Multi-scale subtropical controls on the position and intensity of the summertime West African heat low

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Joaquim G. Pinto, since 10/2013
• Subject Area: Atmospheric Science
• Term: from 2011 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 196756973

The over-arching scientific aim of this project is to better understand meteorological processes in the subtropics that impact on the position and intensity of the summertime West African heat low on time scales from convective (i.e., several hours) to intraseasonal (i.e., a few weeks). The proposed research will link the synoptic processes of Atlas lee cyclogenesis and cold air advection from the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea to the recently discovered intraseasonal heat low fluctuations. On convective time scales, the contribution of cold density currents, fed by thunderstorms over the Atlas Mountains, to the heat low ventilation at its northwestern edge will be quantified. Finally, a rigorous testing and quantification of the “Atlas/Hoggar pumping” hypothesis will be carried out. The analyses will benefit from access to data in the otherwise data-void west Saharan desert that are collected from the international Fennec field campaign in 2011. The other way around, the proposed further operation of five former GLOWA-IMPETUS Automatic Weather Stations through the end of 2011 will enrich the Fennec data base in a cost-efficient way. Given the important role the West African heat low plays in modulating rainfall in the Sahel, the project goal to achieve a more physically based interpretation of the recently discovered fluctuations of the heat low will help to advance our understanding of the West African monsoon, with important ramifications on the livelihood security of the West African people.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: United Kingdom
• Participating Person: Professor Dr. Peter Knippertz
• Ehemaliger Antragsteller: Professor Dr. Andreas Fink, Ph.D., until 10/2013