ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS: POTENTIAL INFLUENCE ON ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES AND METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA OVER THE TERRITORY OF UKRAINE

Abstract

The article presents an overview of publications on the atmospheric rivers (AR) issue. AR events in recent years have got more attention from researchers due to the association with extreme precipitation. Several parameters are used to identify AR event, such as integrated water vapor (IWV) and integrated water transport (IVT). Several approaches to identifying and tracking AR have been developed and mentioned in this article. The foreign experience regarding AR connection with the general circulation of the atmosphere was analyzed. Most of the research on AR are devoted to the Eastern North Pacific and the North Atlantic regions. The key role in the variation of AR occurrence over different areas of those two regions is given to the interaction of the atmospheric circulation patterns, such as Arctic Oscillation and the Pacific North American Oscillation in the North Pacific region, and in the North Atlantic by the Arctic and North Atlantic Oscillation. There also stable connections of the AR phenomenon with the El Niño –Southern Oscillation and the Madden — Julian Oscillation are noted. A significant part of the works is devoted to studying AR influence on pre- cipitation extremes. AR is typically associated with a low-level jet stream and is formed in the warm conveyor belt zone of a cyclone, mainly in extratropical latitudes. An overview of modern research on atmospheric moisture and the heavy precipitation formation conditions over the territory of Ukraine shows that the vast majority of scientific works are based on the series of individual cases, and therefore cannot give an answer to the question of the potential role of AR or moisture advection in the processes of precipitation formation on a regional scale in the climatic aspect. The relevance of studying the AR issue consists of three aspects: the connection of AR events with large-scale circulation; the role of AR in the transport of moisture at the macro- and mesoscale levels; the connection of the AR with extreme and dangerous meteorological phenomena, in particular, heavy precipitation.