MLS Research
Water Vapor and Cloud Feedbacks
Contact Hui Su
Water vapor plays an important role in global climate change through its influence in hydrological and energy cycles, and for its radiative effect as the strongest greenhouse gas.
The ability of the atmosphere to hold more water vapor with increasing temperature leads to an important positive feedback for the estimate of global warming in response to the increase in CO2. This feedback is highly sensitive to upper tropospheric water vapor (UTWV). Meanwhile, clouds provide significant radiative forcing to the climate system in their own right.
The Microwave Limb Sounder on Aura satellite provides unprecedented simultaneous measurements of UTWV and cloud ice profiles. Analysis of these datasets has contributed and will continue contributing to our understanding of the dynamics controlling water vapor and cloud variations, and to help quantifying their feedbacks to climate change. In particular, MLS observations contradict the so-called 'Iris hypothesis' which holds that changes in upper tropospheric clouds will give a negative feedback on climate change.
MLS-related publications related to water vapor and cloud feedbacks on climate
Gamelin, B., L. Carvalho and C. Jones
Evaluating the influence of deep convection on tropopause thermodynamics and lower stratospheric water vapor: A RELAMPAGO case study using the WRF model
Ziv, S.Z., C. Garfinkel, S. Davis and A. Banerjee
The roles of the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation and El Niño for entry stratospheric water vapor in observations and coupled chemistry–ocean CCMI and CMIP6 models
Dion, I., C. Dallet, P. Ricaud, F. Carminati, T. Dauhut and P. Haynes
Ice injected into the tropopause by deep convection – Part 2: Over the Maritime Continent
Keeble, J., B. Hassler, A. Banerjee, R. Checa-Garcia, G. Chiodo, S. Davis, V. Eyring, P. Griffiths, O. Morgenstern, P. Nowack, G. Zeng, J. Zhang, G. Bodeker, S. Burrows, P. Cameron-Smith, D. Cugnet, C. Danek, M. Deushi, L. Horowitz, A. Kubin, L. Li, G. Lohmann, M. Michou, M. Mills, P. Nabat, D. Olivié, S. Park, O. Seland, J. Stoll, K. Wieners and T. Wu
Evaluating stratospheric ozone and water vapour changes in CMIP6 models from 1850 to 2100
Plaza, N., A. Podglajen, C. Peña-Ortiz and F. Ploeger
Processes influencing lower stratospheric water vapour in monsoon anticyclones: insights from Lagrangian modelling
Wang, T., D. Wu, J. Gong and C. Wang
Long‐Term Observations of Upper‐Tropospheric Cloud Ice From the MLS
Das, S. and K.V. Suneeth
Seasonal and interannual variations of water vapor in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere over the Asian Summer Monsoon region- in perspective of the tropopause and ocean-atmosphere interactions
Dong, W.H., Y.L. Lin, M.H. Zhang and X.M. Huang
Footprint of Tropical Mesoscale Convective System Variability on Stratospheric Water Vapor
Kuai, L., K. Bowman, K. Miyazaki, M. Deushi, L. Revell, E. Rozanov, F. Paulot, S. Strode, A. Conley, J. Lamarque, P. Jöckel, D. Plummer, L. Oman, H. Worden, S. Kulawik, D. Paynter, A. Stenke and M. Kunze
Attribution of Chemistry-Climate Model Initiative CCMI ozone radiative flux bias from satellites
Qu, Z., Y. Huang, P. Vaillancourt, J. Cole, J. Milbrandt, M. Yau, K. Walker and J.D. Grandpré
Simulation of convective moistening of the extratropical lower stratosphere using a numerical weather prediction model
Uma, K.N., T.S. Mohan and S. Das
Role of Intra-Seasonal Variability in the Indian Summer Monsoon on the Hydration and Dehydration of the Upper Troposphere
Yu, W., A. Dessler, M. Park and E. Jensen
Influence of convection on stratospheric water vapor in the North American monsoon region
Stanfield, R., H. Su, J. Jiang, S. Freitas, A. Molod, Z. Luo, L. Huang and M. Luo
Convective Entrainment Rates Estimated From Aura CO and CloudSat/CALIPSO Observations and Comparison With GEOS‐5
Weaver, D., K. Strong, K. Walker, C. Sioris, M. Schneider, C.T. McElroy, H. Vömel, M. Sommer, K. Weigel, A. Rozanov, J. Burrows, W. Read, E. Fishbein and G. Stiller
