A model for the relationship between tropical precipitation and column water vapor
Several observational studies have shown a tight relationship between tropical precipitation and column-integrated water vapor. We show that the observed relationship in the tropics between column-integrated water vapor, precipitation, and its variance can be qualitatively reproduced by a simple and...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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American Geophysical Union
2011
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/60393 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1748-0816 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2066-2082 |
| _version_ | 1826201190062358528 |
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| author | Muller, Caroline Back, Larissa E. Emanuel, Kerry Andrew O'Gorman, Paul |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Muller, Caroline Back, Larissa E. Emanuel, Kerry Andrew O'Gorman, Paul |
| author_sort | Muller, Caroline |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Several observational studies have shown a tight relationship between tropical precipitation and column-integrated water vapor. We show that the observed relationship in the tropics between column-integrated water vapor, precipitation, and its variance can be qualitatively reproduced by a simple and physically motivated two-layer model. It has previously been argued that features of this relationship could be explained by analogy with the theory of continuous phase transitions. Instead, our model explicitly assumes that the onset of precipitation is governed by a stability threshold involving boundary-layer water vapor. This allows us to explain the precipitation-humidity relationship over a broader range of water vapor values, and may explain the observed temperature dependence of the relationship. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T11:47:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/60393 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T11:47:37Z |
| publishDate | 2011 |
| publisher | American Geophysical Union |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/603932024-05-15T03:24:22Z A model for the relationship between tropical precipitation and column water vapor Muller, Caroline Back, Larissa E. Emanuel, Kerry Andrew O'Gorman, Paul Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Emanuel, Kerry Andrew Muller, Caroline Back, Larissa E. O'Gorman, Paul Ambrose Emanuel, Kerry Andrew Several observational studies have shown a tight relationship between tropical precipitation and column-integrated water vapor. We show that the observed relationship in the tropics between column-integrated water vapor, precipitation, and its variance can be qualitatively reproduced by a simple and physically motivated two-layer model. It has previously been argued that features of this relationship could be explained by analogy with the theory of continuous phase transitions. Instead, our model explicitly assumes that the onset of precipitation is governed by a stability threshold involving boundary-layer water vapor. This allows us to explain the precipitation-humidity relationship over a broader range of water vapor values, and may explain the observed temperature dependence of the relationship. 2011-01-07T14:23:08Z 2011-01-07T14:23:08Z 2009-08 2009-06 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0094–8276 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/60393 Muller, C. J., L. E. Back, P. A. O'Gorman, and K. A. Emanuel (2009), A model for the relationship between tropical precipitation and column water vapor, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L16804, doi:10.1029/2009GL039667. ©2009 American Geophysical Union https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1748-0816 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2066-2082 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2009gl039667 Geophysical Research Letters Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf American Geophysical Union MIT web domain |
| spellingShingle | Muller, Caroline Back, Larissa E. Emanuel, Kerry Andrew O'Gorman, Paul A model for the relationship between tropical precipitation and column water vapor |
| title | A model for the relationship between tropical precipitation and column water vapor |
| title_full | A model for the relationship between tropical precipitation and column water vapor |
| title_fullStr | A model for the relationship between tropical precipitation and column water vapor |
| title_full_unstemmed | A model for the relationship between tropical precipitation and column water vapor |
| title_short | A model for the relationship between tropical precipitation and column water vapor |
| title_sort | model for the relationship between tropical precipitation and column water vapor |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/60393 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1748-0816 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2066-2082 |
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