Tropical rainfall comprises more than two thirds of global rainfall. It is the primary distributor of heat through the circulation of the atmosphere. Understanding rainfall and its variability is crucial to understanding and predicting global climate change. Our current knowledge of rainfall knowledge is limited, especially over the oceans. These new instruments are increasing knowledge of how rainfall releases heat energy to drive the air circulation.
Global rainfall is the primary distributor of heat through atmospheric circulation.
El Nino serves as a perfect example of the atmospheric circulation changes that can result from a displacement of the normal precipitation patterns in the central Pacific. More precise information about this rainfall and its variability is crucial to understanding and predicting global climate and climate change. Tropical rain systems such as typhoons, hurricanes and monsoons produce floods worldwide. Composed of bands of thunderstorms, spiraling in toward the center, it often produces torrential rains. Hurricanes are products of the tropical ocean and atmosphere.