Exploring the Source Regions and Paths of Atmospheric Moisture, and the
Associated Atmospheric-Land Interactions that Promote High Humidity
During Extreme Heat Events in the Northeast United States
Abstract
Over the last several decades, heat waves have notably increased in
frequency, intensity, and duration in the United States. Studies have
credited these trends to a warming climate, and therefore, it is
expected that extended periods of consistent and abnormally hot
temperatures will continue to occur through the 21st
century. Heat waves alone can have harmful impacts on the human body,
but when coupled with high humidity, these events can become especially
threatening. While other studies have assessed the human health effects
of extreme humid heat waves, this study aims to determine the source
region and pathway of air parcels during these events, while also
understanding the land-surface processes that amplify and dampen the
amount of atmospheric moisture present as an air parcel reaches a target
region. Through the use of the Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian
Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model, atmospheric moisture exchanges
and concentrations are analyzed for the three days prior to a humid heat
wave at Boston, MA, Burlington, VT, Albany, NY, and Philadelphia, PA,
between June and August of 1980-2019. Four major source regions are
identified as being largely responsible for the atmospheric moisture
present during heat waves across these cities: the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf
of Mexico, Great Lakes, and terrestrial evapotranspiration from the
Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. Geographical
location and proximity to water of each city has a notable influence on
source region and number of humid heat waves occurring throughout the
period of study. At Boston and Philadelphia, the two leading sources of
moisture are the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, while at Burlington
and Albany, the Great Lakes and terrestrial evapotranspiration are more
dominant. Stark differences are also noted between the source regions
and trajectories of humid versus dry heat waves at a given location.
Examining the sources and paths of air parcels leading up to extreme
heat events, as well as analyzing the atmospheric-land interactions that
take place during that time, will provide a comprehensive understanding
into the importance of a given moisture source region on a particular
location, and how a warming climate may ultimately alter the degree to
which a source region is responsible for atmospheric moisture in the
future.