The recycling rate of atmospheric moisture over the past two decades (1988–2009)

Numerical models predict that the recycling rate of atmospheric moisture decreases with time at the global scale, in response to global warming. A recent observational study (Wentz et al 2007 Science 317 233–5) did not agree with the results from numerical models. Here, we examine the recycling rate by using the latest data sets for precipitation and water vapor, and suggest a consistent view of the global recycling rate of atmospheric moisture between numerical models and observations. Our analyses show that the recycling rate of atmospheric moisture has also decreased over the global oceans during the past two decades. In addition, we find different temporal variations of the recycling rate in different regions when exploring the spatial pattern of the recycling rate. In particular, the recycling rate has increased in the high-precipitation region around the equator (i.e., the intertropical convergence zone) and decreased in the low-precipitation region located either side of the equator over the past two decades. Further exploration suggests that the temporal variation of precipitation is stronger than that of water vapor, which results in the positive trend of the recycling rate in the high-precipitation region and the negative trend of the recycling rate in the low-precipitation region.