Abstract
This study determined the theoretical time-to-detect (TTD) global climate model (GCM) precipitable water vapor (PWV) 100-yr trends when realisticmeasurement errors are considered.Global trends ranged from 0.055 to 0.072mmyr-1 and varied minimally from season to season. Global TTDs with a 0% measurement error ranged from3.0 to 4.8 yr,while a 5%measurement error increased the TTDby almost 6 times, ranging from17.6 to 22.0 yr. Zonal trends were highest near the equator however, zonal TTDs were nearly independent of latitude when 5% measurement error was included. Zonal TTDs are significantly reduced when the trends are analyzed by season.Regional trends (15° × 30°) show TTDs close to those in the 158 latitude zones (15° × 360°). Detailed case study analysis of four selected regions with high population density-eastern United States, Europe, China, and India-indicated that trend analysis on regional spatial scales may provide the most timely information regarding highly populated regions when comparing detection time scales to global and zonal analyses.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 8259-8275 |
Number of pages | 17 |
Journal | Journal of Climate |
Volume | 27 |
Issue number | 21 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2014 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Atmospheric Science