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Abstract
Precipitation variability in tropical high mountains is a fundamental yet poorly understood factor influencing local climatic expression and a variety of environmental processes, including glacier behavior and water resources. Precipitation type, diurnality, frequency, and amount influence hydrological runoff, surface albedo, and soil moisture, whereas cloud cover associated with precipitation events reduces solar irradiance at the surface. Considerable uncertainty remains in the multiscale atmospheric processes influencing precipitation patterns and their associated regional variability in the tropical Andes—particularly related to precipitation phase, timing, and vertical structure. Using data from a variety of sources—including new citizen science precipitation stations; new high-elevation comprehensive precipitation monitoring stations at Chacaltaya, Bolivia, and the Quelccaya Ice Cap, Peru; and a vertically pointing Micro Rain Radar—this article synthesizes findings from interdisciplinary research activities in the Cordillera Real of Bolivia and the Cordillera Vilcanota of Peru related to the following two research questions: (1) How do the temporal patterns, moisture source regions, and El Niño-Southern Oscillation relationships with precipitation occurrence vary? (2) What is the vertical structure (e.g., reflectivity, Doppler velocity, melting layer heights) of tropical Andean precipitation and how does it evolve temporally? Results indicate that much of the heavy precipitation occurs at night, is stratiform rather than convective in structure, and is associated with Amazonian moisture influx from the north and northwest. Improving scientific understanding of tropical Andean precipitation is of considerable importance to assessing climate variability and change, glacier behavior, hydrology, agriculture, ecosystems, and paleoclimatic reconstructions.
热带高山的降水变异, 是影响在地气候表现以及包括冰川行为和水资源的多样环境过程的关键因素, 但却未能受到良好的理解。降雨类型, 日行性, 频率及雨量, 影响着水文径流, 地表反照率及土壤湿度, 而与降雨事件有关的云层覆盖, 则降低了地表的太阳辐射。在影响降雨模式的多重尺度大气过程, 及其在热带安第斯地区中的相关区域变异中, 仍然持续有着大量的不确定性, 特别是有关降雨时期, 时机与垂直结构。本文运用来自多样资源的数据——包括崭新的公民科学雨量站; 在查卡塔雅, 玻利维亚和秘鲁魁尔克亚的冰冠的崭新高海拔综合雨量监控站; 以及垂直观测的微观降雨雷达, 综合从玻利维亚的雷亚尔山脉与秘鲁韦尔卡努塔山脉的跨领域研究活动中有关下列两大问题的发现: (1) 时间模式, 湿度来源区域和圣婴—南方振荡现象, 与降雨发生之间的关系为何有所变异? (2) 什麽是热带安第斯山降雨的垂直结构 (例如反射率, 多普勒速度, 融解层高度), 及其如何随着时间变化? 研究结果指出, 大量降雨多半发生在夜间, 在结构上是层状而非对流的, 并与亚马逊湿气从北方与西北方流入有关。增进对於热带安第斯山降雨的科学性理解, 将对评估气候变异与变迁, 冰川行为, 水文, 农业, 生态系统与古气候的再结构具有重要影响。
La variabilidad en precipitaciones de las altas montañas tropicales es un factor fundamental, pero todavía pobremente entendido, que influye en la expresión climática local y en una variedad de procesos ambientales, incluyendo el comportamiento de los glaciares y los recursos hídricos. El tipo de precipitación, el carácter diurno, frecuencia y cantidad influyen la escorrentía hidrológica, el albedo de la superficie y la humedad del suelo, mientras que la cubierta de nubes asociada con los eventos de la precipitación reduce la irradiación solar de la superficie. Una considerable incertidumbre subsiste en los procesos atmosféricos de multiescala que influencian los patrones de precipitación y su asociada variabilidad regional en los Andes tropicales––en particular lo relacionado con la fase de precipitación, tipo y estructura vertical. Con el uso de datos de una variedad de fuentes––incluyendo estaciones de precipitación de la nueva ciencia ciudadana; las nuevas estaciones de altura que monitorean la precipitación en todos sus aspectos en Chacaltaya, Bolivia, y en el casquete nevado de Quelccaya, Perú; y un Micro Rain Radar orientado verticalmente––este artículo sintetiza los hallazgos de las actividades de investigación interdisciplinaria en la Cordillera Real de Bolivia y en la Cordillera Vilcanota del Perú, en relación con las siguientes dos preguntas de investigación: (1) ¿Cómo varían las relaciones de los patrones temporales, humedad de las regiones fuente y la Oscilación Meridional de El Niño con la ocurrencia de la precipitación? y (2) ¿Cuál es la estructura vertical (e.g., reflectividad, velocidad Doppler, alturas de la capa de fusión) de la precipitación andina tropical y cómo evoluciona ésta temporalmente? Los resultados indican que gran parte de la alta precipitación ocurre durante la noche, es más de estructura estratiforme que convectiva y está asociada con el influjo de humedad amazónica del norte y noroeste. La mejora en el entendimiento de la precipitación andina tropical es de gran importancia para evaluar la variabilidad y cambio climáticos, el comportamiento de los glaciares, la hidrología, la agricultura, los ecosistemas y las reconstrucciones paleoclimáticas.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge NOAA's Air Resources Laboratory for the use of the HYSPLIT model; citizen science observers Pedro Godofredo, Felipe Quispe, and Mateo Condori for taking daily precipitation measurements; Pedro Godofredo for permission to install a meteorological station; the Crispin family and Adrián Ccahuana for logistical support; and Appalachian State University summer study abroad students (2012–2014) for help servicing the Murmurani Alto station. Fabricio Avila provided technical support for instrumentation in Bolivia. The authors are grateful for the comments of two anonymous reviewers and for discussions with Ronnie Ascarza, Rimort Chavez, Doug Hardy, Christian Huggel, Paul Mayewski, Richard Poremba, Charles Rodda, and Simone Schwauwecker.
