Put together-

"water vapour over oceans worldwide has increased by about two percent since 1988."

(second article above)

With,

"the Earth is now out of energy balance, with 0.85 ± 0.15 W/m^2 more solar energy coming in than terrestrial heat radiation going out to space"

Global Temperature Trends: 2004 Summation
[link to data.giss.nasa.gov]


And you have a POSITIVE FEEDBACK loop.

The increased water vapor from evaporation adds to the particulate matter in the atmosphere, which in turn adds to the greenhouse effect.

With a warmer atmosphere, more water gets evaporated incorporating heat from the atmosphere in the water vapor. The warmer atmosphere reduces surface radiation from the planet, which inturn feeds back into increasing the temperature of the mantle and the core. More underwater volcanos go off raising the temperature of the ocean (there are heaps of articles on increased ocean temps and its affects on deep ocean circulations, and decreases in plankton and krill populations which feed the food chain).

Southern Ocean and Antarctic Circumpolar Current
[link to www.marine.csiro.au]
(with colored diagram)

Then, as Q. said, "the point of evaporation is reached faster than it normaly would be, which in turn will no doubt increase the speed of the cycle further!"

Q. was referring to tropical depressions (TD) which have increased in severity over the past thirty years, but it also refers to the overall trend of global warming.

[Sea surface temperature in the North Atlantic has increased by 0.5°C in the past 30 years: see 2nd article, above]

Positive feedback is inimical to the health of an organism.

NEGATIVE FEEDBACK is required for life, because it stops runaway processes.


Strangely, global warmning, a POSITIVE FEEDBACK LOOP, is a mirror of national governments´ GNP/GDP imperative, which is one of CONTINUAL ECONOMIC GROWTH, despite environmental factors and what Nature is telling us to the contrary.