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Atmospheric water vapor in Earth's upper troposphere
October 27, 1997
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.
For more information, please visit the TOPEX/Poseidon project
web page at
http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov/
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