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Necessary conditions for radiative–dynamical instability of quasigeostrophic waves induced by trace shortwave radiative absorbers are derived. The analysis pivots on a pseudomomentum conservation equation that is obtained by combining conservation equations for quasigeostrophic potential vorticity, thermodynamic energy, and trace absorber mixing ratio. Under the assumptions that the absorber-induced diabatic heating rate is small and the zonal-mean basic state is hydrodynamically neutral, a perturbation analysis of the pseudomomentum equation yields the conditions for instability. The conditions, which only require knowledge of the zonally averaged background distributions of wind and absorber, expose the physical processes involved in destabilization—processes not exposed in previous analytical and modeling studies of trace absorber-induced instabilities. The simplicity of instability conditions underscores their utility as a tool that is both interpretive and predictive. The conditions for instability, which have broad application to synoptic-scale waves in Earth's and other planetary atmospheres, are discussed in light of previous instability studies involving stratospheric ozone and Saharan mineral dust aerosols. 

The scale-dependent transport of Saharan dust aerosols by African easterly waves (AEWs) is examined analytically and numerically. The analytical analysis shows that the meridional and vertical wave transports of dust are modulated by the Doppler-shifted frequency, ωd, and the wave growth rate, ωi, both of which are functions of the zonal wave scale. The analytical analysis predicts that the AEW dust transports, which are driven by the Reynolds stresses acting on the mean dust gradients, are largest for the twin limits: ωd→0, which corresponds to flow near a critical surface, a local effect; and ωi→0, which corresponds to the slowest growing waves, a global effect. The numerical analysis is carried out with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, which is radiatively coupled to the dust field. The model simulations are based on an AEW spectrum consistent with observations. The simulations agree with the theoretical predictions: the slowest growing waves have the strongest transports, which are as much as ~40% larger than the transports of the fastest growing wave. Although the transports are highly scale-dependent, largely due to the scale dependence of ωi, the location of the critical surface and thus the location of the maximum dust transports are not. 

Theory and modeling are combined to reveal the physical and dynamical processes that control Saharan dust transport by amplifying African easterly waves (AEWs). Two cases are examined: active transport, in which the dust is radiatively coupled to the circulation; passive transport, in which the dust is radiatively decoupled from the circulation. The theory is built around a dust conservation equation for dust-coupled AEWs in zonal-mean African easterly jets. The theory predicts that, for both the passive and active cases, the dust transports will be largest where the zonal-mean dust gradients are maximized on an AEW critical surface. Whether the dust transports are largest for the radiatively passive or radiatively active case depends on the growth rate of the AEWs, which is modulated by the dust heating. The theoretical predictions are confirmed via experiments carried out with the Weather Research and Forecasting model, which is coupled to a dust conservation equation. The experiments show that the meridional dust transports dominate in the passive case, while the vertical dust transports dominate in the active case. 

The relationship between El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the transatlantic slave trade (TAST) is examined using the Slave Voyages dataset and several reconstructed ENSO indices. The ENSO indices are used as a proxy for West African rainfall and temperature. In the Sahel, the El Niño (warm) phase of ENSO is associated with less rainfall and warmer temperatures, whereas the La Niña (cold) phase of ENSO is associated with more rainfall and cooler temperatures. The association between ENSO and the TAST is weak but statistically significant at a 2-yr lag. In this case, El Niño (drier and warmer) years are associated with a decrease in the export of enslaved Africans. The response of the TAST to El Niño is explained in terms of the societal response to agricultural stresses brought on by less rainfall and warmer temperatures. ENSO-induced changes to the TAST are briefly discussed in light of climate-induced movements of peoples in centuries past and the drought-induced movement of peoples in the Middle East today.

The transatlantic slave trade was driven by economic and political forces, subject to the vagaries of the weather; it spanned two hemispheres and four continents and lasted more than 400 years. In this study we show that El Niño–Southern Oscillation, and its proxy association with West African rainfall and temperature, are significantly associated with the number of enslaved Africans that were transported from West Africa to the Americas. Lessons learned from the effects of weather and climate on the transatlantic slave trade reverberate today: extreme weather and climate change will continue to catalyze and amplify human conflict and migrations.

 

A low‐level barrier jet (LLBJ) formed along the northeast slope of the Tibetan Plateau on March 17, 2010. The LLBJ was accompanied by a major dust event. Numerical simulations conducted with the Weather Research and Forecasting dust (WRF‐dust) model show that the formation of the LLBJ was primarily due to mid‐level, southeastward descent of high momentum air, which impinged on the north slope of the Tibetan Plateau, resulting in ageostrophic flow acceleration under geostrophic adjustment. The LLBJ was reinforced by the Bernoulli effect, where the physical barrier associated with the Tibetan Plateau to the southwest and the virtual barrier associated with sloped, packed isentropic surfaces to the northeast combined to constrict the air flow, thus augmenting the acceleration of the air as it entered the Hexi Corridor. The simulations show that the LLBJ, which stayed close to the western entrance of the Hexi Corridor, gradually descended during the daytime until early evening. During this period, the core of the LLBJ stayed directly above the 302‐K isentropic surface. The LLBJ, which was located to the south of the main dust plume, was modulated by dust radiative heating and cooling. Over the main dust plume, as well as in the LLBJ region, radiative heating of the dust warmed the upper part of the boundary layer and cooled it below, which stabilized the boundary layer, decreased the boundary layer depth, and reduced the vertical mixing, causing the surface winds to weaken. As a consequence of the feedback between the circulation and the dust radiative forcing, the total dust emission was reduced by ∼9.7–11% and peaked 1–2 hr earlier than without dust radiative effects, while the LLBJ's intensity, which was 1–2 m·s⁻¹stronger, was better maintained within the boundary layer during the daytime until early evening.