Increase in lower-stratospheric water vapour at a mid-latitude Northern Hemisphere site from 1981 to 1994

摘要: WATER vapour in the atmosphere is key trace gas controlling weather and climate, plays a central role atmospheric chemistry, influencing heterogeneous chemical reactions that destroy stratospheric ozone. Although upper troposphere lower stratosphere radiative1 chemical2 effects of water are large, there few measurements water-vapour concentration3–10 its long-term variation11–13 this region. Here we present set profiles for altitudes from 9 to 27 km, obtained at Boulder, Colorado, during 1981–94, which show significant increase concentration over time. The larger, least below about 20–25 than might be expected oxidation increasing concentrations methane14,15. additional may linked other climate variations, such as observed global temperature rise recent decades16.