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Water vapor is rising in high troposphere
Satellite measurements show that the water vapor content of the upper troposphere increased from 1982 to 2004, according to a study by Brian J. Soden of the University of Miami and his colleagues (Science, published online Oct. 6, dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1115602). Conventional radiosonde measuring systems had detected an increase in water vapor in the lower troposphere but were unable to detect a rise in the upper troposphere—about 5–12 km above Earth s surface. The satellite readings that Soden analyzed, however, show water vapor increasing 6% in the upper troposphere over the past 20 years. Because water vapor is a primary greenhouse gas, the upper tropospheric increase plays a key role in how much the climate warms in response to rising concentrations of CO2. With a doubling of atmospheric CO2 levels from current levels, expected sometime during this century, global temperatures would rise a little over 1 °C if there were no moistening in the upper troposphere, Soden says. In contrast, a 3 °C rise is predicted with an increase in upper tropospheric water vapor. Previous studies claimed that water vapor in the upper troposphere might decrease in a warmer climate



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