Bivariate conditional sampling of moisture flux over a tropical ocean.

Abstract

New applications of conditional sampling using the bivariate joint frequency distribution (JFD) and conditional mean distribution (CMD) are introduced to analyze time series of water vapor flux obtained from aircraft gust-probe vertical velocity and water vapor data collected during free convective conditions in the Atlantic trade winds. The JFD can provide estimates of fractional time as well as mean and variance estimates for the four ways vertical velocity/moisture fluctuations can combine (up-moist, up-dry, down-moist, down-dry). These combinations were interpreted using a subcloud layer model consisting of upward and downward moving convective cells and a mixing zone between them. -from Author