The present work reports a diagnostic study on the vertical structure of air temperature, dew point temperature and relative humidity over the region of Belém-PA (eastern Amazon), based on monthly dataset for a period of 26 years (1982 to 2007). The focus is on the transition period from dry to wet season in the eastern Amazon, i.e., the month of November. Two contrasting composites in relation to the rainfall regime were considered: the wet and the dry year's composites, which were established objectively by the percentiles method. The results showed that the main difference observed in the temperature and humidity profiles, comparing dry and wet years, occurs in the atmospheric layer between the middle and upper levels of the troposphere (between the patterns level from 700 hPa to 400 hPa). In this layer, the difference between air temperatures and dew point is significantly higher and the contrast of moisture associated with convection also shows the highest values. In general, the compositions showed that the temperature profiles anomalously warmer (cold) and the moisture profiles anomalously wetter (dry) are associate to the years of rainfall above (below) of normal in the region of Belém-PA.
Temperature profiles; Precipitation; Percentiles; Belém-PA
