Precipitation in tropical America and the associated sources of moisture: a short review

Understanding of the relationship between precipitation and the associated sources of moisture is essential to the improvement of our comprehension of the global water cycle. The observation of precipitation is one of the major challenges in the study of climate, as is the proper assignment of the sources of moisture that account for that precipitation. A stark contrast in the amounts of available information on precipitation may be seen in the cases of Central America and the northern part of South America. The main areas of precipitation in tropical America are described, and the moisture sources for these areas are identified by means of a Lagrangian approach presented with an example application. A strong relationship exists between the identified sources of moisture and the distribution of precipitation in the locations in question. The Caribbean Sea and the tropical Atlantic are highlighted as the main sources of moisture for the regions of highest precipitation in tropical America. Regional low-level winds play a major role in transport of moisture from the adjacent oceanic regions.