Continental moisture recycling as a Poisson process


Contact
helge.goessling [ at ] awi.de

Abstract

On their journey over large land masses, water molecules experience a number of precipitation–evaporation cycles (recycling events). We derive analytically the frequency distributions of recycling events for the water molecules contained in a given air parcel. Given the validity of certain simplifying assumptions, the frequency distribution of recycling events is shown to develop either into a Poisson distribution or a geometric distribution. We distinguish two cases: in case (A) recycling events are counted since the water molecules were last advected across the ocean–land boundary. In case (B) recycling events are counted since the water molecules were last evaporated from the ocean. For case B we show by means of a~simple scale analysis that, given the conditions on earth, realistic frequency distributions may be regarded as a mixture of a Poisson distribution and a geometric distribution. By contrast, in case A the Poisson distribution generally appears as a reasonable approximation. This conclusion is consistent with the simulation results of an earlier study where an atmospheric general circulation model equipped with water vapor tracers was used. Our results demonstrate that continental moisture recycling can be interpreted as a Poisson process.



Item Type
Article
Authors
Divisions
Primary Division
Programs
Primary Topic
Publication Status
Published
Eprint ID
34312
DOI 10.5194/hess-17-4133-2013

Cite as
Goessling, H. F. and Reick, C. H. (2013): Continental moisture recycling as a Poisson process , Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, (17), pp. 4133-4142 . doi: 10.5194/hess-17-4133-2013


Download
[thumbnail of Goessling2013b.pdf]
Preview
PDF
Goessling2013b.pdf

Download (306kB) | Preview
Cite this document as:

Share
Add to AnyAdd to TwitterAdd to FacebookAdd to LinkedinAdd to PinterestAdd to Email


Citation

Research Platforms
N/A

Campaigns
N/A


Actions
Edit Item Edit Item