Water and Energy Budgets

Part 1: The atmospheric component of the Hydrological Cycle.

Part 1. The atmospheric component of the Hydrological Cycle

Figure 1: The atmospheric component of the Hydrologic Cycle for the United States during summer.

Figure 2: The annual cycle of the atmospheric components of the Hydrological Cycle for the Mississippi River Basin and selected subbasins.

Part 2. The Low-level Jet

Figure 3: Warm season evolution of the meridional moisture flux at 30° N

Figure 4: (a) Cross section of the summer meridional moisture flux at 30° N; (b) Amplitude of the diurnal cycle of moisture flux.

Figure 5: (a) 3-h time series of meridional wind at100° W, 30° N during July 1997; (b) Same for the meridional moisture flux.
Note the persistence of the LLJ, with maxima almost every night.

Figure 6: Diurnal cycle of (a) meridional wind and (b) meridional moisture flux at 30° N and 880 hPa during summer.

Figure 6cont.: Diurnal cycle of (c) meridional wind and (d) meridional moisture flux at 100° W, 30° N during summer.

Figure 7: Diurnal cycle of the moisture flux convergence averaged over the Mississippi River Basin during summer.
Note that the nighttime maximum is consistent with the nighttime maximum of precipitation.

Part 3. Land surface energy budgets