Comparison of ground-based and satellite measurements of water vapour vertical profiles over Ellesmere Island, Nunavut
Tian, E., H. Su, B. Tian and J. Jiang
Interannual variations of water vapor in the tropical uppertroposphere and the lower and middle stratosphere and theirconnections to ENSO and QBO
Ueyama, R., E. Jensen and L. Pfister
Convective Influence on the Humidity and Clouds in the Tropical Tropopause Layer During Boreal Summer
Anderson, J., D. Weisenstein, K. Bowman, C. Homeyer, J. Smith, D. Wilmouth, D. Sayres, J.E. Klobas, S. Leroy, J. Dykema and S. Wofsy
Stratospheric ozone over the United States in summer linked to observations of convection and temperature via chlorine and bromine catalysis
Avery, M., S. Davis, K. Rosenlof, H. Ye and A. Dessler
Large anomalies in lower stratospheric water vapour and ice during the 2015–2016 El Niño
Gilford, D. and S. Solomon
Radiative Effects of Stratospheric Seasonal Cycles in the Tropical Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere
Hegglin, M., S. Tegtmeier, J. Anderson, A. Bourassa, S. Brohede, D. Degenstein, L. Froidevaux, B. Funke, J. Gille, A. Jones, Y. Kasai, E. Kyrola, J. Lumpe, J. Neu, E. Remsberg, A. Rozanov, M. Toohey, J. Urban, T. von Clarmann, K.A. Walker and R. Wang
The SPARC Data Initiative: Assessment of stratospheric trace gas and aerosol climatologies from satellite limb sounders
Herman, R., E. Ray, K. Rosenlof, K. Bedka, M. Schwartz, W. Read, R. Troy, K. Chin, L. Christensen, D. Fu, R. Stachnik, T.P. Bui and J. Dean-Day
Enhanced stratospheric water vapor over the summertime continental United States and the role of overshooting convection
Lossow, S., F. Khosrawi, G. Nedoluha, F. Azam, K. Bramstedt, J. Burrows, B. Dinelli, P. Eriksson, P. Espy, M. García-Comas, J. Gille, M. Kiefer, S. Noël, P. Raspollini, W. Read, K. Rosenlof, A. Rozanov, C. Sioris, G. Stiller, K. Walker and K. Weigel
The SPARC water vapour assessment II: comparison of annual, semi-annual and quasi-biennial variations in stratospheric and lower mesospheric water vapour observed from satellites
Smith, J., D. Wilmouth, K. Bedka, K. Bowman, C. Homeyer, J. Dykema, M. Sargent, C. Clapp, S. Leroy, D. Sayres, J. Dean-Day, T.P. Bui and J. Anderson
A case study of convectively sourced water vapor observed in the overworld stratosphere over the United States
Thompson, D., S. Bony and Y. Li
Thermodynamic constraint on the depth of the global tropospheric circulation
Davis, S., K. Rosenlof, B. Hassler, D. Hurst, W. Read, H. Vömel, H. Selkirk, M. Fujiwara and R. Damadeo
The Stratospheric Water and Ozone Satellite Homogenized SWOOSH database: a long-term database for climate studies
Elsaesser, G.S., A.D. Genio, J.H. Jiang and M. van Lier-Walqui
An Improved Convective Ice Parameterization for the NASA GISS Global Climate Model and Impacts on Cloud Ice Simulation
Gilford, D., S. Solomon and R. Portmann
Radiative Impacts of the 2011 Abrupt Drops in Water Vapor and Ozone in the Tropical Tropopause Layer
Gu, Y., K.N. Liou, J.H. Jiang, R. Fu, S. Lu and Y. Xue
A GCM Investigation of Impact of Aerosols on the Precipitation in Amazon during the Dry to Wet Transition
Minschwaner, K., H. Su and J.H. Jiang
The upward branch of the Brewer-Dobson circulation quantified by tropical stratospheric water vapor and carbon monoxide measurements from the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder
Sioris, C., J. Zou, C.T. McElroy, C. Boone, P. Sheese and P. Bernath
Water vapour variability in the high-latitude upper troposphere – Part 2: Impact of volcanic eruptions
Takahashi, H., H. Su and J.H. Jiang
Error analysis of upper tropospheric water vapor in CMIP5 models using “A-Train” satellite observations and reanalysis data
Wang, Y., H. Su, J.H. Jiang, N.J. Livesey, M.L. Santee, P.C. Stek, L. Froidevaux, W.G. Read and J. Anderson
The linkage between stratospheric water vapor and surface temperature in an observation-constrained coupled general circulation model