Funding
Funding supporting this research was provided by the Justin Brooks Fisher Foundation for field support in the Cordillera Vilcanota in 2012 and the National Science Foundation through Grant AGS-1347179 (CAREER: Multiscale Investigations of Tropical Andean Precipitation).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
L. Baker Perry
L. BAKER PERRY is Graduate Program Director and Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Planning at Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include orographic precipitation, snow and ice, and precipitation–glacier–climate interactions.
Anton Seimon
ANTON SEIMON is Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and Planning at Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include applying earth system modeling for conservation planning, isotopes in precipitation, and using crowd-sourcing to study tornadoes and other atmospheric phenomena.
Marcos F. Andrade-Flores
MARCOS F. ANDRADE-FLORES is Director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric Physics at University Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz, Bolivia. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include precipitation in the Andean region, aerosol transport into both the free troposphere and Andean glaciers, and the effects of such transport onto glacier surfaces.
Jason L. Endries
JASON L. ENDRIES is a graduate student and researcher in the Department of Geography and Planning at Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608. E-mail: [email protected]. Precipitation processes are his primary research interest, including signatures of precipitation in radar and orographic influences.
Sandra E. Yuter
SANDRA E. YUTER is a Professor in the Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include winter storms, marine clouds, and orographic precipitation.
Fernando Velarde
FERNANDO VELARDE is a physical meteorologist working as a researcher in the Laboratory for Atmospheric Physics at the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz, Bolivia. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include aerosol–cloud interactions, human health related to aerosol exposure, climate change, remote sensing, and extreme atmospheric events.
Sandro Arias
SANDRO ARIAS is a hydrometeorological researcher in the National Meteorology and Hydrology Service of Peru, Cusco, Peru. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include mountain hydrology, glacial retreat, water ecosystem services, and citizen science.
Marti Bonshoms
MARTI BONSHOMS is a meteorologist at the National Meteorology and Hydrology Service of Peru and co-investigator in the CRYOPERU 144–2015 Project. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include atmospheric circulation and association impacts on snow and ice, glacier–climate interactions, and weather forecasting.
Eric J. Burton
ERIC J. BURTON is an undergraduate student in the Department of Geography and Planning at Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include synoptic climatology and climate–glacier interactions.
I. Ronald Winkelmann
I. RONALD WINKELMANN is an associate researcher in the Atmospheric Physics Laboratory at the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Pa, Bolivia. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include atmospheric electricity, lightning, and precipitation.
Courtney M. Cooper
COURTNEY M. COOPER is a PhD Student and NSF-IGERT Fellow in the Water Resource Program at the University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83843. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include water resource management, participatory research methods, and land conservation.
Guido Mamani
GUIDO MAMANI is the Information Technology Manager at the National Meteorology and Hydrology Service of Peru, Cusco, Peru. His research interests include climate change, radar meteorology, and computer science. E-mail: [email protected].
Maxwell Rado
MAXWELL RADO is Professor in the Department of Geography and member of the climate change scientific team at the Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abád del Cusco, Cusco, Peru. E-mail: [email protected]. His interests include orographic precipitation, snow and ice, precipitation–glacier–climate interactions, and adaptation to climate change.
Nilton Montoya
NILTON MONTOYA is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Agriculture at the Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abád del Cusco, Peru. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include glacier hydrology, water resources, and precipitation–glacier–climate interactions.
Nelson Quispe
NELSON QUISPE is Director of the Center for Weather Prediction Branch of the National Meteorology and Hydrology Service of Peru. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include synoptic meteorology and severe weather.