Claros et al. (2025) Moisture Sources of Precipitation Using Convection‐Permitting Simulations: A Study Over South America

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Geophysical Research Letters
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-11-30
• Authors: Erick Claros, Francina Domínguez, Changhai Liu
• DOI: 10.1029/2025gl118806

Research Groups

[Information not available in the provided abstract.]

Short Summary

This study compares precipitation moisture sources over the Amazon Basin using convection-permitting (CPM) and non-CPM WRF simulations, revealing significant differences. It then introduces a revised, computationally efficient 2L-DRM model that accurately replicates CPM moisture source estimates, enabling broader climatological analyses across South America.

Objective

• To compare precipitation moisture sources over the Amazon Basin using convection-permitting and non-convection-permitting WRF simulations with moisture tracers.
• To identify and quantify differences in moisture source estimates between CPM and non-CPM approaches.
• To develop a computationally efficient, revised 2L-DRM model capable of replicating CPM-with-tracers estimates using only standard model outputs.
• To apply the developed 2L-DRM model to analyze precipitation moisture sources across multiple regions in South America.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Amazon Basin, central Andes, South America (15 regions), continental-scale.
• Temporal Scale: 1-year simulations.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: WRF (Convection-Permitting Model - CPM, and non-CPM configurations), revised 2L-DRM (two-layer moisture recycling model).
• Data sources: Moisture tracers within WRF simulations, standard model outputs for 2L-DRM.

Main Results

• Significant differences were found in precipitation moisture sources over the Amazon Basin between CPM and non-CPM WRF simulations.
• The CPM estimated that approximately 50% of precipitation in the central Andes originates from the Amazon basin, which is 20% to 30% higher than non-CPM estimates.
• A revised 2L-DRM model was developed that successfully replicates CPM-with-tracers estimates at a significantly reduced computational cost.
• The 2L-DRM model was applied to South America, providing an analysis of precipitation moisture sources across 15 distinct regions.

Contributions

• Demonstrates the substantial impact of convection-permitting resolution on estimates of precipitation moisture sources, particularly over complex regions like the Amazon Basin and central Andes.
• Introduces a novel, computationally efficient 2L-DRM model that effectively bridges the gap between high-resolution CPM moisture tracer studies and large-scale climatological analyses.
• Provides a practical solution to overcome the prohibitive computational cost of long-term, continental-scale CPM simulations with tracers for moisture source attribution.
• Offers a tool applicable to other regions as continental-scale CPM climatological simulations become more available, facilitating broader understanding of atmospheric moisture transport.

Funding

[Information not available in the provided abstract.]

Citation

@article{Claros2025Moisture,
  author = {Claros, Erick and Domínguez, Francina and Liu, Changhai},
  title = {Moisture Sources of Precipitation Using Convection‐Permitting Simulations: A Study Over South America},
  journal = {Geophysical Research Letters},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1029/2025gl118806},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1029/2025gl118806}
}