SMuK 2021 – scientific programme

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UP: Fachverband Umweltphysik

UP 5: Atmospheric Trace Gases

UP 5.5: Talk

Friday, September 3, 2021, 15:15–15:30, H7

Analysis of global trends of total column water vapour from multiple years of OMI observations — •Christian Borger, Steffen Beirle, and Thomas Wagner — Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany

Atmospheric water plays a key role for the Earth’s energy budget and temperature distribution via radiative effects (clouds and vapour) and latent heat transport. In this context, global monitoring of the water vapour distribution is essential for numerical weather prediction, climate modelling, and a better understanding of climate feedbacks.

Total column water vapour (TCWV) can be retrieved from satellite spectra in the visible "blue" spectral range (430-450nm) using Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS). The UV-vis spectral range offers several advantages for monitoring the global water vapour distribution: for instance, it allows for accurate, straightforward retrievals over ocean and land even under partly-cloudy conditions.

To investigate climate changes in the global TCWV distribution, we make use of the long-term observations of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on board NASA’s Aura satellite and present a global analysis of TCWV trends retrieved from multiple years of OMI measurements (2005-2020). Additionally, we put our results in context to trends of other climate data records of TCWV and surface air temperature and investigate if the changes in TCWV follow a Clausius-Clapeyron response. Moreover, we demonstrate that the OMI TCWV data set can also give insights into changes of the global atmospheric circulation.