WonderWeather system fact1,793 of 1,961

Atmospheric rivers are long, narrow corridors that transport immense amounts of water vapour, often delivering major rain or mountain snow when forced upward over land.

The river without a riverbed

Why it matters

The idea in context

The name is metaphor, but the transport is physical and enormous. Winds concentrate tropical and subtropical moisture into a moving ribbon; mountains lift the air, cool it and wring out rain or snow. Atmospheric rivers can refill reservoirs and build snowpack, or cause destructive floods—the same delivery system, judged by strength, duration and where it lands.

Türkçe

Aynı kart, başka bir dilde.

Atmosferik nehirler muazzam miktarda su buharı taşıyan uzun ve dar koridorlardır; kara üzerinde yükselmeye zorlandıklarında yoğun yağmur ya da dağ karı bırakabilir.

Yatağı olmayan nehir

Adı mecazdır; fakat taşınan su fiziksel ve devasadır. Rüzgârlar tropik ve subtropik nemi hareketli bir şeritte toplar; dağlar havayı yükselmeye zorlayıp soğutur, nemi yağmur ya da kar olarak boşaltır. Atmosferik nehirler rezervuar doldurup kar örtüsü kurabilir veya yıkıcı sele yol açabilir. Sonuç, sistemin gücüne, süresine ve karaya vurduğu yere bağlıdır.

Source trail

Read beyond the card.

Background reading: Atmospheric riverAttribution and context are revised when stronger evidence appears. Corrections are welcome through the editorial page.

Open in the iPhone app Editorial method

Next in the open archiveMilankovitch cycles—changes in orbital shape, axial tilt and wobble—alter the seasonal and geographic distribution of sunlight and help pace long-term glacial cycles.Q1845

Atmospheric rivers are long, narrow corridors that transport immense amounts of water vapour, often delivering major rain or mountain snow when forced upward over land.

The idea in context

Aynı kart, başka bir dilde.

Read beyond the card.

Keep following this thread.

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