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Dynamic atmospheric mechanisms associated with the diurnal cycle of hydrometeors and precipitation in the Andes–Amazon transition zone of central Peru during the summer season

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Abstract

The diurnal cycle of total hydrometeor availability and its associated patterns of atmospheric circulation is studied over a connected Andes–Amazon (A–A) system in the central region of Peru during the summer season. Surface precipitation depends on the amount of hydrometeors that occur in the atmosphere and its atmospheric dynamics. Hydrometeors and the precipitation efficiency index were estimated using radar of the core satellite of the GPM system (N-GPM) for the period 2014–2022. The atmospheric dynamics were analyzed using the regional Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. According to the results, the Andes mountain range produces precipitation at a surface level more efficiently during the afternoon and early evening hours (12–19 LT) due to the convergence of the thermal mesoscale circulations transporting moisture fluxes from the east and west. Both generate convective multicells along the Andes mountain range. The circulation from the west intensifies during the day, causing the displacement of the chain of convective multicells towards the east and producing hydrometeors and intense precipitations in the inter-Andean valleys. The A–A transition zone is more efficient in producing precipitation during the early hours of the day (00–07 LT) due to an increase in the northern circulation associated with the low-level jets and a change in the magnitude of the horizontal winds. Northerly winds enter the A–A transition zone with increased intensity and leave with reduced intensity. This mechanism is driven by the effect of the topographical barrier and the masses of cold air located in high areas on the eastern flank of the Andes. These factors generate significant updrafts and, therefore, the formation of storm clouds with high concentrations of hydrometeors and precipitation on the surface.

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Acknowledgements

Simulation of the WRF model was done using computational resources from the Manati of Instituto de Investigación de la Amazonía Peruana (IIAP). Thanks to National Service of Meteorology and Hydrology of Peru (SENAMHI) for the rain gauge precipitation data. Thanks to the TAMYA project: ‘Impactos de la precipitación, registrados con un radar meteorológico, en los cuerpos glaciares Andinos: nevado Huaytapallana’ for the support with contract No. 082-2021-FONDECYT. This work is a part of the author’s PhD thesis titled ‘Procesos físicos que controlan la precipitación orográfica en los Andes tropicales de Perú’, doctoral program in water resources of University Nacional Agraria La Molina.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Nacional de Investigación en Glaciares y Ecosistemas de Montaña (INAIGEM), Lima, Peru

    Elver Villalobos-Puma, Daniel Martinez-Castro & Alexzander Santiago

  2. National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA

    Annareli Morales

  3. Instituto Geofísico del Perú (IGP), Lima, Peru

    Jairo Valdivia

  4. Instituto de Investigación de la Amazonía Peruana (IIAP), Dirección de Investigación de Información y Gestión del Conocimiento (GESCON), Iquitos, Peru

    Rodolfo Cardenas-Vigo

  5. Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina (UNALM), Programa de Doctorado en Recursos Hídricos, Lima, Peru

    Elver Villalobos-Puma & Waldo Lavado-Casimiro

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  1. Elver Villalobos-Puma
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  2. Annareli Morales
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Contributions

EVP: Conceptualization, methodology, software, writing – original draft preparation. AM: Investigation, writing – reviewing and editing. DMC: Validation, investigation, conceptualization. JV: Methodology, investigation, data curation. RCV: Investigation, validation, conceptualization. WLC: Investigation, validation. AS: Investigation, validation, software.

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Correspondence to Elver Villalobos-Puma.

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Communicated by Parthasarathi Mukhopadhyay

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Villalobos-Puma, E., Morales, A., Martinez-Castro, D. et al. Dynamic atmospheric mechanisms associated with the diurnal cycle of hydrometeors and precipitation in the Andes–Amazon transition zone of central Peru during the summer season. J Earth Syst Sci 133, 75 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-024-02278-3

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