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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS,
VOL. 32,
L09808,
4 PP., 2005
doi:10.1029/2004GL022295
Suppression of deep convection over the tropical North Atlantic by the Saharan Air Layer
Earth System Sciences Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
Earth System Sciences Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
The effects of the dust-laden Saharan Air Layer (SAL) on the occurrence of deep convection over the eastern and central tropical North Atlantic Ocean off-shore of the African continent during August–September 2002 are investigated. We show that the SAL is associated with suppressed convection in this region. To determine the possible cause of the suppressed convection, the thermodynamic structure and dust content of the SAL are investigated. We find that the SAL is associated with warmer and dryer air below 700 hPa with the largest temperature anomalies located around 850 hPa. This warm and dry air layer raises the lifting condensation level and level of free convection, and increases the energetic barrier to convection that leads to reduced occurrence of deep convection.
Received 22 December 2004; accepted 12 April 2005; published 12 May 2005.
Citation: (2005), Suppression of deep convection over the tropical North Atlantic by the Saharan Air Layer, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L09808, doi:10.1029/2004GL022295.
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