VPD chart (IMAGE) University of Washington Caption Focusing on the two areas with the biggest change in nighttime air — the Northern Rockies (orange line at top) and the southern Sierra Nevada (orange line at bottom) — shows much bigger changes in summer nighttime vapor pressure deficit than the average across the West (green line). The study finds a link between the average value across the West and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, a long-term climate pattern shown in the inset. Credit Chiodi et al./Geophysical Research Letters Usage Restrictions Must include credit License Original content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.