The Hadley Circulation: Present, Past and Future / Edition 1

by Henry F. Diaz, Raymond S. Bradley

Overview

Climate dynamicists generally characterize the Hadley circulation in terms of some derived meteorological parameters, such as the mass stream function (the nondivergent part of the flow) or the velocity potential (the divergent circulation), both of which are based on measurements of the three-dimensional wind field. Yet, we know very little about how such in- ces have varied in the past—beyond the most recent decades. Paleocli- tologists are unable to reconstruct such indices, so long-term reconstructions of the Hadley circulation must be based on indirect characteristics that can be in some way plausibly linked to the dynamics of the system. Rec- structed quantities, such as precipitation amount, position and strength of the trade winds, and the location of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), have all been derived from different types of paleoclimatic (proxy) data, and could be potentially useful in understanding key aspects of past variability in the Hadley system. While these studies all provide an important perspective on changes that have taken place within the Hadley circulation, there has been little - fort to tie individual studies together, to obtain a more comprehensive p- spective on the overall variability of the system. With this in mind, a thr- day meeting was held at the International Pacific Research Center, Ho- lulu, Hawaii, in November 2002. This was the first time that climatologists, paleoclimatologists, and modelers had met with the specific goal of exam- ing this important part of the climate system.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781402029431
Publisher:	Springer Netherlands
Publication date:	01/15/2005
Series:	Advances in Global Change Research , #21
Edition description:	2004
Pages:	511
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

The Role of the Hadley Cell in Atmospheric Circulation.- The Elementary Hadley Circulation.- Hadley Circulation Dynamics: Seasonality and the Role of Continents.- Changes in the Tropical Hadley Cell since 1950.- The Shape of Continents, Air-Sea Interaction, and the Rising Branch of the Hadley Circulation.- Year-to-Year Variability in the Hadley and Walker Circulations from NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis Data.- ENSO, Atlantic Climate Variability, and the Walker and Hadley Circulations.- The Hadley and Walker Regional Circulations and Associated ENSO Impacts on South American Seasonal Rainfall.- Variability of the Hadley Circulation in the Past.- The Pacific Sector Hadley and Walker Circulation in Historical Marine Wind Analyses: Potential for Reconstruction from Proxy Data.- Holocene Records of Rainfall Variation and Associated ITCZ Migration from Stalagmites from Northern and Southern Oman.- Evolution of the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool and Hadley-Walker Circulation since the Last Deglaciation.- Late Quaternary Hydrologic Changes in the Arid and Semiarid Belt of Northern Africa: Implications for Past Atmospheric Circulation.- Variability of the Marine ITCZ over the Eastern Pacific during the Past 30,000 Years: Regional Perspective and Global Context.- Mount Logan Ice Core Evidence for Changes in the Hadley and Walker Circulations Following the End of the \Little Ice Age.- Causes of Variability in the Hadley Circulation: Past and Future.- The Response of the Hadley Circulation to Climate Changes, Past and Future.- The Sensitivity of the Hadley Circulation to Past and Future Forcings in Two Climate Models.- Present-Day Climate Variability in the Tropical Atlantic: A Model for Paleoclimate Changes?.- Mechanisms of an Intensified Hadley Circulation in Response to Solar Forcing in the Twentieth Century.

Editorial Reviews

From the reviews:

"This book aims to address the nature and causes of variation in the Hadley circulation … . The great strength of this book lies in the combination of its three parts. It succeeds in combining 17 contributions from authoritative climatologists, palaeoclimatologists and modellers into a coherent volume. … Overall, this is a superb book, which should be on all university bookshelves. It will be of value to researchers and students over a broad range of climate-related disciplines." (Gerard van der Schrier, The Holocene, Vol. 16 (4), 2006)

From the Publisher