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| Fig. 1 Photo credit: Marty Ralph |
A storm of words brings us Atmospheric Rivers (AR) sometime in the 1990's, El Nino who knows when, and then King Tides in 2009.
Yep, word salads:
"A satellite image of an atmospheric river striking the Pacific Northwest on
November 7, 2006. This event produced about 25 inches of rain in three days. Warm colors in the image represent moist air and cool colors denote dry air. The horizontal band of red and purple at the bottom of the image is the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), a normally moist area that some of the strongest ARs can tap into, as happened in this case."
(Atmospheric Rivers: Harbors for Extreme Winter Precipitation, cf. Fig. 1). The following comparison adds perspective:
"Atmospheric rivers carry much more water, as vapor, than the Earth’s largest terrestrial rivers—like the Amazon and Mississippi, often leading to extreme precipitation, damage, and even the loss of lives. For instance, atmospheric rivers are responsible for more than 80 percent of flooding across the US west coast" ... [Atmospheric rivers also impact sea level change by impacting the Arctic and Antarctic] "amplifying surface warming year-round by 54 percent ..."
(NSIDC). Eighty percent of flooding ... so, that leaves 20 percent for 'King Tides' and 'El Ninos'?
Global Warming induced climate change is a simpler concept isn't it (Good Nomenclature: A Matter of Life and Death)?
The previous post in this series is here.
