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Data Sources |
ECV Products and Requirements |
Surface Water Vapour
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The humidity of air near the surface of the Earth affects the comfort and health of humans, livestock and wildlife, the swarming behaviour of insects and the occurrence of plant disease. The humidity near the surface affects evaporation and the strength of the hydrological and energy cycles. Evaporation from the surface of the earth is the source of water in the atmosphere and so is responsible for important feedbacks in the climate system due to clouds and radiation. | |
| Domain: | Atmosphere | |
| Subdomain: | Surface | |
| Scientific Area: | Hydrosphere | |
| ECV Steward: | Elizabeth Kent, Philip Jones | |
| ECV Product: | Water Vapour (Relative Humidity, Dew Point) | |
Global Surface Specific Humidity
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Figure: Global annual average anomalies in land surface specific humidity from Dai (2006; red), HadCRUH (Willett et al., 2013; orange), HadISDH (Willett et al., 2013; black), and ERA-Interim (Simmons et al., 2010; blue). Anomalies are relative to the 1979-2003 climatology. Source: IPCC, 2013: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, 1535 pp, doi:10.1017/CBO9781107415324, Figure 2.30. |
