4.7 Article

Water vapor variation and the effect of aerosols in China

Journal

ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT
Volume 165, Issue -, Pages 322-335

Publisher

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2017.07.005

Keywords

Precipitable water vapor; Surface temperature; Aerosol absorption optical depth; MODIS; Long-term trends

Funding

  1. National Key R & D Program Pilot Projects of China [2016YFA0601901]
  2. National Natural Science Foundation of China [41590874, 41375153, 41475037]
  3. CAMS Basis Research Project [2016Z001, 2014R17]
  4. Climate Change Special Fund of CMA [CCSF201504]

Ask authors/readers for more resources

This study analyzes the annual and seasonal trends in precipitable water vapor (PWV) and surface temperature (T-s) over China from 1979 to 2015, and the relationships between PWV and T-s and between PWV and aerosol absorption optical depth (AAOD), using data from radiosonde stations, weather stations and multiple satellite observations. The results revealed a positive PWV trend between 1979 and 1999, and a negative PWV trend between 2000 and 2015. Analysis of the differences in the PWV trend among different stations types showed that the magnitude of the trends were in the order main urban stations > provincial capital stations > suburb stations, suggesting that anthropogenic activities have a strong influence on the PWV trend. The MOD exhibited a significant positive trend in most regions of China from 2005 to 2015 (confidence level 95%). Using spatial correlation analysis, we showed that PWV trend derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite observations is correlated with T-s, with an annual correlation coefficient of 0.596. In addition, the spatial correlation between PWV and MOD showed a negative relationship, with the highest correlation coefficients of -0.76 and -0.71 observed in mid-eastern China and central northwest China, respectively, suggesting that the increase in AAOD in recent years may be one of the reasons for the decrease in PWV since the 2000s in China. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.7
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available