Publication Abstracts

Naud et al. 2026

Naud, C.M., R. Luna Niño, D.J. Posselt, J.A. Crespo, and A. Gershunov, 2026: Does convection in atmospheric rivers at genesis impact precipitation production later in their lifecycle? Clim. Dyn., early on-line, doi:10.1007/s00382-026-08241-w.

Using 10 years of Global Precipitation Measurement estimates of precipitation rates and types, combined with an Atmospheric River (AR) database, the occurrence of convection during early AR development is explored. A compositing approach, centered on the point of maximum Integrated Vapor Transport (IVT) along the ARs' main axis, is introduced to average the observed characteristics of the ARs. With this maximum IVT centered perspective, IVT is strongest to the west, but precipitation rates are largest to the east and poleward of the composite center. This is because mean precipitation rates and frequency align with the region of maximum ascent. Precipitation intensity, however, tends to be largest west of the maximum IVT point, and so is convective fraction. ARs tend to have larger precipitation intensity and convective fraction during the developing phase, with mean precipitation rates (including non-precipitating times) and IVT peaking later in life. Selecting ARs based on the convective fraction early in life, ARs with relatively higher amounts of convection tend to have larger IVTs and precipitation rates throughout the AR full lifecycle than ARs with lower rates of convection occurrence. This is consistent with prior work that demonstrated the impact of latent heat release on AR moisture transport. The observations confirm that high convection activity is associated with high IVT ARs and provide a constraint and evaluation tool for numerical experiments.

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BibTeX Citation

@article{na03700v,
  author={Naud, C. M. and Luna Niño, R. and Posselt, D. J. and Crespo, J. A. and Gershunov, A.},
  title={Does convection in atmospheric rivers at genesis impact precipitation production later in their lifecycle?},
  year={2026},
  journal={Climate Dynamics},
  doi={10.1007/s00382-026-08241-w},
}

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RIS Citation

TY  - JOUR
ID  - na03700v
AU  - Naud, C. M.
AU  - Luna Niño, R.
AU  - Posselt, D. J.
AU  - Crespo, J. A.
AU  - Gershunov, A.
PY  - 2026
TI  - Does convection in atmospheric rivers at genesis impact precipitation production later in their lifecycle?
JA  - Clim. Dyn.
JO  - Climate Dynamics
DO  - 10.1007/s00382-026-08241-w
ER  -

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