High sensitivity of tropical precipitation to local sea surface temperature.

ABSTRACT: Precipitation and atmospheric circulation are the coupled processes through which tropical ocean surface temperatures drive global weather and climate^1-5. Local sea surface warming tends to increase precipitation, but this local control is difficult to disentangle from remote effects of conditions elsewhere. As an example of such a remote effect, El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events in the equatorial Pacific Ocean alter precipitation across the tropics. Atmospheric circulations associated with tropical precipitation are predominantly deep, extending up to the tropopause. Shallow atmospheric circulations^6-8 affecting the lower troposphere also occur, but the importance of their interaction with precipitation is unclear. Uncertainty in precipitation observations

SUBMITTER: Good P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7855375 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature