Ecology

Data on Meteorology Reported by Researchers at University of Utah

  2012 JUL 13 (VerticalNews) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Ecology, Environment & Conservation -- A new study on Meteorology is now available. According to news originating from Salt Lake City, Utah, by VerticalNews correspondents, researchers stated "The position and variability of storm tracks across western North America are examined during the October-April cool seasons spanning 1989-2010. The location and intensity of storms are represented by strong synoptic-scale ascent, which is diagnosed by the alternative balance omega equation applied to ECMWF Re-Analysis Interim data."

  Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research by the authors from the University of Utah, "This dynamically filtered method removes poorly resolved updrafts arising from subsynoptic-scale phenomena such as convection and mountain waves. The resulting vertical motions are illustrated for the case of a strong storm traversing the western United States. Summary statistics of synoptic-scale ascent are compiled over months, seasons, and the entire 21-yr period. Locations exhibiting high mean values of ascent are deemed to represent storm tracks. The climatological-mean storm track exhibits a sinusoidal shape across the eastern Pacific and western North America. The composite evolution of strong storms moving along specific segments of the storm track show regional differences (e.g., storms poleward of 50 degrees N tend to result from progressive low-amplitude troughs progressing through the mean planetary ridge, while storms over the western United States are initiated by digging troughs that temporarily suppress the mean ridge). Seasonal shifts in the storm track are pronounced and exhibit coherent regional patterns. Interannual variations in synoptic-scale ascent indicate meridional shifts in position as well as changes in the degree of amplification within the dominant sinusoidal storm track."

  According to the news editors, the researchers concluded: "These changes in structure are related to the phase of ENSO: El Nino (La Nina) winters favor zonal (amplified) and southern (northern) storm tracks."

  For more information on this research see: The Climatology of Synoptic-Scale Ascent over Western North America: A Perspective on Storm Tracks. Monthly Weather Review, 2012;140(6):1761-1778. Monthly Weather Review can be contacted at: Amer Meteorological Soc, 45 Beacon St, Boston, MA 02108-3693, USA. (American Meteorological Society - www.ametsoc.org; Monthly Weather Review - www.ametsoc.org/pubs/journals/mwr)

  The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from N.P. Lareau, University of Utah, Dept. of Atmospher Sci, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, United States.

  Keywords for this news article include: Utah, Meteorology, United States, Salt Lake City, Climate Research, North and Central America

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