Open AccessSeasonal variations of upper tropospheric water vapor and high clouds observed from satellites
Author(s) -
Chen Minghang,
Rood Richard B.,
Read William G.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/1998jd200124
Subject(s) - water vapor , environmental science , troposphere , microwave limb sounder , atmospheric sciences , satellite , climatology , southern hemisphere , convection , atmosphere (unit) , relative humidity , northern hemisphere , extratropical cyclone , humidity , meteorology , geology , geography , aerospace engineering , engineering
Multiyear satellite measurements of specific humidity at 215 mbar from the Microwave Limb Sounder aboard the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite and cloud amount from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project have been used to investigate seasonal variations of upper tropospheric water vapor (UTWV), high clouds, and deep convection. The tropical and extratropical UTWV for each hemisphere have maximum values in summer and minimum values in winter because of the moistening effect of the tropical deep convection. The seasonal change of high cloud amount is similar to UTWV in the tropics but very different in the extratropics. Implications of the present results for the water vapor feedback in the climate system are discussed.