[Grad-postdoc-assn] ASP seminar on January 27th with Mike Alexander

[Karen McKinnon]

I forgot to mention that Mike's visit will take place at Mesa Lab. A
calendar invite for the talk will be forthcoming.

Cheers,
Karen

On Tue, Jan 12, 2016 at 5:51 PM, Karen McKinnon <mckinnon at ucar.edu> wrote:

> Dear NCAR post-docs,
>
> Our next ASP seminar will be on January 27th, when Mike Alexander
> <http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/people/michael.alexander/> will be visiting
> us from NOAA. Mike's interests are broad-ranging, including air-sea-ice
> interactions, ENSO and its teleconnections, heavy precipitation, and the
> impact of climate change on marine ecosystems. The title of his talk is *Moisture
> Sources for Heavy Precipitation in the Western US During Winter*, and the
> abstract is below.
>
> Mike is able to be with us for the day, beginning at 10:30. We will have
> lunch with him at 12:30, and his talk is at 2:00. A reminder that all ASPs
> should attend the lunch and talk if they are in town.
>
> If you'd like to chat with Mike one-on-one during his visit, send me an
> email, including any time preferences for your meeting.
>
> Cheers,
> Karen
>
> ----
>
> “Moisture Sources for Heavy Precipitation in the Western US During Winter”
>
> It is not obvious how the large volume of water necessary to sustain
> intense precipitation events in the intermountain west reach their
> destination given the distance from the moisture source in the Pacific and
> the complex topography that impedes the flow of moisture to that region.
> Since flow over mountain causes air to cool and thus hold less moisture,
> air parcels may take unique pathways to retain enough water to have intense
> precipitation events in states such as Arizona, Colorado, Idaho and Utah.
> In general, it would be useful for scientists and water mangers, to better
> understand the synoptic and climatic processes that influence heavy
> precipitation events in the US intermountain west (IMW).
>
> We investigate extreme precipitation events during winter and their
> relation to water vapor transport, in the US intermountain west (taken here
> to be between the Sierra Nevada/Cascade Mountains and the Continental
> Divide). We employ air-parcel trajectory analysis, empirical orthogonal
> function (EOFs) and self organizing maps (SOMs) of integrated water vapor
> transport (IVT) and synoptic analyses to determine the moisture pathways
> and the broader set of processes that result in these intense precipitation
> events.
>
> The results indicate that moisture originating from the Pacific that leads
> to extreme precipitation in the IMW during winter take distinct pathways
> and is influenced by gaps in the Cascade (Oregon-Washington), Sierra-Nevada
> (California) and Peninsula Mountains (southern California through Baja
> California). The moisture transported along these routes appears to be the
> primary source for heavy precipitation for the mountain ranges in the IMW.
> The synoptic conditions associated with the dominant IVT patterns include a
> trough ridge couplet at 500 hPa, with the trough located northwest of the
> ridge where the associated circulation funnels moisture from the
> west-to-southwest through the mountain gaps and into the IMW.
>
> We will also briefly examine how ENSO & climate change may impact moisture
> transport into the western US.
>
>
> --
> Karen McKinnon
> ASP post-doctoral fellow
> National Center for Atmospheric Research
> 1850 Table Mesa Dr., Boulder, CO, 80305
> (303) 497-1709
> http://people.fas.harvard.edu/~mckinnon/
>
>


-- 
Karen McKinnon
ASP post-doctoral fellow
National Center for Atmospheric Research
1850 Table Mesa Dr., Boulder, CO, 80305
(303) 497-1709
http://people.fas.harvard.edu/~mckinnon/
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