Radiative Signature of Upper Tropospheric Moistening

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 310; no. 5749; pp. 841 - 844
• Main Authors: Soden, Brian J, Jackson, Darren L, Ramaswamy, V, Schwarzkopf, M. D, Huang, Xianglei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Association for the Advancement of Science 04-11-2005; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Analysis; Artificial satellites; Atmosphere; Atmospheric moisture; Climate; Climate change; Climate models; Company growth; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; External geophysics; Feedback (Response); Global warming; Greenhouse gases; Growth; Meteorology; Modeling; Observations; Relative humidity; Simulations; Thermodynamics; Troposphere; Water; Water in the atmosphere (humidity, clouds, evaporation, precipitation); Water vapor; Water vapour; trend-surface analysis; Space remote sensing; Satellite observation; Climate models; digital simulation; troposphere; Interannual variation; water vapor; Decadal variation; Observation data; Effect on climate; Atmospheric humidity; Concentration distribution
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1115602

Climate models predict that the concentration of water vapor in the upper troposphere could double by the end of the century as a result of increases in greenhouse gases. Such moistening plays a key role in amplifying the rate at which the climate warms in response to anthropogenic activities, but has been difficult to detect because of deficiencies in conventional observing systems. We use satellite measurements to highlight a distinct radiative signature of upper tropospheric moistening over the period 1982 to 2004. The observed moistening is accurately captured by climate model simulations and lends further credence to model projections of future global warming.