A Decade of Ground-based Microwave Measurements of Water Vapor
Abstract
For the past decade we have been using microwave radiometers to measure water vapor in the upper stratosphere and mesosphere with the Naval Research Laboratory Water Vapor Mm-wave Spectrometers (WVMS). These instruments have been making nearly continuous measurements over several years from three sites: Table Mountain, California (1992-1997), Lauder, New Zealand (1992-present), and Mauna Loa, Hawaii (1996-present). These measurements, together with the HALOE measurements, show that there was a large increase in middle atmospheric water vapor in the early 1990s, and that since the mid-1990s the water vapor mixing ratio has remained relatively stable. We shall also examine, using both WVMS and HALOE data, year-to-year variations in mesospheric water vapor and its relationship to the QBO. As is the case for the trends studies, the combination of continuous measurements at a local site provided by the WVMS systems, along with the global coverage but intermittent coverage at sunrise and sunset provided by HALOE, ensures that any conclusions drawn from the data are not affected by the limitations of either system.
- Publication:
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AGU Spring Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- May 2002
- Bibcode:
- 2002AGUSM.A31B..07N
- Keywords:
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- 0340 Middle atmosphere: composition and chemistry;
- 0341 Middle atmosphere: constituent transport and chemistry (3334)