J7.4
Characterizing Aerosol Forcing Spatial Patterns and Climatology Trends Impact on Monthly Precipitation Rates During the Monsoon Season in Manila, Philippines

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Wednesday, 5 February 2014: 2:15 PM
Room C114 (The Georgia World Congress Center )
Kar’retta N. Venable, Howard University, Washington, DC; and V. Morris

Characterizing Aerosol Forcing Spatial Patterns and Climatology Trends Impact on Monthly Precipitation Rates During the Monsoon Season in Manila, Philippines

Kar'retta Venable and Vernon Morris

Howard University Program for Atmospheric Sciences

Ph.D. Fellow

ABSTRACT

Manila, serves as the Philippines capital of Luzon, and is located in the northern archipelago of the islands. Faced with complex topography and regional urbanized air pollution, aerosol forcing can create zones of localized flooding within Metropolitan Manila. Since cloud and precipitation formation are based upon the availability and physical properties of particulates suspended within the atmosphere and the available liquid water path (lwp), it is important to examine local pollutants forcing on the lwp within this urbanized-metropolis to determine spatial trends in rainfall rates. This metropolitan region is also faced with urban pollution from South China during the reversal of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) after the onset which provides additional aerosols within the metropolis. Since typhoon season in the Philippines typically occurs during the months of June through December and also coincides with the duration of the Western North Pacific Summer Monsoon (WNPSM), it is critical to better characterize aerosol forcing on precipitation. This study will enhance prediction and model guidance of atmospheric physical processes for heavy precipitation occurrences in an urban metropolis. This study will address spatial patterns and climatology trends in monthly rainfall rates and the impact of localized aerosol forcing during the typhoon season in Manila. Images acquired from the 3B-43 Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) from NASA and aerosol forcing data retrieved from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra Version 5.1 mapped for the months associated with the onset of the WNPSM from 2000 to 2012. With the use of GIS and statistical analysis, variations in monthly precipitation rates and aerosol forcing will be discussed to depict significant changes in climatology and spatial trends for localized rainfall events to improve accuracy precipitation and flood forecasting within Manila.