Seasonal Variations in the Vertically Integrated Water Vapor Transport Fields over the Southern Hemisphere

Abstract

Abstract Seasonal mean fields of precipitable water and the zonal and meridional components of the vertically integrated atmospheric water vapor transport fields are calculated from five years of Southern Hemisphere data (1 September 1973 through 31 August 1978). Data are the product of a numerical analysis procedure developed and implemented by Australian Numerical Meteorological Research Centre and are in the form of 47 × 47 matrices superimposed on a polar stereographic projection. Values of the mixing ratio and the u and v components of the wind are available at four levels between 1000 and 500 mb. Primary emphasis is directed toward examining the seasonal variations in the moisture transport fields. Large seasonal differences in precipitable water and in the zonal and meridional fluxes are found, most notably between summer and winter. Summer season, subtropical meridional water vapor fluxes exceed those in winter by a factor of 2. A seasonal asymmetry is noted in the fields of W and Qλ in which th...