Spatial and Temporal Variability of the Three-Dimensional Flow around African Easterly Waves

Abstract

This study presents a large-scale trajectory analysis of African easterly waves (AEWs) across West Africa and the eastern Atlantic. Back trajectories were initialized at multiple pressure levels from in and around the vortex center of the AEW troughs to reveal the source regions of environmental inflow. The trajectory analysis highlights a changing influence of environmental air on AEW troughs. Over West Africa, monsoonal flow dominates with source regions of air from the southwest and east to northeast influencing the trough. As the AEW troughs leave West Africa, flow from the northwest becomes increasingly important. Cluster analysis highlighted that the contribution of trajectories from the northwest increased as the AEW troughs move westward and that this cluster also had high variability in environmental characteristics. Correlation analysis of outgoing longwave radiation around the troughs with environmental characteristics 72 h earlier was conducted on 443 AEWs. This analysis reveals that the impact of the various source regions on convective activity within the AEW troughs is consistent with the cluster trajectory analysis. While the AEW troughs were over West Africa, convection was sensitive to midlevel equivalent potential temperature [Formula: see text] around the trough and to the northeast of the trough axis. Over the West African coast and Cape Verde basin, the correlation analysis captures the changing flow regime with sensitivity to [Formula: see text] west of the trough axis at midlevels and northwest at low levels. These results highlight that the cool and dry low-level northerly trade winds over the Canary and Cape Verde basin can be a crucial influence on AEWs as they leave West Africa.