JPL Airborne Sensor to Study 'Rivers in the Sky' - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

JPL Airborne Sensor to Study 'Rivers in the Sky'

NASA's Global Hawk soars aloft from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on a functional check flight of the WISPAR aircraft payload system and science instruments. Image credit: NASA Dryden Flight Research Center

They're called atmospheric rivers - narrow regions in Earth's atmosphere that transport enormous amounts of water vapor across the Pacific or other regions. Aptly nicknamed "rivers in the sky," they can transport enough water vapor in one day, on average, to flood an area the size of Maryland 0.3 meters (1 foot) deep, or about seven times the average daily flow of water from the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico.

via jpl.nasa.gov

This project is studying the possibility of floods, wind and mudslides that could result in California as a result of atmospheric rivers.