THE INTERBASIN TRANSPORT OF ATMOSPHERIC MOISTURE EVALUATED FROM NCEP/NCAR REANALYSIS DATA^*

With the objective of providing a relatively accurate and complete diagram,the global scale interbasin transport of atmospheric moisture on the basis of the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data for the period 1980 to 1994 is evaluated.The results show that the net zonal vapor flux for the Pacific,the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans is 0.25 Sv,-0.68 Sv and-0.29 Sv respectively.The marking differences in the zonal moisture budget among individual basins are speculated as the reason that dominates the differences in the salinity between the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans.Though current evaluation on the net zonal moisture flux for the Atlantic basin is generally in qualitative agreement with the previous estimate,quantitative discrepancy is found to exist.According to current statistics,the tropical easterlies carry water vapor of 0.43 Sv from the Atlantic basin across Central America into the Pacific,and the northern westerliesal low water vapor of 0.25 Sv to escape from the Pacific.Quantitative analyses also reveal that the seasonal variation of net zonal vapor flux for the Pacific and the Indian Oceans is stronger than that for the Atlantic,which may be favorable for the maintenance of high salinity feature of the Atlantic Ocean.