Atmospheric Rivers

An original artwork commissioned by NASA for their Earth Science wing at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.

Working with an array of top scientists from the Earth Science team, this piece portrays the water vapour levels in the west coast’s Atmospheric River – concentrated streams of water vapour in the atmosphere that have been likened to rivers in the sky. They account for 90% of the global water vapour transport and on average 30% to 50% of the west coast’s annual precipitation comes from a few atmospheric rivers each year.

Innovation Award Winner – World Illustration Awards

Featuring fifteen layers of hand-cut coloured paper, that have each carefully been pieced together using pieces of foamboard to add depth and shadow, the artwork depicts the increasing water vapour levels towards the centre of the Atmospheric Rivers, as well as the West Coast’s topography, with small symbols relating to the areas prone to increased snow fall and flooding caused by this phenomenon.