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ACI Avances en Ciencias e Ingenierías

SECTION B: LIFE SCIENCES

Vol. 17 No. 1 (2025)

Equatorial synoptic climatology. Case analysis of specific surface situations affecting continental Ecuador

DOI
https://doi.org/10.18272/aci.v17i1.2829
Submitted
October 17, 2022
Published
2025-01-29

Abstract

In mid-latitude countries, several catalogues have been developed to classify the synoptic situations typical of the region. However, research on the classification of synoptic situations in Tropical South America and Ecuador remains scarce. This study aims to analyze case studies regarding on the influence of the main climatological features of Tropical South America on Ecuador, including the Intertropical Convergence Zone, the Southeast Pacific High, the North Atlantic High, and the South Atlantic High, as well as the meteorological phenomena El Niño and El Veranillo del Niño. The objective is to develop a classification of specific surface synoptic situations affecting Ecuador. 

For the case studies, ERA-Interim atmospheric reanalyses from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts were processed and interpreted, considering horizontal wind components and surface air pressure for the years 1998, 2000, 2018, and 2019. Seven surface weather situations were examined based on the eight main wind rose directions, considering seasonal migration, average changes in the location and extent of climatological features, and the influence of major meteorological phenomena. Atmospheric pressure and surface wind vector maps of Tropical South America and continental Ecuador were generated, depicting some of the main synoptic surface advections affecting Ecuador’s coastal and eastern regions. As a result, a classification of surface synoptic situations for these regions is presented, based on the primary semi-permanent synoptic climatological features and the most representative meteorological phenomena of Tropical South America.     

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