more ridges, have led to a drying trend in the western United States
Autor Zhang, W.; Hari, V.; Wang, S.S.-Y.; LaPlante, M.D.; Garfin, G.; Affram, G.; Kumar, R. ORCID logo
Quelle Geophysical Research Letters
Erscheinungsjahr 2022
Department CHS
Band/Volume 49
Heft 1
Seite von e2021GL097089
Sprache englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Supplements https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1029%2F2021GL097089&file=2021GL097089-sup-0001-Supporting+Information+SI-S01.docx
Keywords Western U.S.; Drought; Trough; Ridge; Weather Types
Abstract High-amplitude ridges can enforce heat-trapping systems that persist through an entire season, contributing to drought events. However, the impact of day-to-day weather system changes at the meso- and synoptic-scale are also important, albeit less well studied. We identify five weather types (WTs) from 500-hPa geopotential height anomalies. These categories include WT4, which represents ridges and associated dry and warm anomalies, and WT3, which characterizes troughs and associated wetter- and colder-than-normal conditions and is the largest contributor to precipitation in the western U.S. While no discernable trend is evident for WT4 conditions, WT3 conditions have undergone a distinctive decrease in frequency at both annual and seasonal scales, thus a general drying trend across the west during this time period may be more significantly associated with fewer troughs rather than more ridges. Attribution analysis reveals that this decrease in wetter and colder weather is a likely result of anthropogenic forcing.
dauerhafte UFZ-Verlinkung https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=25536
Zhang, W., Hari, V., Wang, S.S.-Y., LaPlante, M.D., Garfin, G., Affram, G., Kumar, R. (2022):
Fewer troughs, not more ridges, have led to a drying trend in the western United States
Geophys. Res. Lett. 49 (1), e2021GL097089 10.1029/2021GL097089