Temporal and spatial variability of precipitation (P), evaporation (E), and moisture balance (P-E; precipitation minus evaporation) has been investigated over the tropical ocean during the period from January 1998 to July 2001. Our data were analyzed by the EOF method using the satellite P and E observations made by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar (PR) and the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I). This analysis has been performed for two three-year periods as follow; The first period which includes the El Niño in early 1998 ranges from January 1998 to December 2000, and the second period which includes the La Niño events in the early 1999 and 2000 (without El Niño) ranges from August 1998 to July 2001. The areas of maxima and high variability in the precipitation and in the P-E were displaced from the tropical western Pacific and the ITCZ during the La Niño to the tropical middle Pacific during the El Niño, consistent with those in previous P studies. Their variations near the Korean Peninsula seem to exhibit a weakly positive correlation with that in the tropical Pacific during the El Niño. The evaporation, out of phase with the precipitation, was reduced in the tropical western Pacific due to humid condition in boreal summer, but intensified in the Kuroshio and Gulf currents due to windy condition in winter. The P-E variability was determined mainly by the precipitation of which the variability was more localized but higher by 2-3 times than that of evaporation. Except for the ITCZ (0-10˚N), evaporation was found to dominate precipitation by ∼2 mm/day over the tropical Pacific. Annual and seasonal variations of P, E, and P-E were discussed.

• Yoo, Jung-Moon
• Lee, Hyun-A | Lee, Hyun-A