Brightsurf Science News and Current Science News Events
 
Email a Friend Send to a friend
Printer Friendly Print Water vapor feedback is rapidly warming Europe

Water vapor feedback is rapidly warming Europe

November 09, 2005

WASHINGTON - A new report indicates that the vast majority of the rapid temperature increase recently observed in Europe is likely due to an unexpected greenhouse gas: water vapor. Elevated surface temperatures due to other greenhouse gases have enhanced water evaporation and contributed to a cycle that stimulates further surface temperature increases, according to a report in Geophysical Research Letters. The research could help to answer a long-debated Earth science question about whether the water cycle could strongly enhance greenhouse warming.

Swiss researchers examined surface radiation measurements from 1995 to 2002 over the Alps in Central Europe and show strongly increasing total surface absorbed radiation, concurrent with rapidly increasing temperature. The authors, led by Rolf Philipona of the World Radiation Center in Davos, show experimentally that 70 percent of the rapid temperature increase is very likely caused by water vapor feedback. They indicate that remaining 30 percent is likely due to increasing manmade greenhouse gases.




The researchers analyzed temperature and humidity changes over Europe, which jumped nearly three times above the levels predicted by general circulation models in the past two decades. They provide observational evidence that large-scale weather patterns in Europe influence annual average temperatures uniformly, but weakly. They suggest that their combined observations indicate that the region is experiencing an increasing greenhouse effect and that the dominant part of the rising heat emitted from the Earth's atmosphere (longwave radiation) is due to water vapor increase.

After examining increased cloud cover to the north of the Alps and decreased cover to the south, the authors report that both sides of the mountain range experienced clear warming over the 1995-2002 period. While clouds are not entirely responsible for the warming, such findings correspond with previous cloud investigations showing that for midlatitudes, annual mean cloud cooling from the Sun (shortwave radiation) is roughly canceled by cloud warming caused by heat emitted by longwave radiation from the surface.

The strong increase of longwave radiation is shown in the study to be due to increasing cloudiness, rising temperature, rising water vapor, and above all to long-lived manmade greenhouse gases. The scientists' radiation measurements in the Alps show that the various inputs, or forcings, can be separated and that manmade greenhouse forcing is measurable at Earth's surface. Above all, their measurements demonstrate strong water vapor feedback that rapidly warms Central and Northeastern Europe, where sufficient water is available from plants and the surface, known as evapotranspiration.

American Geophysical Union



Related Water Vapor News Articles Water Vapor News and Current Water Vapor Events RSS Water Vapor News and Current Water Vapor Events RSS
How intense will storms get? New model helps answer question
A new mathematical model indicates that dust devils, water spouts, tornadoes, hurricanes and cyclones are all born of the same mechanism and will intensify as climate change warms the Earth's surface.

University of Pennsylvania Engineers Reveal What Makes Diamonds Slippery at the Nanoscale
They call diamonds "ice," and not just because they sparkle. Engineers and physicists have long studied diamond because even though the material is as hard as an ice ball to the head, diamond slips and slides with remarkably low friction, making it an ideal material or coating for seals, high performance tools and high-tech moving parts.

Field Project Seeks Clues to Climate Change in Remote Atmospheric Region
Scientists are deploying an advanced research aircraft to study a region of the atmosphere that influences climate change by affecting the amount of solar heat that reaches Earth's surface.

Field project seeks clues to climate change in remote atmospheric region
Scientists are deploying an advanced research aircraft to study a region of the atmosphere that influences climate change by affecting the amount of solar heat that reaches Earth's surface.

Joint NASA-French satellite to track trends in sea level, climate
A satellite that will help scientists better monitor and understand rises in global sea level, study the world's ocean circulation and its links to Earth's climate, and improve weather and climate forecasts is undergoing final preparations for a June 15 launch from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Climate Models Overheat Antarctica, New Study Finds
Computer analyses of global climate have consistently overstated warming in Antarctica, concludes new research by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and Ohio State University.

Sierra Nevada rose to current height earlier than thought, geologists say; implications for modeling global climate
Geologists studying deposits of volcanic glass in the western United States have found that the central Sierra Nevada largely attained its present elevation 12 million years ago, roughly 8 or 9 million years earlier than commonly thought.

