A new mechanism explains changes in the probability distribution of tropical rainfall, which is not expected to change uniformly in a warming climate.
tropics
Examining the Structure of Tropical Cyclones’ Upper Levels
Unique observations used to examine the structure and mass balance of hurricanes’ top levels find that regions of high pressure violate the gradient wind balance.
Six New Satellites Watch the Atmosphere over Earth’s Equator
The FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 constellation, launched this June, will provide the most accurate data yet on tropical weather, climate, and space weather.
Tropical Forests May Have More Canopy Than Previously Thought
A rare attempt to directly estimate leaf area in a tropical African broadleaved forest suggests that there may be more tree foliage than previously estimated.
Tropical Corals Are Migrating Away from Warming Waters
In the first global assessment of its kind, researchers discovered that coral recruitment is declining globally and throughout the tropics while increasing in the subtropics.
The When and Where of Mesospheric Bores Revealed
In a new study, the enigmatic gravity waves were seen most frequently at equatorial latitudes and propagating from the winter to the summer hemisphere.
The Tropical Atmosphere’s Balancing Act
A new study finds that the tropical atmosphere maintains radiative-convective equilibrium as a whole, but not at smaller scales.
California Heat Waves Triggered by Pacific Thunderstorms
New link may offer 5-week lead time on predicting extreme heat in California’s fruit belt.
Precipitation in the Tropics: A New View
The first study to simultaneously investigate precipitation and cloud structures in tropical weather systems concludes observation systems significantly overestimate the height of raining clouds.
Ocean Warming Resumes in the Tropical Pacific
The discovery of a decadal El Niño–like state associated with shifts in the Pacific trade winds could have important implications for predicting sea level in future decades.