88th Annual Meeting (20-24 January 2008)

Monday, 21 January 2008
The impact of dynamic vegetation on dust and Sahel precipitation
Exhibit Hall B (Ernest N. Morial Convention Center)
Andrea M. Sealy, NCAR, Boulder, CO; and N. Mahowald
In this study we examined the interaction of vegetation dynamics with desert dust and Sahel precipitation using an atmospheric general circulation model. Our simulations were conducted with the Community Atmosphere Model coupled with the Dynamic Global Vegetation Model (CAM/DGVM) forced either by observed sea surface temperature similar to the model configuration used for the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) or coupled with interactive SST from the Slab Ocean Model (SOM). Some cases of simulations included dust feedback, and other cases did not include dust feedback. Comparison of CAM/DGVM to uncoupled CAM simulations suggests that there is a response of precipitation and dust to dynamic vegetation. The interaction with and response of dust and precipitation to dynamic vegetation also appears to vary with observed SST forcing versus interactive SST.

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