Search

This study investigates the relationships among water vapor, precipitation efficiency, precipitation amount, and air temperature anomalies on monthly time scales over northern Eurasia for winter and summer 2003–2010. Daily precipitation and temperature records at 505 historical stations, and atmospheric total precipitable water vapor and relative humidity data from Atmospheric Infrared Sounders, are used for analysis. Results show that higher atmospheric precipitable water associated with warmer temperature directly contributes to winter precipitation amount but has little impact on winter precipitation efficiency. However, accelerated decreasing relative humidity associated with higher temperature is the primary factor in the reduction of precipitation efficiency and precipitation amount regardless of higher precipitable water in summer. This study suggests that there are evident seasonal differences in precipitation trend associated with air temperature changes over the study region. Air temperature modifies a key atmospheric water variable that directly controls precipitation for that particular season.

Mid-tropospheric CO_2 retrieved from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) was used to investigate CO_2 interannual variability over the Indo-Pacific region. A signal with periodicity around two years was found for the AIRS mid-tropospheric CO_2 for the first time, which is related to the Tropospheric Biennial Oscillation (TBO) associated with the strength of the monsoon. During a strong (weak) monsoon year, the Western Walker Circulation is strong (weak), resulting in enhanced (diminished) CO_2 transport from the surface to the mid-troposphere. As a result, there are positive (negative) CO2 anomalies at mid-troposphere over the Indo-Pacific region. We simulated the influence of the TBO on the mid-tropospheric CO_2 over the Indo-Pacific region using the MOZART-2 model, and results were consistent with observations, although we found the TBO signal in the model CO_2 is to be smaller than that in the AIRS observations.

Human activity has increased the concentration of the earth's atmospheric carbon dioxide, which plays a direct role in contributing to global warming. Mid-tropospheric CO_2 retrieved by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder shows a substantial spatiotemporal variability that is supported by in situ aircraft measurements. The distribution of middle tropospheric CO_2 is strongly influenced by surface sources and large-scale circulations such as the mid-latitude jet streams and by synoptic weather systems, most notably in the summer hemisphere. In addition, the effects of stratosphere-troposphere exchange are observed during a final stratospheric warming event. The results provide the means to understand the sources and sinks and the lifting of CO_2 from surface layers into the free troposphere and its subsequent transport around the globe. These processes are not adequately represented in three chemistry-transport models that have been used to study carbon budgets.

[1] This study compares the atmospheric total precipitable water (PWV) obtained by Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) with radiosondes and the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) operational analysis products during December 2003 and January 2004. We find that PWV from AIRS Level 3 (daily gridded) data is about 9% drier while ECMWF is 14% moister than sondes at the two grid points closest to the Dome C radiosonde site on the Antarctic Plateau at 3233 m elevation. The largest ECMWF moist biases occur on warmer days at Dome C. When AIRS Level 3 data are compared with ECMWF over the entire Antarctic continent, AIRS and ECMWF PWV have similar variability (correlation coefficients are predominantly 0.8 or higher), but with AIRS drier over most of the Antarctic by a consistent offset of about 0.1–0.2 mm. Because of this constant difference, the largest percentage differences are found over the highland areas of about 2500 meters and above, where absolute water vapor amounts are smallest.

We present a general method for the determination of minor gases in the troposphere from high spectral resolution observations. In this method, we make use of a general property of the total differential of multi-variable functions to separate the contributions of each individual minor gas. We have applied this method to derive the mixing ratio of carbon dioxide in the mid-troposphere using data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) currently flying on the NASA Aqua Mission. We compare our results to the aircraft flask CO2 measurements obtained by H. Matsueda et al. over the western Pacific and demonstrate skill in tracking the measured 5 ppmv seasonal variation with an accuracy of 0.43 +/- 1.20 ppmv.

[1] We describe atmospheric temperature inversions and height-resolved water vapor fields over the wintertime subtropical northeastern Pacific Ocean in observations by the satellite-borne Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) experiment. A comparison with model analyses shows good agreement in temperature. Water vapor comparisons with operational radiosondes at four sites in California and Hawaii during December 2002–January 2003 have low biases in the 1000–700 and 700–500 hPa layers. Maps of inversion frequency, and, water vapor at 1000–700 and 700–500 hPa over the subtropical northeast Pacific during 1–16 January 2003–when high pressure and clear conditions prevail–show inversions occurring at a local minimum in water vapor at 1000–700 hPa. Water vapor at 700–500 hPa has a broad minimum extending from Baja California to Hawaii, with inversions found on its eastern half. These observations illustrate the potential of the AIRS data for describing a climatology of temperature and water vapor in subtropical oceanic regions.