Recent Climatology, Variability, and Trends in Global Surface Humidity
In situ observations of surface air and dewpoint temperatures and air pressure from over 15 000 weather stations and from ships are used to calculate surface specific (q) and relative (RH) humidity over the globe (60°S–75°N) from December 1975 to spring 2005. Seasonal and interannual variations and...
Saved in:
| Published in: | Journal of climate 2006-08, Vol.19 (15), p.3589-3606 |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | eng |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | In situ observations of surface air and dewpoint temperatures and air pressure from over 15 000 weather stations and from ships are used to calculate surface specific (q) and relative (RH) humidity over the globe (60°S–75°N) from December 1975 to spring 2005. Seasonal and interannual variations and linear trends are analyzed in relation to observed surface temperature (T) changes and simulated changes by a coupled climate model [namely the Parallel Climate Model (PCM)] with realistic forcing. It is found that spatial patterns of long-term meanqare largely controlled by climatological surface temperature, with the largestqof 17–19 g kg−1in the Tropics and large seasonal variations over northern mid- and high-latitude land. Surface RH has relatively small spatial and interannual variations, with a mean value of 75%–80% over most oceans in all seasons and 70%–80% over most land areas except for deserts and high terrain, where RH is 30%–60%. Nighttime mean RH is 2%–15% higher than daytime RH over most land areas because of large diurnal temperature variations. The leading EOFs in bothqand RH depict long-term trends, while the second EOF ofqis related to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). During 1976–2004, global changes in surface RH are small (within 0.6% for absolute values), although decreasing trends of -0.11% ~ -0.22% decade-1for global oceans are statistically significant. Large RH increases (0.5%–2.0% decade−1) occurred over the central and eastern United States, India, and western China, resulting from largeqincreases coupled with moderate warming and increases in low clouds over these regions during 1976–2004. Statistically very significant increasing trends are found in global and Northern Hemisphericqand T. From 1976 to 2004, annualq(T) increased by 0.06 g kg-1(0.16°C) decade−1globally and 0.08 g kg−1(0.20°C) decade−1in the Northern Hemisphere, while the Southern Hemisphericqtrend is positive but statistically insignificant. Over land, theqandTtrends are larger at night than during the day. The largest percentage increases in surfaceq(~1.5% to 6.0% decade−1) occurred over Eurasia where large warming (~0.2° to 0.7°C decade-1) was observed. TheqandTtrends are found in all seasons over much of Eurasia (largest in boreal winter) and the Atlantic Ocean. Significant correlation between annualqandTis found over most oceans (r= 0.6–0.9) and most of Eurasia (r= 0.4–0.8), whereas it is insignificant over subtropical land areas. RH–Tcorrelation is weak o |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0894-8755 1520-0442 |