Attribution of regional precipitation changes
Changes in regional precipitation can result in costly droughts and floods, and predicting these changes has always been a high priority to both the public and scientific communities. A reliable prediction of regional precipitation changes requires a thorough and comprehensive understanding of the associated physical processes. Among these processes, atmospheric and oceanic processes have been extensively studied, and yet debates still remain, especially in terms of their relative contributions—an aspect that matters for the long-term predictability of regional precipitation changes.
In this work, I aim to quantify the relative contributions of atmospheric and oceanic processes to North American precipitation variability. I will first demonstrate the atmospheric control on the spatiotemporal characteristics of large-scale precipitation variability over North America. Then I will present a new pathway via which tropical oceans affect North American precipitation. This new pathway implies potential long-term predictability for North American precipitation, motivating my ongoing work on tropical climate dynamics.
