Collaborative Research: Determination of the Optical and Reactive Properties of Water Vapor of Relevance to Atmospheric Radiation, Cloud Physics and Chemistry

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This project is investigating water vapor absorption of near ultraviolet (NUV) solar radiation in the atmosphere. The results of this research may help resolve a long-standing discrepancy between modeled and observed solar energy absorption under clear sky conditions in the atmosphere. This research combines laboratory experiments, field measurements, and modeling to investigate critically important issues regarding the role of water vapor absorption in determining the radiative equilibrium of the atmosphere.The objectives of the project are to make laboratory measurements of water vapor near UV absorption cross sections and their temperature dependence at spectral resolution and intervals comparable to existing satellite/surface ozone monitoring instruments, to monitor water vapor near UV spectral absorption in the tropical atmosphere, and to evaluate the consequences of including this near UV absorption by water vapor on satellite/surface ozone retrievals and on models of atmospheric radiation, circulation, and climate. Field measurements will be acquired by piggybacking a UV radiation spectrometer on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) project, the AERosols and Ocean Science Expeditions (AEROSE) field campaign in the equatorial Atlantic. A different partitioning of atmospheric absorption by ozone and water vapor could alter model simulations of large-scale atmospheric circulation.