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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

The extreme 2014 flood in south-western Amazon basin: the role of tropical-subtropical South Atlantic SST gradient

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Author(s):
Carlo Espinoza, Jhan [1] ; Marengo, Jose Antonio [2] ; Ronchail, Josyane [3] ; Molina Carpio, Jorge [4] ; Noriega Flores, Luis [5] ; Loup Guyot, Jean [6]
Total Authors: 6
Affiliation:
[1] IGP, Lima - Peru
[2] Inst Nacl Pesquisas Espaciais, Ctr Ciencia Sistema Terr, Sao Paulo - Brazil
[3] UPMC, Univ Paris 04, Univ Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cite, UMR Locean, CNRS, IRD, MNHN, Paris - France
[4] Univ Mayor San Andres, Inst Hidraul & Hidrol, La Paz - Bolivia
[5] Serv Nacl Meteorol & Hidrol, La Paz - Bolivia
[6] IRD, Lima - Peru
Total Affiliations: 6
Document type: Journal article
Source: ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS; v. 9, n. 12 DEC 2014.
Web of Science Citations: 57
Abstract

Unprecedented wet conditions are reported in the 2014 summer (December-March) in Southwestern Amazon, with rainfall about 100% above normal. Discharge in the Madeira River (the main southern Amazon tributary) has been 74% higher than normal (58 000 m(3) s(-1)) at Porto Velho and 380% (25 000 m(3) s(-1)) at Rurrenabaque, at the exit of the Andes in summer, while levels of the Rio Negro at Manaus were 29.47 m in June 2014, corresponding to the fifth highest record during the 113 years record of the Rio Negro. While previous floods in Amazonia have been related to La Nina and/or warmer than normal tropical South Atlantic, the 2014 rainfall and flood anomalies are associated with warm condition in the western Pacific-Indian Ocean and with an exceptionally warm Subtropical South Atlantic. Our results suggest that the tropical and subtropical South Atlantic SST gradient is a main driver for moisture transport from the Atlantic toward south-western Amazon, and this became exceptionally intense during summer of 2014. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 13/50538-7 - Understanding the causes of the biases that determine the onset of the rainy season in Amazonia in climate models using GoAmazon-CHUVA measurements
Grantee:Jose Antonio Marengo Orsini
Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants