Inter-annual variability of variations of ground and integrated atmospheric water vapor content in Europe

Abstract

© Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd. This paper presenting results of the seasonal, interannual mesoscale and synoptic variations of the surface and atmosphere integral moisture content variability analysis. More than 50 years of the meteostation network data and data from satellite navigation system receivers on Europe were analysed. The surface moisture content field in Europe decreases with increasing latitude and further from the coast. The intensity of variations in the partial pressure of water vapour, on the contrary, increases from northwest to southeast. It is shown, that the maximum contribution to the moisture content variability is given by seasonal variations. The predominant process of near ground and integrated atmospheric water content is year and half-year harmonics. In near ground and integrated atmospheric water content spectra the interannual variations were discovered. It is shown that the average annual values of the integral humidity, amplitude and phase of the annual and semiannual harmonics vary from year to year, as well as the intensity of the synoptic variations.