HR: 08:00h
AN: U41B-01 INVITED     [Abstracts]
TI: Drought Studies For Mexico
AU: * Magana, V
EM: victormr@servidor.unam.mx
AF: Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México, Centro de Ciencias de la Atmosfera, UNAM Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City, DF 14200, Mexico
AB: Drought constitutes one of the major threats for a number of socioeconomic sectors in Mexico. Meteorological drought occurs in various temporal and spatial scales that range from a few weeks in the tropical Mexico to decades in northern Mexico. Historically, these long term droughts have had a negative impact, not only in economic activities, but in the lives of Mexicans as well. In general, short term droughts over central southern Mexico are related to El Niño conditions. However, drought may also occur when an anomalously low number of easterly waves reach the Caribbean and Mexico. El Niño and easterly wave activity may be related by the intensification of the Caribbean Low Level Jet. However, the role of this form of transient activity as a drought trigger in Mexico has not been explored in depth. The present analysis explores the possibility of more than one form of forcing to explain drought in Mexico on various spatial and temporal scales, as well as in various regions. Such approach to the study of drought may prove useful to diagnose why certain general circulation models are unable of reproducing drought patterns over Mexico.
DE: 1616 Climate variability (1635, 3305, 3309, 4215, 4513)
DE: 1620 Climate dynamics (0429, 3309)
SC: Union [U]
MN: 2007 Joint Assembly