Atmospheric moisture transport, the bridge between ocean evaporation and Antarctic sea ice

• Grant number: 17/03981-3
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Visiting Researcher Grant - International
• Start date: July 06, 2017
• End date: September 05, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Meteorology
• Principal Investigator: Rosmeri Porfírio da Rocha
• Grantee: Rosmeri Porfírio da Rocha
• Visiting researcher: Luis Gimeno Presa
• Visiting researcher institution: Universidade de Vigo, Spain
• Host Institution: Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas (IAG). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 08/58101-9 - Impact of the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean on South American climate for the 20th and 21st centuries, AP.PFPMCG.TEM

Abstract

If we could choose regions where the effects of global warming are likely to be pronounced and considerable, and at the same time one where the changes could affect the global climate in similarly asymmetric way with respect to other regions, these would unequivocally be the Polar regions. The atmospheric branch of the hydrological cycle lies behind the linkages between the Antarctic system and the global climate. Changes in the atmospheric moisture transport have been proposed as a vehicle for interpreting the most significant changes in the Antarctic region. This is because the transport of moisture from the extratropical regions to the Antarctic has increased in recent decades, and is expected to increase with warming. This increase could be due either to changes in circulation patterns which have altered the moisture sources, or to changes in the intensity of the moisture sources because of enhanced evaporation, or a combination of these two mechanism. In this project we focus on the general idea that there is a strong link between ocean evaporation trends and Antractic Sea ice. To do this we will use a sophisticated Lagrangian approach to contrast these existing results using new information and insights. The many mechanisms includes radiative (increase of cloud cover and water vapour) and meteorological (increase in summer storms arriving in the Antarctic, or increments in precipitation). (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

REBOITA, MICHELLE SIMOES; NIETO, RAQUEL; DA ROCHA, ROSMERI P.; DRUMOND, ANITA; VAZQUEZ, MARTA; GIMENO, LUIS. Characterization of Moisture Sources for Austral Seas and Relationship with Sea Ice Concentration. ATMOSPHERE, v. 10, n. 10, OCT 2019. (17/03981-3)