(Invited talk) Orographic precipitation in the tropics: The Dominica experiment

Mountainous Dominica in the eastern Caribbean is a natural laboratory for orographic precipitation in the tropics. With little diurnal cycle, forced ascent of conditionally stable air triggers frequent shallow convection and precipitation, totaling nearly seven meters per year. We hypothesize that incoming humidity fluctuations contribute to the triggering. After a three-year preliminary research phase with radar, satellite and rain gauges, a more focused phase with the Wyoming King Air took place from April 4 to May 8, 2011. We will report the preliminary findings from this project. (project website: http://domex2011.com/)