Loading...
Please wait, while we are loading the content...
Similar Documents
Towards a model climatology of relative humidity in the upper troposphere for estimation of contrail and contrail-induced cirrus
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Ott, L. Douglass, A. R. Stolarski, R. S. Selkirk, Henry B. Oman, L. Pawson, S. Manyin, M. Benson, C. |
| Copyright Year | 2011 |
| Description | The formation of contrails and contrail cirrus is very sensitive to the relative humidity of the upper troposphere. To reduce uncertainty in an estimate of the radiative impact of aviation-induced cirrus, a model must therefore be able to reproduce the observed background moisture fields with reasonable and quantifiable fidelity. Here we present an upper tropospheric moisture climatology from a 26-year ensemble of simulations using the GEOS CCM. We compare this free-running model's moisture fields to those obtained from the MLS and AIRS satellite instruments, our most comprehensive observational databases for upper tropospheric water vapor. Published comparisons have shown a substantial wet bias in GEOS-5 assimilated fields with respect to MLS water vapor and ice water content. This tendency is clear as well in the GEOS CCM simulations. The GEOS-5 moist physics in the GEOS CCM uses a saturation adjustment that prevents supersaturation, which is unrealistic when compared to in situ moisture observations from MOZAIC aircraft and balloon sondes as we will show. Further, the large-scale satellite datasets also consistently underestimate super-saturation when compared to the in-situ observations. We place these results in the context of estimates of contrail and contrail cirrus frequency. |
| File Size | 57103 |
| Page Count | 1 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_20110008216 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t19k9b370 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 2011-01-23 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Meteorology And Climatology Contrails Climatology Simulation Cirrus Clouds Moisture Content Satellite Instruments Troposphere Clouds Meteorology Supersaturation Water Vapor Estimates Data Bases Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
