Global Atmospheric Water Vapor during Hurricane Frances (WMS)

  • Released Wednesday, July 27, 2005
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Water vapor is a small but significant constituent of the atmosphere, warming the planet due to the greenhouse effect and condensing to form clouds which both warm and cool the Earth in different circumstances. Warm, moisture-laden air moving out from the tropics brings rainfall to the temperate zones. This animation shows the atmospheric water vapor for the whole globe from September 1, 2004, through September 5, 2004, during the period of Hurricane Frances in the western Atlantic Ocean and Typhoon Songda in the western Pacific Ocean. The band of water vapor over the tropics is the intertropical convergence zone, where converging trade winds and high temperatures force large amounts of water high into the atmosphere. Both Hurricane Frances and Typhoon Songda exhibit significant spiral bands of high water vapor.

Legend for the atmospheric water vapor.

Legend for the atmospheric water vapor.



Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

Release date

This page was originally published on Wednesday, July 27, 2005.
This page was last updated on Sunday, August 4, 2024 at 10:00 PM EDT.


Series

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Datasets used

  • Global Atmospheric Water Vapor [fvGCM]

    ID: 381
    Type: Model Sensor: fvGCM Collected by: NASA Dates used: 2005-09-01T03:00 -- 2005-09-05T24:00

Note: While we identify the data sets used on this page, we do not store any further details, nor the data sets themselves on our site.