On the continuity and distribution of water substance in atmospheric circulations

The authorʹs studies of distributions of atmospheric water in relation to air circulations are reviewed and summarized here. These studies began in the 1950ʹs during student days at M.I.T. and at the Weather Radar Branch, Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories. They were extended during 1961–1963 at the Travelers Research Center, Hartford, Connecticut, with encouragement and support from Helmut Weickmann, then a principal scientist at the U.S. Army Signal Research and Development Laboratory, Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. The authorʹs work on this subject was substantially completed at the National Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, Oklahoma. udies show the nature of probable connections among distributions of water vapor, cloud, rain, and snow with vertical and horizontal winds, divergence of the wind, compressibility of the atmosphere, and the strength and distribution of various microphysical processes. The findings also aid interpretation of observations and they offer lessons for efforts toward artificial augmentation of precipitation.