EarthRef.org Reference Database (ERR)
Development and Maintenance by the EarthRef.org Database Team

Detailed Reference Information
Liu & Tang 2005
Liu, W.T. and Tang, W. (2005). Estimating moisture transport over oceans using space-based observations. Journal of Geophysical Research 110: doi: 10.1029/2004JD005300. issn: 0148-0227.

The moisture transport integrated over the depth of the atmosphere (Θ) is estimated over oceans using satellite data. The transport is the product of the precipitable water and an equivalent velocity (ue), which, by definition, is the depth-averaged wind velocity weighted by humidity. An artificial neural network is employed to construct a relation between the surface wind velocity measured by the spaceborne scatterometer and coincident ue derived using humidity and wind profiles measured by rawinsondes and produced by reanalysis of operational numerical weather prediction (NWP). On the basis of this relation, Θ fields are produced over global tropical and subtropical oceans (40¿N--40¿S) at 0.25¿ latitude-longitude and twice daily resolutions from August 1999 to December 2003 using surface wind vector from QuikSCAT and precipitable water from the Tropical Rain Measuring Mission. The derived ue were found to capture the major temporal variability when compared with radiosonde measurements. The average error over global oceans, when compared with NWP data, was comparable with the instrument accuracy specification of space-based scatterometers. The global distribution exhibits the known characteristics of, and reveals more detailed variability than in, previous data.

BACKGROUND DATA FILES

Abstract

Keywords
Global Change, Remote sensing, Global Change, Water cycles, Oceanography, Physical, Air/sea interactions (0312, 3339), Oceanography, General, Marine meteorology, Atmospheric Processes, General circulation, hydrological cycle, moisture transport, air-sea-land interaction
Journal
Journal of Geophysical Research
http://www.agu.org/journals/jb/
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
2000 Florida Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009-1277
USA
1-202-462-6900
1-202-328-0566
service@agu.org
Click to clear formClick to return to previous pageClick to submit