Representatives of the scientific community, including University of California atmospheric scientist Weiming Ma, have developed a new method for tracking the «celestial rivers» in real time, using the created 3D wind landscape.
This information was reported in Science Alert, reports URA-Inform.
They found that spatial temperature distribution data obtained from satellites could be used to generate an approximate three-dimensional wind field in real time. By combining this data with information on moisture detected by NASA satellites, it was possible to visualize the global distribution of moisture fluxes.
The study found that the bulk of celestial moisture is transported across latitudes by atmospheric rivers moving towards the poles. These rivers are a significant contributor to precipitation, accounting for up to 30% of annual precipitation in the United States and Europe, and up to 40% during the wet season in East Asia.
Moreover, over the past 40 years, the jet stream has been flowing over North America has shifted north, and the frequency of atmospheric rivers over the eastern United States has increased.
Atmospheric rivers, which form primarily over tropical oceans, can pose hazards through damaging winds and flooding.
Additionally , they influence the variability of sea ice, contributing to its melting, which, according to scientists, has led to record low sea ice levels at both poles over the past few years.
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