Researchers perform multi-century high-resolution climate simulations
Using state-of-the-art supercomputers, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory climate scientists have performed a 400-year high-resolution global ocean-atmosphere simulation with results that are more similar to actual observations of surface winds and sea surface temperatures.

UC San Diego Scientists Develop Sensor for Homemade Bombs
A team of chemists and physicists at the University of California, San Diego has developed a tiny, inexpensive sensor chip capable of detecting trace amounts of hydrogen peroxide, a chemical used in the most common form of homemade explosives.

Gene That Controls Ozone Resistance of Plants Could Lead to Drought-Resistant Crops
Biologists at the University of California, San Diego, working with collaborators at the University of Helsinki in Finland and two other European institutions, have elucidated the mechanism of a plant gene that controls the amount of atmospheric ozone entering a plant's leaves.
More Water Vapor News Articles


Steam Tables: Thermodynamic Properties of Water Including Vapor, Liquid & Solid Phases
by Philip G. Hill, Joseph H. Keenan, Joan G. Moore, Frederick G. Keyes

Presents the results of the authors' independent correlation of all new experimental and all previously existing data on thermodynamic and transport properties of water, replacing the widely used Keenan and Keyes tables. The whole body of high-quality experimental data on liquid and vapor water has been faithfully represented by a single fundamental equation from which all thermodynamic...

Water For Gas: Homemade Vehicle Systems & MPG Improvers

CD-ROM packed with 179 pages of detailed plans and pictures of hydrogen generator systems that are simple to construct with easy to find parts. Informational CD includes: In depth plans on how to build and use various Hydrogen Boosters, Electrolisers and Fuel Cells. How to deal with the Oxygen Sensor. Water Vapor Injection Systems. Mileage Improving Devices. The Firestorm Spark Plug. The Ram...



Hot Tubs, Saunas & Steam Baths: A Guide to Planning and Designing your Home Health Spa
by Alan Sanderfoot

With record numbers of people flocking to health spas to be massaged, wrapped, and steamed, it’s no surprise that more homeowners are seeking to bring the spa experience home by installing their own hot tubs, saunas, and steam baths. The options in prefab and easy-installation home units that are now available can be overwhelming. Hot Tubs, Saunas, and Steam Baths is the one guidebook...



Weather Analysis and Forecasting: Applying Satellite Water Vapor Imagery and Potential Vorticity Analysis
by Patrick Santurette, Christo Georgiev

In this practical guide, Santurette and Georgiev show how to interpret water vapor patterns in terms of dynamical processes in the atmosphere and their relation to diagnostics available from weather prediction models. In particular, they concentrate on the close relationship between satellite imagery and the potential vorticity fields in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. These...

The Waters Above: Earth's Pre-Flood Vapor Canopy
by Joseph C. Dillow



Water Vapor Measurement: Methods and Instrumentation
by Pieter R. Wiederhold

Offering all aspects of humidity measurement and instrumentation, this work includes rudiments and theory, common applications, advantages and limitations of frequently-used sensors and techniques, and guidelines for installation, maintenance and calibration. The disk is intended for easy conversions of humidity parameters and...

Properties of Ordinary Water-Substance In all its Phases: Water-Vapor, Water, and all the Ices
by N. Ernest, compiler Dorsey



Fog And Mist (Watching the Weather)
by Elizabeth Miles



Measurements of relative humidity in a persistent contrail [An article from: Atmospheric Environment]
by R.S. Gao, D.W. Fahey, P.J. Popp, T.P. Marcy, Herma

This digital document is a journal article from Atmospheric Environment, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Description: Persistent contrails are a common feature of the upper troposphere. We describe two methods for intercomparing and evaluating RH"i...



Steam Tables : Thermodynamic Properties of Water Including Vapor, Liquid, and Solid Phases/With Charts (metric measurements)
by Joseph H. Keenan, Frederick G. Keyes, Philip G. Hill, Joan G. Moore

This book presents the results of a new and independent correlation of all existing thermodynamic data as of 1992. It constitutes a complete revision of the Keenan and Keyes Tables of 1936 and an extension of range to 100 MPa and about 1300 degrees C. The tables in this book, given in SI Units, are based on a unique accomplishment. The whole body of high-quality experimental data on liquid and...

© 2008 BrightSurf.com