Abstract ID: 31

Cloud streets and forest ecosystem interaction with the atmosphere

Cloud streets are common phenomena in the Amazon. They are produced by the combination between the easterly trade winds and the wet convection. In this study, satellite images, hydro-meteorological data, and numerical modeling are used to understand the interactions between the cloud streets dynamics and the forest ecosystem. The study is performed at the Caxiuanã Forest region where several data has been collected under the LBA scientific program, and where a new site was design for observing the ecosystem biodiversity under the PPBio program. Satellite images show the presence of cloud streets all over the year at the Caxiuanã region. Meteorological data collected during the Caxiuanã Observations in the Biosphere, River and Atmosphere of Pará (COBRA-PARA) suggest the presence of atmospheric vortices aligned horizontally along the trade winds and the cloud streets. High resolution numerical modeling shows that the vortices are anchored by the presence of large water surfaces such as the Caxiuanã Bay and the Amazon River, establishing the spatial patterns of surface fluxes of heat, moisture and other gases. The presence of cloud streets controls also the pattern of radiation reaching the surface and the location of the warm plumes. It reveals important spatial features of the atmospheric dynamics that are fundamental for vegetation photosynthesis, birds moving, and the local ecosystem.

Session:  Biodiversity - Modeling biodiversity, present and future. (A)

Presentation Type:  Oral