Finding the origin and synoptic analysis of atmospheric rivers leading to precipitation in the western and northwestern regions of Iran

Abtahi, Vahideh; Jahanbakhsh, Saeed; Rostamzadeh, Hashem; Lashkari, Hasan

doi:10.22034/hyd.2023.58037.1705

Document Type : پژوهشی

Authors

¹ Ph.D. student Climatology, Faculty of Geographical Sciences. Tabriz, Iran

² . Professor of Climatology, Faculty of Geographical Sciences. Tabriz, Iran

³ Associate Professor of Climatology, University of Tabriz, Iran.

⁴ Professor, Department of Physical Geography, School of Earth Science, The University of Shahid Beheshti (SBU), Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22034/hyd.2023.58037.1705

Abstract

In global meteorological literature, atmospheric rivers are defined as long and narrow pathways of intense water vapor transport towards the polar regions in the middle latitudes, typically associated with low-level jet streams along the leading edge of extratropical cyclones. In this study, to identify the origins of the incoming atmospheric rivers to the study area, precipitation systems that occurred at more than half of the region's stations were selected. Then, using vertically integrated water vapor flux data from the east and north of the study area with a spatial resolution of 0.5 x 0.5 degrees, the magnitude of the water vapor flux was calculated. To calculate the magnitude of the flux, data including specific humidity and meridional and zonal winds at pressure levels from 1000 to 300 hPa were used. showed that these rivers have entered northwest and west of Iran from four moisture sources. The sources are the warm southern seas (the Sudan - Red Sea low-pressure pattern), the convergence zone region, the combined source of the Sudan low-pressure system and the Mediterranean circulation, and the Mediterranean Sea. Among these sources, the warm seas of Arabia and Oman and the Red Sea had the largest share in the incoming rivers to the region. These atmospheric rivers have been the strongest in terms of both temporal continuity and moisture flux. They first enter southwest Iran and then into the study area. The atmospheric rivers with the convergence zone source rank second in terms of their contribution to the region's precipitation.

Keywords

Main Subjects

water resources

References

Asakereh, H., Khoshakhlag, F., & shamohamadi, Z. (2017). Phase Extraction of Synoptic Patterns with Positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and its Impact on the Winter Precipitation in Iran. Hydrogeomorphology, 3(9), 113-137[In Parsin].

Akbary, M., Salimi, S., Hosseini, S. A., & Hosseini, M. (2019). Spatio‐temporal changes of atmospheric rivers in the Middle East and North Africa region. International Journal of Climatology, 39(10), 3976-3986.

Debbage, N., Miller, P., Poore, S., Morano, K., Mote, T., & Marshall Shepherd, J. (2017). A climatology of atmospheric river interactions with the southeastern United States coastline. International Journal of Climatology, 37(11), 4077-4091.

Dettinger, M. D., & Ralph, F. M. (2011). Tapash Das, Paul J. Neiman, and Daniel R. Cayan, 445-78.

Eckhardt, S., Stohl, A., Wernli, H., James, P., Forster, C., & Spichtinger, N. (2004). A 15-year climatology of warm conveyor belts. Journal of climate, 17(1), 218-237.

Esfandiari, N., & Lashkari, H. (2021). The effect of atmospheric rivers on cold-season heavy precipitation events in Iran. Journal of Water and Climate Change, 12(2), 596-611.

Gimeno, L., Nieto, R., Vázquez, M., & Lavers, D. A. (2014). Atmospheric rivers: A mini-review. Frontiers in Earth Science, 2, 2.

Guan B., Waliser DE. (2015). Detection of atmospheric rivers: Evaluation and application of an algorithm for global studies. Journal of Geophysical Research, 120(24), 12,514-12,535.

Kaspi, Y., & Schneider, T. (2013). The role of stationary eddies in shaping midlatitude storm tracks. Journal of the atmospheric sciences, 70(8), 2596-2613.

Kim, J., Moon, H., Guan, B., Waliser, D. E., Choi, J., Gu, T. Y., & Byun, Y. H. (2021). Precipitation characteristics related to atmospheric rivers in East Asia. International Journal of Climatology, 41, E2244-E2257.

Lakshmi, D. D., & Satyanarayana, A. N. V. (2019). Influence of atmospheric rivers in the occurrence of devastating flood associated with extreme precipitation events over Chennai using different reanalysis data sets. Atmospheric Research, 215, 12-36.

Lashkari, H., & Esfandiari, N. (2020). Identification and synoptic analysis of the highest precipitation linked to ARs in Iran. Journal of Spatial Analysis Environmental hazarts, 7(2), 187-206[In Parsin].

Lashkari, H., & Esfandiari, N. (2021). Synoptic and thermodynamic patterns of atmospheric rivers associated to heavy precipitation in the cold period of Iran. Journal of Natural Environmental Hazards, 10(29), 125-144[In Parsin].

Lashkari, H., Ghaeemi, H., Hojati, Z., & Amini, M. (2012). Synoptic Analysis of Heavy Precipitation in the Isfahan Province. Physical Geography Research Quarterly, 44(4), 99-116[In Parsin].

Lashkari, H., Jafari, M., & Mohammadi, Z. (2021). Why Does Precipitation Decrease in the South and Southwest of Iran in February Compared to Other Winter Months?. Geography and Environmental Planning, 32(3), 81-104[In Parsin].

Lashkari, H., Matkan, A., Azadi, M., & Mohammadi, Z. (2016). Synoptic analysis of Arabian subtropical high pressure and subtropical jet stream in shortest period of precipitation in south and south west of Iran. Environmental Sciences, 14(4), 59-74[In Parsin].

