Research about Atmospheric Rivers

ARs involve the coupled evolution of water vapor and wind. Previous AR theories often separated these components, limiting their explanatory power. I developed a unified dynamic framework based on a prognostic equation for Integrated Vapor Kinetic Energy (IVKE) (Ong & Yang, 2024). This framework quantifies the contributions of vapor and wind processes to AR dynamics. IVKE budget analysis shows that AR growth is fueled by potential-to-kinetic energy conversion, decay is driven by condensation and turbulence, and eastward drift arises mainly from horizontal advection. This work enhances our ability to understand and predict AR-related hydrologic extremes.