Analysis of atmospheric thermodynamic profiles in Amazonia during the GoAmazon2014/15 experiment

• Grant number: 17/05613-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2017
• End date: July 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Meteorology
• Principal Investigator: Theotonio Mendes Pauliquevis Júnior
• Grantee: Matheus Tolentino da Silva
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas (ICAQF). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Diadema. Diadema , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Clouds and convection in the Amazon are key components of the regional climate, acting both in the radiative balance as well as in the intense hydrological cycle of the region. Convection in the Amazon is intrinsically linked to the meteorological conditions associated with the general circulation of the atmosphere and local conditions, which significantly influence the local convection. In this context, the thermodynamic profile of the atmosphere plays a crucial role in the development of convective systems and rainfall in the region. It is in this context that this project of scientific initiation is contextualized. During the years 2014 and 2015, four daily radiosondes were released at the GoAmazon2014 / 5 experiment site in Manacapuru, AM. This database is a unique set, with a higher temporal resolution than the operational radiosonde in the region, which occur only twice a day at the airforce base in Manaus. In this scientific initiation project the student will analyze this database focusing on the diurnal and seasonal cycle of the thermodynamic profile, as well as the traditional thermodynamic indexes (eg CAPE, CINE, LCL and LFC). With this data, he will make a descriptive statistical analysis and calculate the diurnal cycle of the indexes and the vertical profile of temperature and humidity, for each season of the year. A natural extension of this project for a 2nd year of scientific initiation would be the comparison of the data obtained with radiosondes with the ERA-Interim reanalysis data, in order to determine the quality of these reanalyses for the region of interest. This would allow the database to be extended well beyond the 2 years of GoAmazon's measurements2014/5. (AU)