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Precipitation

About: Precipitation is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 32861 publications have been published within this topic receiving 990496 citations. The topic is also known as: rain & rainfall.


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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper reviewed recent progress in the understanding of the American monsoon systems and identified some of the future challenges that remain to improve warm season climate prediction, including new insights into moisture transport processes, description of the structure and variability of the South American low level jet, and resolution of the diurnal cycle of precipitation in the core monsoon regions.
Abstract: An important goal of the Climate Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR) research on the American monsoon systems is to determine the sources and limits of predictability of warm season precipitation, with emphasis on weekly to interannual time scales. This paper reviews recent progress in the understanding of the American monsoon systems and identifies some of the future challenges that remain to improve warm season climate prediction. Much of the recent progress is derived from complementary international programs in North and South America, namely, the North American Monsoon Experiment (NAME) and the Monsoon Experiment South America (MESA), with the following common objectives: 1) to understand the key components of the American monsoon systems and their variability, 2) to determine the role of these systems in the global water cycle, 3) to improve observational datasets, and 4) to improve simulation and monthly-to-seasonal prediction of the monsoons and regional water resources. Among the recent observational advances highlighted in this paper are new insights into moisture transport processes, description of the structure and variability of the South American low-level jet, and resolution of the diurnal cycle of precipitation in the core monsoon regions. NAME and MESA are also driving major efforts in model development and hydrologic applications. Incorporated into the postfield phases of these projects are assessments of atmosphere–land surface interactions and model-based climate predictability experiments. As CLIVAR research on American monsoon systems evolves, a unified view of the climatic processes modulating continental warm season precipitation is beginning to emerge.

719 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
06 Nov 1992-Science
TL;DR: This study indicates that long-term changes of isotopic composition of precipitation over mid-and high-latitude regions during the past three decades closely followed long- term changes of surface air temperature with the average 8180-temperature coefficient around 0.6 per mil per degree Celsius.
Abstract: Stable isotope ratios of oxygen ((18)O/(16)O) and hydrogen (D/H) in water have long been considered powerful indicators of paleoclimate. However, quantitative interpretation of isotope variations in terms of climate changes is hampered by a limited understanding of physical processes controlling the global isotope behavior. Analysis was conducted of time series of (18)O content (delta (18)O) of monthly precipitation and surface air temperature available through the International Atomic Energy Agency-World Meteorological Organization global network, "Isotopes in Precipitation." This study indicates that long-term changes of isotopic composition of precipitation over mid-and high-latitude regions during the past three decades closely followed long-term changes of surface air temperature with the average 8180-temperature coefficient around 0.6 per mil per degree Celsius.

716 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a Holocene Climate Atlas (HOCLAT) is presented based on carefully selected 10,000-year-long time series of temperature and humidity/precipitation, as well as reconstructions of glacier advances.

713 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Using satellite and aircraft observations, it is shown that clouds forming within desert dust contain small droplets and produce little precipitation by drop coalescence, suggesting a possible mechanism for the diminished rainfall.
Abstract: The effect of desert dust on cloud properties and precipitation has so far been studied solely by using theoretical models, which predict that rainfall would be enhanced. Here we present observations showing the contrary; the effect of dust on cloud properties is to inhibit precipitation. Using satellite and aircraft observations we show that clouds forming within desert dust contain small droplets and produce little precipitation by drop coalescence. Measurement of the size distribution and the chemical analysis of individual Saharan dust particles collected in such a dust storm suggest a possible mechanism for the diminished rainfall. The detrimental impact of dust on rainfall is smaller than that caused by smoke from biomass burning or anthropogenic air pollution, but the large abundance of desert dust in the atmosphere renders it important. The reduction of precipitation from clouds affected by desert dust can cause drier soil, which in turn raises more dust, thus providing a possible feedback loop to further decrease precipitation. Furthermore, anthropogenic changes of land use exposing the topsoil can initiate such a desertification feedback process.

706 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Abstract: [1] In this paper we summarize recent research in geocryological studies carried out on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau that show responses of permafrost to climate change and their environmental implications. Long-term temperature measurements indicate that the lower altitudinal limit of permafrost has moved up by 25 m in the north during the last 30 years and between 50 and 80 m in the south over the last 20 years. Furthermore, the thickness of the active layer has increased by 0.15 to 0.50 m and ground temperature at a depth of 6 m has risen by about 0.1° to 0.3°C between 1996 and 2001. Recent studies show that freeze-thaw cycles in the ground intensify the heat exchange between the atmosphere and the ground surface. The greater the moisture content in the soil, the greater is the influence of freeze-thaw cycling on heat exchange. The water and heat exchange between the atmosphere and the ground surface due to soil freezing and thawing has a significant influence on the climate in eastern Asia. A negative correlation exists between soil moisture and heat balance on the plateau and the amount of summer precipitation in most regions of China. A simple frozen soil parameterization scheme was developed to simulate the interaction between permafrost and climate change. This model, combined with the NCAR Community Climate Model 3.6, is suitable for the simulation of permafrost changes on the plateau. In addition, permafrost degradation is one of the main causes responsible for a dropping groundwater table at the source areas of the Yangtze River and Yellow River, which in turn results in lowering lake water levels, drying swamps and shrinking grasslands.

703 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
20237,839
202214,365
20212,302
20201,964
20191,942
20181,773