Spatial and Temporal Variability of Rainfall in Eastern Amazon during the Rainy Season

• Published in: TheScientificWorld Vol. 2015; no. 2015; pp. 1 - 9
• Main Authors: Meira Filho, Luiz Gylvan, Cavalcanti de Moraes, Bergson, Barreiros de Souza, Everaldo, Batista da Silva Ferreira, Douglas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Publishing Corporation 01.01.2015; Hindawi Limited; Wiley
• Subjects: Analysis; Atlantic Ocean; Brazil; Climate; Eigenvectors; Environmental aspects; Meteorological satellites; Observations; Precipitation variability; Rain; Rain and rainfall; Seasons; South America; Time Factors; Time series; Tropical Climate; South America; Brazil; Atlantic Ocean; United States > US
• ISSN: 2356-6140; 1537-744X; 1537-744X
• DOI: 10.1155/2015/209783

Empirical orthogonal functions (EOF) and composites analysis were employed on pentad data in order to investigate the tropical atmospheric-ocean patterns over the Atlantic Ocean and the spatial-temporal characteristics of the rainfall in eastern Amazon during the peak of the rainy season (February to April). The EOF results evidenced that the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) is the main rainfall-producing system in eastern Amazon during the rainy season. Conditions associated with the southward SST gradient in the intertropical Atlantic formed the dynamic patterns that favored the position of the ITCZ to south of the equator, thus explaining the predominance of positive precipitation anomalies in eastern Amazon, especially in the state of Maranhão and northeastern Pará during the February and April months.