“大气河”研究进展回顾

Review on “Atmospheric River” Research

本文对“大气河”研究进展进行回顾,首先介绍了“大气河”一词的由来;“大气河”在不同地区的通俗名称;之后介绍“大气河”的结构;“大气河”的水汽来源等。重点介绍了太平洋东北部(北美洲西海岸)和欧洲地区“大气河”的特征;讨论了“大气河”对气候的影响,即对于一些较为干旱的地区来说,“大气河”输送水汽以利于产生降水,可以有效地解除当地的旱情。最后介绍了全球气候变化背景下的“大气河”特征。

In this paper,the research progress of“atmospheric river”was briefly reviewed based upon a number of papers.Firstly,the origin of the term“atmospheric river”and its popular names in different regions of the world were introduced.Secondly,the structures and the sources of water vapor of“atmospheric river”were presented.Thirdly,the characteristics of“atmospheric river”in major regions of the world,such as the Northeastern Pacific area(the western coast of North America)and the European area,were introduced.In addition,the influences of“atmospheric river”were discussed.As“atmospheric river”played dominant role in transporting water vapor globally,it may effectively reduce the local drought through transporting water vapor to facilitate considerable amount of precipitation in some arid areas.Finally,the“atmospheric river”under the background of global climate change was discussed.