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Huffman: The monsoon is a seasonal rain and wind pattern that was first described over

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south Asia. You see the clouds blossoming here during the summer part of

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the monsoon. For centuries people have known about it, but only recently have we

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received enough data from satellites to really describe what's going on.

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Skofronick-Jackson: What you can see here is moist air that has evaporated from the ocean, coming across

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India and providing rainfall, driving the monsoon season.

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Huffman: One really cool way to look at the monsoon is to do a split-screen and look at the summer and the

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winter at the same time. In the summer the wind is blowing onshore, bringing the

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moist rain-laden air into the continent. In the winter time, it blows off the continent.

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Skofronick-Jackson: Now those winds are basically driven by temperature differences

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between the ocean and the land. And where the land is nice and warm, the air

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expands and it draws in the moist air from the ocean waters, but in the

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winter time it's very cold. The moisture then it goes from the continent back

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into the oceans. Having a better understanding of the

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global water cycle and monitoring changes over time is important for

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society, for our everyday lives and our long-term future.

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