Part 4 - The global distribution of precipitation
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 October 2009
Summary
Concern over climate change has generated the need for accurate information on the distribution of precipitation in space and time for climate model evaluation, for the analysis of observed climate change compared with natural variability, and for generating scenarios for climate change impact studies. The information is also important for understanding the hydrological balance on a global scale. The latent heat released upon condensation into clouds is an important energy source in the atmosphere (see Chapter 4), and knowledge of the distribution of precipitation helps in improving weather and climate models.
Raingauge and satellite datasets are the subject of Chapter 12, while Chapter 13 looks at what the datasets tell us about the means and trends in global precipitation. Chapter 14 reviews what the datasets reveal about the variability and extremes of precipitation.
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- PrecipitationTheory, Measurement and Distribution, pp. 229 - 230Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006