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Anomalies of precipitable water vapour and vertical stability during El Nino
Author(s) -
Nanjundiah Ravi S.,
Srinivasan J.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/1998gl900254
Subject(s) - troposphere , precipitable water , climatology , water vapor , el niño , environmental science , geology , pacific ocean , oceanography , atmospheric sciences , geography , meteorology , medicine , surgery
The vertical stability of the troposphere has been shown to play an important role in the evolution of El Nino. The changes in vertical moist stability is correlated with changes in the precipitable water vapor. The precipitable water vapor in the east Pacific is larger than that in the west Pacific during El Nino events and hence the east Pacific is more unstable than the west Pacific. This promotes the formation of deep clouds and rainfall in the east Pacific instead of the west Pacific.