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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: The relationship between water vapor path W and surface precipitation rate P over tropical oceanic regions was analyzed using 4 yr of gridded daily SSM/I satellite microwave radiometer data.
Abstract: The relationship between water vapor path W and surface precipitation rate P over tropical oceanic regions is analyzed using 4 yr of gridded daily SSM/I satellite microwave radiometer data. A tight monthly mean relationship P (mm day21) 5 exp[11.4(r 2 0.522)] for all tropical ocean regions and seasons is found between P and a column-relative humidity r obtained by dividing W by the corresponding saturation water vapor path. A similar relation, albeit with more scatter, also holds at daily time scales, and can be interpreted as a moisture adjustment time scale of 12 h for convective rainfall to affect humidity anomalies on 300-km space scales. Cross-spectral analysis shows statistically significant covariability of actual and r-predicted precipitation at all frequencies, with negligible phase lag. The correlation of actual and r-predicted precipitation exceeds 0.5 on intraseasonal and longer time scales. The SSM/I retrievals of W and P are found to be skillful even at daily time scales when compared with in situ radiosonde and radar-derived area-averaged precipitation data from Kwajalein Island, but the microwave estimates of daily P scatter considerably about the radar estimates (which are considered to be more reliable). Using the radar-derived precipitation in combination with microwave-derived W yields a daily r‐P relationship at Kwajalein similar to that derived solely from microwave measurements, but with somewhat less P associated with the highest values of r. This emphasizes that the absolute calibration of the r‐P relationship is somewhat dependent on the datasets used to derive r and especially P. Nevertheless, the results provide a useful constraint on conceptual models and parameterizations of tropical deep convection.

595 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors decomposed local extreme precipitation projections into thermodynamic and dynamic contributions to improve understanding while thermodynamics alone uniformly increase extreme precipitation, dynamical processes introduce regional variations.
Abstract: Regional projections of daily extreme precipitation are uncertain, but can be decomposed into thermodynamic and dynamic contributions to improve understanding While thermodynamics alone uniformly increase extreme precipitation, dynamical processes introduce regional variations

594 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the main features of the spatial and temporal variations of stable isotope ratios of oxygen and hydrogen in precipitation and atmospheric moisture at the global scale are presented based on the analysis of limited data on water vapour, data obtained by the Global Network for Isotopes in Precipitation IGNIP) and the few observations at high latitudes.
Abstract: The stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen incorporated in the water molecule ( 18 O and 2 H) have become an important tool not only in Isotope Hydrology, routinely applied to study the origin and dynamics of surface and groundwaters, but also in studies related to atmospheric circulation and palaeoclimatic investigations. A proper understanding of the behaviour of these tracers in the water cycle is required for a meaningful use of these tools in any of these disciplines. Our knowledge of the vertical distribution and the factors controlling the stable isotope ratios of oxygen and hydrogen in atmospheric moisture derives from a limited number of observations and vertical profiles in the atmosphere. An international programme jointly operated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and operational since 1961. has resulted in the development of a dedicated database to monitor isotope ratios in precipitation in more than 500 meteorological stations world-wide. The main features of the spatial and temporal variations of stable isotope ratios of oxygen and hydrogen in precipitation and atmospheric moisture at the global scale are presented based on the analysis of limited data on water vapour, data obtained by the Global Network for Isotopes in Precipitation IGNIP) and the few observations at high latitudes.

593 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined tropical regional precipitation anomalies under global warming in 10 coupled global climate models, and found that the thermodynamic component should be a good approximation for large-scale averages; this is confirmed for averages across convection zones and descent regions, respectively.
Abstract: Examining tropical regional precipitation anomalies under global warming in 10 coupled global climate models, several mechanisms are consistently found. The tendency of rainfall to increase in convergence zones with large climatological precipitation and to decrease in subsidence regions—the rich-get-richer mechanism—has previously been examined in different approximations by Chou and Neelin, and Held and Soden. The effect of increased moisture transported by the mean circulation (the “direct moisture effect” or “thermodynamic component” in respective terminology) is relatively robust, while dynamic feedback is poorly understood and differs among models. The argument outlined states that the thermodynamic component should be a good approximation for large-scale averages; this is confirmed for averages across convection zones and descent regions, respectively. Within the convergence zones, however, dynamic feedback can substantially increase or decrease precipitation anomalies. Regions of negative...

591 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jan 1982-Nature
TL;DR: In an East Mediterranean marine core, the upper sapropel begins soon after the start of a global event, a very heavy precipitation which occurred in the equatorial latitudes during the late Glacial-early Holocene as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In an East Mediterranean marine core, the upper sapropel begins soon after the start of a global event—a very heavy precipitation which occurred in the equatorial latitudes during the late Glacial–early Holocene. This heavy precipitation in Africa, channelled by the Nile River across 35° of latitude, produced a low-salinity surface layer in the East Mediterranean. In this confined basin, with high bottom salinity, the steep salinity gradient stratified the water column. The stagnant bottom waters triggered the sapropel formation. Cretaceous sapropels in the tropical oceans may result from the same chain of events in warm, humid climates, with contrasting wet-and-dry seasonal rhythm.

588 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