Olga C. Penalba

THE SOUTH AMERICAN LOW-LEVEL JET EXPERIMENT

Abstract Moisture is transported in South America westward from the tropical Atlantic Ocean to the Amazon basin, and then southward toward the extratropics. A regional intensification of this circulation to the east of the Andes Mountains is called the South American low-level jet (SALLJ), with the strongest winds found over eastern Bolivia. SALLJ is present all year and channels moisture to the La Plata basin, which is analogous to the better-known Amazon basin in terms of its biological and habitat diversity, and far exceeds the latter in its economic importance to southern and central South America in terms of hydroelectricity and food production. The relatively small SALLJ spatial scale (compared with the density of the available sounding network) has a limited understanding of and modeling capability for any variations in the SALLJ intensity and structure as well as its possible relationship to downstream rainfall. The SALLJ Experiment (SALLJEX), aimed at describing many aspects of SALLJ, was carried...

Performance of a multi-RCM ensemble for South Eastern South America

The ability of four regional climate models to reproduce the present-day South American climate is examined with emphasis on La Plata Basin. Models were integrated for the period 1991–2000 with initial and lateral boundary conditions from ERA-40 Reanalysis. The ensemble sea level pressure, maximum and minimum temperatures and precipitation are evaluated in terms of seasonal means and extreme indices based on a percentile approach. Dispersion among the individual models and uncertainties when comparing the ensemble mean with different climatologies are also discussed. The ensemble mean is warmer than the observations in South Eastern South America (SESA), especially for minimum winter temperatures with errors increasing in magnitude towards the tails of the distributions. The ensemble mean reproduces the broad spatial pattern of precipitation, but overestimates the convective precipitation in the tropics and the orographic precipitation along the Andes and over the Brazilian Highlands, and underestimates the precipitation near the monsoon core region. The models overestimate the number of wet days and underestimate the daily intensity of rainfall for both seasons suggesting a premature triggering of convection. The skill of models to simulate the intensity of convective precipitation in summer in SESA and the variability associated with heavy precipitation events (the upper quartile daily precipitation) is far from satisfactory. Owing to the sparseness of the observing network, ensemble and observations uncertainties in seasonal means are comparable for some regions and seasons.

Surface Circulation Types and Daily Maximum and Minimum Temperatures in Southern La Plata Basin

AbstractLa Plata basin is one of the most important agricultural and hydropower-producing regions in the world. Extreme climate events such as cold and heat waves and frost events have a significant socioeconomic impact. This work analyzes the influence of the surface circulation in southern South America on daily maximum temperature TMAX and daily minimum temperature TMIN in southern La Plata basin. A Z test for the comparison of mean values and a Kolmogorov–Smirnov test for the comparison of distributions of TMAX and TMIN associated with each circulation pattern were performed. Specific daily surface circulation types are found to contribute to TMAX and TMIN anomalies and to have a predominant occurrence in the development of the extreme temperature events in the region. The TMAX spatial response to the regional low-level circulation is more homogenous and extended than is the response of TMIN.

Spatio-temporal assessment of streamflow droughts over Southern South America: 1961–2006

This paper performed a streamflow drought climatology considering some of the most important rivers of Southern South America, a region highly vulnerable to climatic variations, based on the analysis of monthly streamflow records. The standardized hydrological drought index (SHDI) was used in order to depict the main characteristics of droughts—number of drought events, mean duration, and mean severity—over the period 1961–2006. Firstly, the suitability of this index based on the two-parameter gamma distribution was evaluated, considering that the use of the SHDI has been limited over the region. The regional aspects of streamflow droughts were identified through a clear relationship between drought frequency and its duration, indicating different temporal variations in streamflow records over the study area. Spatial patterns exhibit heterogeneous features in terms of streamflow drought severity and can be associated to the geographical characteristics of the basins. Observed trends in the SSI are in line with the increases in precipitation totals over the second half of the twentieth century over much of the study area. Nevertheless, drought conditions are observed more often in the basins south of 40°S, in line with recent trends in large-scale climatic oscillations. The streamflow drought characteristics can provide critical values for different water-based activities, as also information to develop strategic plans that are needed for adequate water resource management considering the different climatic features over Southern South America.

Study of homogeneity of precipitation in a region in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina

SummaryMonthly and annual climatic variabilities of precipitation were analyzed from a 60 years record of rainfall data at 10 measuring stations in the humid region of Argentina.Different statistical techniques were used to analyze the regional homogeneity of precipitation fields. Special structures and monthly trends were studied. Simple correlations of yearly precipitation at different locations were computed. Exponential functions relating cross-correlations and distances were determined through regression analysis.Monthly and annual rainfall show no evident signs of trends; aleatory processes are predominant in the whole region; and, correlation functions are independent of the direction of the vector connecting the stations.

Soil response to long-term projections of extreme temperature and precipitation in the southern La Plata Basin

Projected changes were estimated considering the main variables which take part in soil-atmosphere interaction. The analysis was focused on the potential impact of these changes on soil hydric condition under extreme precipitation and evapotranspiration, using the combination of Global Climate Models (GCMs) and observational data. The region of study is the southern La Plata Basin that covers part of Argentine territory, where rainfed agriculture production is one of the most important economic activities. Monthly precipitation and maximum and minimum temperatures were used from high quality-controlled observed data from 46 meteorological stations and the ensemble of seven CMIP5 GCMs in two periods: 1970–2005 and 2065–2100. Projected changes in monthly effective temperature and precipitation were analysed. These changes were combined with observed series for each probabilistic interval. The result was used as input variables for the water balance model in order to obtain consequent soil hydric condition (deficit or excess). Effective temperature and precipitation are expected to increase according to the projections of GCMs, with few exceptions. The analysis revealed increase (decrease) in the prevalence of evapotranspiration over precipitation, during spring (winter). Projections for autumn months show precipitation higher than potential evapotranspiration more frequently. Under dry extremes, the analysis revealed higher projected deficit conditions, impacting on crop development. On the other hand, under wet extremes, excess would reach higher values only in particular months. During December, projected increase in temperatures reduces the impact of extreme high precipitation but favours deficit conditions, affecting flower-fructification stage of summer crops.

Agrometeorological Statistics: More Introductory Issues and Cases

Cultivation of grain crops constitutes one of the most important agricultural activities in Argentina. They have been, and continue to be, subject to a wide scope of studies in the areas of economics, agronomics and agrometeorology. The agricultural activities involve a broad range of decision making in which various factors have significant influence. In this context, climate is a source of variability and risk, having in some situations a negative impact on agricultural activities. Therefore, it is necessary to assess the level of influence of temporal and spatial climate variability on crop yields. This evaluation is hampered by the complex quantification of the technological components intrinsically present in these activities.