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Surface atmospheric circulation patterns and associated minimum temperatures in the Maipo and Casablanca valleys, central Chile

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Abstract

This paper analyzes the influence of circulation anomalies on the magnitude of minimum air temperature (T min) at a daily scale in two important agricultural valleys of Chile (Maipo and Casablanca) during the period 2001–2007. A statistical classification of synoptic fields was performed, resulting in eight circulation patterns (CPs, 84 % of explained variance). The corresponding anomalies of T min (ATmin) of each CP were analyzed in order to understand their synoptic-scale forcing mechanisms. Results showed a direct association between ATmin and the synoptic structure. The average weakening in sea level pressure (SLP) yields positive ATmin, while negative ATmin is associated with a strengthening in SLP. In the latter case, it was also found that a synoptic structure (10.2 % of frequency) corresponding to a migratory high-pressure system passing eastward across the Andes led to the lowest ATmin and a higher probability of frost in both valleys (22 % on average) in winter and springtime.

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Notes

  1. Indicates the number of SLP fields forming each CP.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Dirección Meteorológica de Chile and the Centro Nacional del Medio Ambiente (CENMA) for providing the temperature data and to David A. Rahn (DGF-UCh) for the linguistic support. Authors are grateful to Gabriela V. Müller and an anonymous reviewer for valuable comments that improved the manuscript. The first author acknowledges the technological consortium Tecnovid S.A. (grant 05CTE02-12) for the financial support of this research, as part of a Master's degree in Meteorology and Climatology at the University of Chile.

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  1. Carlo Montes

    Present address: Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Aridas (CEAZA), Casilla 599, La Serena, Chile

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Geofísica, Universidad de Chile, Av. Blanco Encalada 2002, Santiago, Chile

    Carlo Montes & Ricardo C. Muñoz

  2. Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales y Recursos Naturales Renovables, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 1004, Santiago, Chile

    Jorge F. Perez-Quezada

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  1. Carlo Montes
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  2. Ricardo C. Muñoz
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Correspondence to Carlo Montes.

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Montes, C., Muñoz, R.C. & Perez-Quezada, J.F. Surface atmospheric circulation patterns and associated minimum temperatures in the Maipo and Casablanca valleys, central Chile. Theor Appl Climatol 111, 275–284 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-012-0663-5

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