INTERANNUAL VARIABILITY OF WATER BALANCE COMPONENTS IN THE NORTH POLAR REGION

V. P. Khrol, N. N. Bryazgin, and L. P. Burova

Interannual variability of all water balance components of the North Polar Region is analyzed on the basis of 18—40-year observation data sets for the period from 1930 to 1991. The results obtained supplement the average data presented in the Atlas of the Water Balance of the North Polar Region. Statistical characteristics are given as tables and figures. They show that the interannual variability of balance components depends on their space and time scales. In particular, the interannual variability of annual values of water balance components is lower than that of monthly values, and the interannual variability of means for a large area is lower than that of similar values for individual stations. Water vapor flux is among the most variable balance components while total precipitation has the lowest variability. The Gaussian distribution of frequency is typical of all scales and forms of balance components. This confirms the validity of applying the mean charts for characterizing the water balance components in the North Polar Region.