Atmospheric Water Vapor Divergence

After reviewing the nature and derivation of the northern hemisphere water vapor divergence data published by Starr and Peixoto (1958), the author presents a new and more detailed analysis of the divergence field. The relation between the atmospheric moisture divergence and the terrestrial branch of the hydrologic cycle is examined in the light of the geology and physiography of many regions which are associated with marked moisture divergence maxima and minima. The relation between the moisture divergence over the seas and the water budget of the sea surface is considered in a new treatment of the empirically derived correlation between salinity and moisture divergence, resulting in a new formula for the zonal mean salinity as a function of the zonal mean divergence. The latitudinal variation of the landward transport of oceanic moisture is calculated and is the first estimate ever made of this quantity. Finally, the implications of the latent heat transported by moisture are discussed in relation to the formulation of numerical models of the general circulation.

This book is the standard reference based on roughly 20 years of research on atmospheric rivers, emphasizing progress made on key research and applications questions and remaining knowledge gaps. The book presents the history of atmospheric-rivers research, the current state of scientific knowledge, tools, and policy-relevant (science-informed) problems that lend themselves to real-world application of the research—and how the topic fits into larger national and global contexts. This book is written by a global team of authors who have conducted and published the majority of critical research on atmospheric rivers over the past years. The book is intended to benefit practitioners in the fields of meteorology, hydrology and related disciplines, including students as well as senior researchers.

Atmospheric Water Vapor contains the technical proceedings of the International Workshop on Atmospheric Water Vapor held in Vail, Colorado, on September 11-13, 1979. The papers assess the state-of-the-art in measurement, modeling, and application of atmospheric water vapor properties and highlight important problems that require further effort in order to better understand the atmosphere itself as well as the electromagnetic propagation through the atmosphere. Comprised of 39 chapters, this book begins with a discussion on the optics and spectroscopy of water vapor. Some actual spectra showing the problems specific to the water molecule are described, along with the method used to calculate precise vibration-rotation energy levels and wave functions. Atmospheric infrared transmission measurements in maritime locations are also presented. Subsequent sections explore microwave and millimeter wave phenomena; geoastrophysical applications; and in situ measurements, remote sensing, and meteorology of water vapor. The final chapters deal with the microphysics and atmospheric chemistry of water vapor. This monograph will be of interest to scientists from universities, government agencies, research laboratories, and industry.

The book examines surface rainfall processes through cloud-resolving modeling and quantitative analysis of surface rainfall budget and summarizes modeling and analysis results in recent seven years. The book shows validation of precipitation modeling against observations and derives a set of diagnostic precipitation equations. The book provides detailed discussions of the applications of precipitation equations to the examination of effects of sea surface temperature, vertical wind shear, radiation, and ice clouds on torrential rainfall processes in the tropics and mid-latitudes, and to the studies of sensitivity of precipitation modeling to uncertainty of the initial conditions and to the estimate of precipitation efficiency. The book can be used as a text book for graduate students and will be beneficial to researchers and forecasters for precipitation process studies and operational forecasts.

This is an updated and revised second edition of the book presenting new developments in the field of cloud-resolving modeling. The first edition of the book introduces the framework of cloud-resolving model, methodologies for analysis of modeling outputs, and validation of simulations with observations. It details important scientific findings in the aspects of surface rainfall processes, precipitation efficiency, dynamic and thermodynamic processes associated with tropical convection, diurnal variations, radiative and cloud microphysical processes associated with development of cloud clusters, air-sea coupling on convective scales, climate equilibrium states, and remote sensing applications. In additional to the content from the first edition of the book, the second edition of the book contains the new scientific results in the development of convective-stratiform rainfall separation scheme, the analysis of structures of precipitation systems, the thermal effects of doubled carbon dioxide on rainfall, precipitation predictability, and modeling depositional growth of ice crystal. The book will be beneficial both to graduate students and to researchers who do cloud, mesoscale and global modeling.

A quantitative introduction to atmospheric science for students and professionals who want to understand and apply basic meteorological concepts but who are not ready for calculus.

Now in paperback, this book has succeeded in its aim to introduce the global climate problem and the complex processes and interactions which play a part in climatic change to a wide range of scientists working in climatic research or the related fields of meteorology, oceanography, glaciology and hydrology. It is centred around the World Climate Research Programme, an international enterprise jointly sponsored by the scientific community (through the International Council of Scientific Unions) and the national weather centres (through the World Meteorological Organisation). If progress is to be made in understanding climatic change, it is necessary to observe and understand all components of the climate system and the interactions between them. This book is particularly relevant to many contemporary climatic problems and to the two most important questions arising tom them: to what extent can changes in climate be predicted; and what is the extent of man's influence on climate. The Global Climate answers these questions, showing how the important processes may be -observed, evaluated and modelled by computer.