Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3331
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3331
15 Nov 2024
 | 15 Nov 2024
Status: this preprint is open for discussion and under review for Weather and Climate Dynamics (WCD).

Saharan warm air intrusions in the Western Mediterranean: identification, impacts on temperature extremes and large-scale mechanisms

Pep Cos, Matias Olmo, Diego Campos, Raül Marcos-Matamoros, Lluís Palma, Angel G. Muñoz, and Francisco J. Doblas-Reyes

Abstract. Saharan warm intrusions are air masses that develop over the Saharan region and that get advected into surrounding regions, creating anomalous atmospheric situations in other regions. This paper focuses on the characteristics of these intrusions into the Western Mediterranean region (WMed) and their relationship with extreme temperatures in the neighbouring areas during the recent past (1959–2022). We describe and evaluate a methodology to identify Saharan air masses throughout the year and, consequently, a historical catalogue of intrusion events that reach the WMed is built. To identify which large-scale phenomena might be relevant for the formation of the intrusions, we first identify different intrusion types (IT) through a clustering procedure. Four different ITs are found, which discriminate the intrusions according to their longitudinal position over the Mediterranean region. Upper-tropospheric anomalies are linked to the onset of these events, in particular, an anomalous geopotential high over the intrusions region that slows down the upper-tropospheric circulation over northern Africa. These events are very relevant as they impact extreme temperatures throughout the year and account for a high percentage of the extreme temperature events recorded in the WMed and neighbouring regions in summer.

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Pep Cos, Matias Olmo, Diego Campos, Raül Marcos-Matamoros, Lluís Palma, Angel G. Muñoz, and Francisco J. Doblas-Reyes

Status: open (until 01 Jan 2025)

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  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3331', Anonymous Referee #1, 11 Dec 2024 reply
Pep Cos, Matias Olmo, Diego Campos, Raül Marcos-Matamoros, Lluís Palma, Angel G. Muñoz, and Francisco J. Doblas-Reyes

Model code and software

Sahara warm air intrusions identification Pep Cos https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13981589

Pep Cos, Matias Olmo, Diego Campos, Raül Marcos-Matamoros, Lluís Palma, Angel G. Muñoz, and Francisco J. Doblas-Reyes

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Short summary
This work presents the identification of Saharan warm air intrusions in the Western Mediterranean, which are the displacement of air masses formed over the Sahara desert toward the West of the Mediterranean region. We focus on the recent past and obtain a catalogue of intrusion days. The results show: the existence of different types of intrusions, important impacts on extremely high temperatures in the Mediterranean and Europe and the dynamic mechanisms that can onset these events.