Studies on the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of global atmospheric profiles are currently limited. In this study, we analyzed the statistical characteristics of the mean and standard deviation of global specific humidity vertical profiles during 1979 to 2016, using ERA-Interim monthly means of daily means reanalysis data published by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). The results are as follows. (1) The mean and standard deviation of the specific humidity profiles exponentially decrease with height. (2) There are latitudinal and seasonal differences in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The specific humidity is higher in low latitudes than in high latitudes, and the summer is the wettest and the winter is the driest. (3) The mean and standard deviation of specific humidity are larger over the ocean than over land in the lower atmosphere. This study provides support for evaluating the application performance, radiation transmission algorithm and atmospheric inversion method of new satellite instruments. It can also be used to update and complete current standard atmospheric profiles, and for their comparative analysis.

Date Published: 12 March 2020
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 11439, 2019 International Conference on Optical Instruments and Technology: Optoelectronic Measurement Technology and Systems, 1143911 (12 March 2020); doi: 10.1117/12.2544132

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 11439:
2019 International Conference on Optical Instruments and Technology: Optoelectronic Measurement Technology and Systems
Jigui Zhu; Kexin Xu; Hai Xiao; Sen Han, Editor(s)