Lavers, D. A., & Villarini, G. (2015). The contribution of atmospheric rivers to precipitation in Europe and the United States. Journal of Hydrology, 522, 382-390.

Lavers, D. A., Allan, R. P., Wood, E. F., Villarini, G., Brayshaw, D. J., & Wade, A. J. (2011). Winter floods in Britain are connected to atmospheric rivers. Geophysical Research Letters, 38(23).

Liang, J., & Yong, Y. (2021). Climatology of atmospheric rivers in the Asian monsoon region. International Journal of Climatology, 41, E801-E818.

Mahoney, K., Jackson, D. L., Neiman, P., Hughes, M., Darby, L., Wick, G., ... & Cifelli, R. (2016). Understanding the role of atmospheric rivers in heavy precipitation in the southeast United States. Monthly Weather Review, 144(4), 1617-1632.

Mazidi, A., Koushki, H., & Nasr Azadani, M. (2012). A Synoptic Analysis of Higher-than 30 mm Rains from 2000 to 2005: The Case of Khoram Abad. Geographic Thought, 6(11), 1-33[In Parsin].

Miller, D. K., Hotz, D., Winton, J., & Stewart, L. (2018). Investigation of atmospheric rivers impacting the Pigeon River basin of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Weather and Forecasting, 33(1), 283-299.

Mohammadi, Z., Lashkari, H., & Mohammadi, M. S. (2021). Synoptic analysis and core situations of Arabian anticyclone in shortest period precipitation in the south and southwest of Iran. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 14, 1-18[In Parsin].

Montazeri, M. (2016). Statistical and Synoptic Analysis of the Rainfall-Run off in the Beheshtabad Basin. Hydrogeomorphology, 3(6), 137-159[In Parsin].

Nayak, M. A., Villarini, G., & Bradley, A. A. (2016). Atmospheric rivers and rainfall during NASA’s Iowa Flood Studies (IFloodS) campaign. Journal of Hydrometeorology, 17(1), 257-271.

Neiman, P. J., Ralph, F. M., White, A. B., Kingsmill, D. E., & Persson, P. O. G. (2002). The statistical relationship between upslope flow and rainfall in California's coastal mountains: Observations during CALJET. Monthly Weather Review, 130(6), 1468-1492.

Newell, R. E., Newell, N. E., Zhu, Y., & Scott, C. (1992). Tropospheric rivers?–A pilot study. Geophysical research letters, 19(24), 2401-2404.

Newman, M., Kiladis, G. N., Weickmann, K. M., Ralph, F. M., & Sardeshmukh, P. D. (2012). Relative contributions of synoptic and low-frequency eddies to time-mean atmospheric moisture transport, including the role of atmospheric rivers. Journal of climate, 25(21), 7341-7361.

Omidvar, K., Sepandar, N., & Shafiee, S. (2018). Synoptic and thermodynamic analysis of heavy precipitation in the Province of Kermanshah from October27 to 30, 2015. Scientific-Research Quarterly of Geographical Data (SEPEHR), 27(107), 237-252. [In Parsin].

Park, C., Son, S. W., & Kim, H. (2021). Distinct features of atmospheric rivers in the early versus late East Asian summer monsoon and their impacts on monsoon rainfall. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 126(7),1-20. e2020JD033537.

Ralph, F. M., Neiman, P. J., & Rotunno, R. (2005). Dropsonde observations in low-level jets over the northeastern Pacific Ocean from CALJET-1998 and PACJET-2001: Mean vertical-profile and atmospheric-river characteristics. Monthly weather review, 133(4), 889-910.

Ralph, F. M., Neiman, P. J., & Wick, G. A. (2004). Satellite and CALJET aircraft observations of atmospheric rivers over the eastern North Pacific Ocean during the winter of 1997/98. Monthly weather review, 132(7), 1721-1745.

Ramos, A. M., Trigo, R. M., Tomé, R., & Liberato, M. L. (2018). Impacts of atmospheric rivers in extreme precipitation on the European Macaronesian Islands. Atmosphere, 9(8), 325.

Salimi, S., & Saligheh, M. (2016). The effects of Atmospheric Rivers on Iran climate. Physical Geography Research Quarterly, 48(2), 247-264[In Parsin].

Sepandar, N., & Omidvar, K. (2021). Investigation of the Relation between South and Southwest Iran's Heavy Rainfall with Atmospheric Rivers (ARs). Jgs, 21 (61), 295-314[In Parsin].

Shadmani, N., Nasr Esfahani, M. A., & Ghasemi, A. (2018). Determination of humidity sources and accurate trajectory of moist air mass effective on heavy rainfalls in west and south of Iran (case study: flooding events of October and November 2015). Iranian Journal of Geophysics, 12(2), 50-63.

Sodemann, H., & Stohl, A. (2013). Moisture origin and meridional transport in atmospheric rivers and their association with multiple cyclones. Monthly Weather Review, 141(8), 2850-2868.

Stohl, A., Forster, C., & Sodemann, H. (2008). Remote sources of water vapor forming precipitation on the Norwegian west coast at 60 N–a tale of hurricanes and an atmospheric river. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 113(D5).

Zhu, Y., & Newell, R. E. (1994). Atmospheric rivers and bombs. Geophysical Research Letters, 21(18), 1999-2002.

Finding the origin and synoptic analysis of atmospheric rivers leading to precipitation in the western and northwestern regions of Iran

References

References

Volume 10, Issue 37 - Serial Number 37January 2024Pages 138-120

Volume 10, Issue 37 - Serial Number 37
January 2024
Pages 138-120