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Recent Rainfall Trends on the Margins of the Subtropical Deserts: A Comparison of Selected Northern Hemisphere Regions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Roger Byrne ,
Orman Granger  and
John Monteverdi
Roger Byrne
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720
Orman Granger
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720
John Monteverdi
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Science, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California 94132
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Abstract

An analysis of recent (1898–1972) seasonal rainfall data from California (winter) and Mexico (summer) provides no evidence of an inverse relationship such as has been reported by Winstanley for climatically analogous areas of Eurasia and Africa. However, California and Old World winter rain trends have been remarkably similar during this time period. Also, summer rain in northwestern Mexico (Mazatlan) correlates highly with winter rainfall in southern California (San Diego) when allowance is made for a 7-year lag. Winstanley suggested that the expansion and contraction of the circumpolar vortex is a primary control of rainfall trends on the margins of the subtropical deserts. The alternative proposed here is that, at least on this time scale, variations in the longitudinal position of troughs and ridges in the upper air westerlies are more important.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 17 , Issue 1 , January 1982 , pp. 14 - 25
Copyright
University of Washington

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