Diurnal variations of upper tropospheric humidity (UTH) in five different reanalysis data sets are compared over convective land and ocean regions and evaluated using multiple satellite observations as a reference. All reanalysis data sets reproduce the day-night contrast of upper tropospheric humidity and the landocean contrast in the diurnal amplitude. The infrared satellite measurements indicate a slightly later diurnal minimum over land relative to most reanalyses and the microwave satellite measurements, suggesting that cloud masking of the infrared radiances may introduce a small (3 h) bias in the phase. One reanalysis exhibits a substantially different diurnal cycle over land which is inconsistent with both infrared and microwave satellite measurements and other reanalysis products. This product also exhibits a different covariance between vertical velocity, cloud water, and humidity than other reanalyses, suggesting that the phase bias is related to deficiencies in the parameterization of moist convective processes. © 2013. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.
CITATION STYLE
Chung, E. S., Soden, B. J., Sohn, B. J., & Schmetz, J. (2013). An assessment of the diurnal variation of upper tropospheric humidity in reanalysis data sets. Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres, 118(9), 3425–3430. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrd.50345
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