PIA01052: Microwave Limb Sounder/El Niño Watch - Water Vapor Measurement, October, 1997

Target Name: Earth Is a satellite of: Sol (our sun) Mission: Microwave Limb Sounder Spacecraft: Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite Instrument: Microwave Limb Sounder Product Size: 1517 samples x 1645 lines Produced By: JPL Producer ID: P49317 Addition Date: 1997-10-30 Primary Data Set: MICROWAVE_LIMB_SOUNDER_PAGE Full-Res TIFF: PIA01052.tif (2.984 MB) Full-Res JPEG: PIA01052.jpg (225.4 kB)

Original Caption Released with Image: This image shows atmospheric water vapor in Earth's upper troposphere, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) above the surface, as measured by the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) instrument flying aboard the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite. These data collected in early October 1997 indicate the presence of El Niño by showing a shift of humidity from west to east (blue and red areas) along the equatorial Pacific Ocean. El Niño is the term used when the warmest equatorial Pacific Ocean water is displaced toward the east. The areas of high atmospheric moisture correspond to areas of very warm ocean water. Warmer water evaporates at a higher rate and the resulting warm moist air then rises, forming tall cloud towers. In the tropics, the warm water and the resulting tall cloud towers typically produce large amounts of rain. The MLS instrument, developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, measures humidity at the top of these clouds, which are very moist. This rain is now occurring in the eastern Pacific Ocean and has left Indonesia (deep blue region) unusually dry, resulting in the current drought in that region. This image also shows moisture moving north into Mexico, an effect of several hurricanes spawned by the warm waters of El Niño. Image Credit: NASA/JPL