Mapping the Climatology of 0-1 hour Convective Initiation over Central America for Assessing Tropical Forest Rainfall Trends

摘要

Infrared fields from geostationary satellite are analyzed towards mapping the climatology of cumulus cloud frequency and growth over Central America. Data at 1 × 1 km resolution are analyzed, with maps showing a close association of convective initiation events with mesoscale flows, and to land-surface features (e.g., tropical forest locations, topography). Ongoing analyses will involve quantifying these results for relationships between forest coverage and cumulus cloud frequency, convective initiation occurrence and surface rainfall, and eventually changes in rainfall over time as a function of long-term (-10-20 years) convective cloud mapping from satellite.