An atlas of mean distribution of precipitable water vapour over the tropical Indian Ocean for the year 1979

Abstract

The monthly mean maps of the precipitable water (PW) over the tropical Indian Ocean are prepared using the data derived from the Nimbus 7 Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) sensor for the period January to December, 1979. The PW values have been derived by using both the horizontal and vertical polarization techniques. A detailed analysis has been carried out for the period May to September, 1979 to understand the various phases of the summer monsoon like onset, active, weak and withdrawl phases. Further, a comparison of the features of PW from Nimbus-7 SMMR with those obtained by Cadet (1983) from the TIROS-N soundings and the first GARP Global experiment (FGGE) has shown good agreement