Diagnostic studies on atmospheric budgets of water and energy based on aerological data

Abstract

This note reviews recent diagnostic studies of the atmospheric heat and moisture sources using aerological data. It appears that the large-scale features of evaporation minus precipitation, as well as of the diabatic heating of air in general, can nowadays be deduced from three-dimensional fields of aerological variables relatively accurately. However, the usefulness of the aerological method for smaller scales, e.g., those associated with the BALTEX (Baltic Sea Experiment), remains to be established.