Hardiman, S., I. Boutle, A. Bushell, N. Butchart, M. Cullen, P. Field, K. Furtado, J. Manners, S. Milton, C. Morcrette, F. O’Connor, B. Shipway, C. Smith, D. Walters, M. Willett, K. Williams, N. Wood, N.L. Abraham, J. Keeble, A. Maycock, J. Thuburn and M. Woodhouse
Processes Controlling Tropical Tropopause Temperature and Stratospheric Water Vapor in Climate Models
Huang, L., J.H. Jiang, Z. Wang, H. Su, M. Deng and S. Massie
Climatology of Cloud Water Content Associated with Different Cloud Types Observed by A-Train Satellites
Jiang, J.H., H. Su, C. Zhai, L. Wu, K. Minschwaner, A.M. Molod and A.M. Tompkins
An assessment of upper-troposphere and lower-stratosphere water vapor in MERRA, MERRA2 and ECMWF reanalyses using Aura MLS observations
Eriksson, P., B. Rydberg, H. Sagawa, M.S. Johnston and Y. Kasai
Overview and sample applications of SMILES and Odin-SMR retrievals of upper tropospheric humidity and cloud ice mass
Jain, S., A.R. Jain and T.K. Mandal
Dry phase of tropical lower stratospheric water vapor: Role of the BDC, convection, and ozone variability
Maycock, A.C., M.M. Joshi, K.P. Shine, S.M. Davis and K.H. Rosenlof
The potential impact of changes in lower stratospheric water vapour on stratospheric temperatures over the past 30 years
Uma, K.N., S.K. Das and S.S. Das
A Climatological Perspective of Water Vapor at the UTLS Region over Different Global Monsoon Regions: Observations Inferred from the Aura-MLS and Reanalysis Data
Wang, Y., M. Wang, R. Zhang, S.J. Ghan, Y. Lin, J. Hu, B. Pan, M. Levy, J.H. Jiang and M.J. Molina
Assessing the effects of anthropogenic aerosols on Pacific storm track using a multiscale global climate model
Khaykin, S.M., I. Engel, H. Vomel, I.M. Formanyuk, R. Kivi, L.I. Korshunov, M. Kramer, A.D. Lykov, S. Meier, T. Naebert, M.C. Pitts, M.L. Santee, N. Spelten, F.G. Wienhold, V.A. Yushkov and T. Peter
Arctic stratospheric dehydration – Part 1: Unprecedented observation of vertical redistribution of water
Livesey, N.J., J.A. Logan, M.L. Santee, J.W. Waters, R.M. Doherty, W.G. Read, L. Froidevaux and J.H. Jiang
Interrelated variations of O3, CO and deep convection in the tropical/subtropical upper troposphere observed by the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder MLS during 2004–2011
Su, H., J.H. Jiang, C. Zhai, V.S. Perun, J.T. Shen, A.D. Genio, L.S. Nazarenko, L.J. Donner, L. Horowitz, C. Seman, C. Morcrette, J. Petch, M. Ringer, J. Cole, M. Mesquita, T. Iversen, J.E. Kristjansson, A. Gettelman, L. Rotstayn, S. Jeffrey, J.L. Dufresne, M. Watanabe, H. Kawai, T. Koshiro, T. Wu, E.M. Volodin, T. L'Ecuyer, J. Teixeira and G.L. Stephens
Diagnosis of Regime-dependent Cloud Simulation Errors in CMIP5 Models Using A-Train Satellite Observations
Su, H. and J.H. Jiang
Tropical Clouds and Circulation Changes During the 2006-07 and 2009-10 El Niños
Azam, F., K. Bramstedt, A. Rozanov, K. Weigel, H. Bovensmann, G.P. Stiller and J.P. Burrows
SCIAMACHY lunar occultation water vapor measurements: retrieval and validation results
Flury, T., D.L. Wu and W.G. Read
Correlation among cirrus ice content, water vapor, and temperature in the TTL as observed by CALIPSO and Aura/MLS
Huang, L., R. Fu, J.H. Jiang, J.S. Wright and M. Luo
Geographic and seasonal distributions of CO transport pathways and their roles in determining CO centers in the upper troposphere
Jiang, J.H., H. Su, C. Zhai, V.S. Perun, A. Del Genio, L.S. Nazarenko, L.J. Donner, L. Horowitz, C. Seman, J. Cole, A. Gettelman, M. Ringer, L. Rotstayn, S. Jeffrey, T. Wu, F. Brient, J-L. Dufresne, H. Kawai, T. Koshiro, M. Watanabe, T.S. LÉcuyer, E.M. Volodin, T. Iversen, H. Drange, M.S. Mesquita, W.G. Read, J.W. Waters, B. Tian, J. Teixeira and G.L. Stephens
Evaluation of Cloud and Water Vapor Simulations in CMIP5 Climate Models Using NASA A-Train Satellite Observations
Wang, T. and A.E. Dessler
Analysis of cirrus in the tropical tropopause layer from CALIPSO and MLS data: A water perspective
Winkler, H., C. von Savigny, J.P. Burrows, J.M. Wissing, M.J. Schwartz, A. Lambert and M. Garcia-Comas
Impacts of the January 2005 solar particle event on noctilucent clouds and water at the polar summer mesopause