Explaining the gigantic ridge causing the California drought
Location
Eccles Conference Center
Event Website
http://water.usu.edu
Start Date
4-1-2014 10:20 AM
End Date
4-1-2014 10:40 AM
Description
The 2013-14 winter drought in California was accompanied by a high-amplitude and persistent upper-level ridge over the Gulf of Alaska. This ridge emerged from steady sources of Rossby wave energy in the western North Pacific starting in summer. The ridge subsequently intensified and generated a surge of wave energy downwind and this deepened the trough over the northeast U.S., forming a dipole. It was found that the dipole and associated circulation pattern is a recurrent feature but is not linked directly with any prominent climate mode. Instead, a type of ENSO precursor was found to correlate significantly with the dipole. The connection between the dipole and the ENSO precursor has strengthened since the 1970s, and the strengthening was attributed to increased GHG loading as simulated from the historical single-forcing experiments of the Community Earth System Model version 1. Hence, El Niño is anticipated in winter 2014-15 and the associated wet conditions could ease off the drought situation in California.
Explaining the gigantic ridge causing the California drought
Eccles Conference Center
The 2013-14 winter drought in California was accompanied by a high-amplitude and persistent upper-level ridge over the Gulf of Alaska. This ridge emerged from steady sources of Rossby wave energy in the western North Pacific starting in summer. The ridge subsequently intensified and generated a surge of wave energy downwind and this deepened the trough over the northeast U.S., forming a dipole. It was found that the dipole and associated circulation pattern is a recurrent feature but is not linked directly with any prominent climate mode. Instead, a type of ENSO precursor was found to correlate significantly with the dipole. The connection between the dipole and the ENSO precursor has strengthened since the 1970s, and the strengthening was attributed to increased GHG loading as simulated from the historical single-forcing experiments of the Community Earth System Model version 1. Hence, El Niño is anticipated in winter 2014-15 and the associated wet conditions could ease off the drought situation in California.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/runoff/2014/2014Abstracts/25