Energy Cycle and Water

The Water and Energy Cycle Focus Area studies the distribution, transport and transformation of water and energy within the Earth System. Since solar energy drives the water cycle and energy exchanges are modulated by the interaction of water with radiation, the energy cycle and the water cycle are intimately entwined. The long-term goal of this focus area is to enable improved predictions of the global water and energy cycles. This key goal requires not only documenting and predicting means and trends in the rate of the Earth's water and energy cycling as well as predicting changes in the frequency and intensity of related meteorological and hydrologic events such as floods and droughts. General Characteristics The large-scale water and energy balances of the Mississippi River basin during the period 1995-2000 will be determined and characterized in the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) Continental-Scale International Project (GCIP) with high spatial resolution. The normal annual, diurnal, geographic, and vertical variations of surface and atmospheric balances will be defined, as will the major modes of large-scale seasonal to interannual anomalies. The accuracy of these balances will be assessed at various spatial and temporal scales. The Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment The Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) is an integrated program of research, observations, and science activities ultimately leading to the prediction of global and regional climate change. The International GEWEX Project Office (IGPO) is the focal point for the planning and implementation of all GEWEX activities. The goal of GEWEX is to reproduce and predict, by means of suitable models, the variations of the global hydrological regime, its impact on atmospheric and surface dynamics, and variations in regional hydrological processes and water resources and their response to changes in the environment, such as the increase in greenhouse gases. GEWEX will provide an order of magnitude improvement in the ability to model global precipitation and evaporation, as well as accurate assessment of the sensitivity of atmospheric radiation and clouds to climate change .