MELBOURNE, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Researchers in Australia have identified and tracked weather systems that collectively contribute more to rainfall across the tropics than tropical cyclones, offering new insights into how tropical rain may change as the Earth warms up.
The study used more than three decades of satellite observations from 1984 to 2016 to identify and track so-called moisture modes, relatively slow-moving weather systems that organize tropical thunderstorms and rainfall over several days, and examine their contribution to tropical rainfall, according to a statement released Wednesday by Australia's Monash University.
The findings, published in the journal Weather and Climate Dynamics, could help fill a longstanding gap in meteorology, the statement said.
Researchers from Monash University developed a method to treat these systems as identifiable objects, allowing them to examine their movement, speed and lifespan.
The findings showed that moisture modes are particularly important near the northern and southern margins of the humid tropics, including regions near tropical Australia. In some areas, they were associated with 45 to 75 percent of extreme three-hourly rainfall.
As the atmosphere warms and holds more moisture, moisture modes could amplify, or more weather systems could develop into moisture modes, the researchers said, adding that the findings could help better understand how the Australian monsoon or extreme rainfall may change as the climate warms. ■