Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Originally published in Science Express on 31 May 2007
Science 13 July 2007:
Vol. 317. no. 5835, pp. 233 - 235
DOI: 10.1126/science.1140746
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

How Much More Rain Will Global Warming Bring?

Frank J. Wentz,* Lucrezia Ricciardulli, Kyle Hilburn, Carl Mears

Climate models and satellite observations both indicate that the total amount of water in the atmosphere will increase at a rate of 7% per kelvin of surface warming. However, the climate models predict that global precipitation will increase at a much slower rate of 1 to 3% per kelvin. A recent analysis of satellite observations does not support this prediction of a muted response of precipitation to global warming. Rather, the observations suggest that precipitation and total atmospheric water have increased at about the same rate over the past two decades.

Remote Sensing Systems, 438 First Street, Santa Rosa, CA 95401, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: frank.wentz{at}remss.com

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Sodium shortage as a constraint on the carbon cycle in an inland tropical rainforest.
M. Kaspari, S. P. Yanoviak, R. Dudley, M. Yuan, and N. A. Clay (2009)
PNAS 106, 19405-19409
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Risks of Climate Engineering.
G. C. Hegerl and S. Solomon (2009)
Science 325, 955-956
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
On the biogeography of salt limitation: A study of ant communities.
M. Kaspari, S. P. Yanoviak, and R. Dudley (2008)
PNAS 105, 17848-17851
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Atmospheric Warming and the Amplification of Precipitation Extremes.
R. P. Allan and B. J. Soden (2008)
Science 321, 1481-1484
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Applied climatology: drought.
S. M. Robeson (2008)
Progress in Physical Geography 32, 303-309
   PDF »
Human-Induced Arctic Moistening.
S.-K. Min, X. Zhang, and F. Zwiers (2008)
Science 320, 518-520
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Identification of human-induced changes in atmospheric moisture content.
B. D. Santer, C. Mears, F. J. Wentz, K. E. Taylor, P. J. Gleckler, T. M. L. Wigley, T. P. Barnett, J. S. Boyle, W. Bruggemann, N. P. Gillett, et al. (2007)
PNAS 104, 15248-15253
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Potential Impacts of Climate Change and Human Activity on Subsurface Water Resources.
T. R. Green, M. Taniguchi, and H. Kooi (2007)
Vadose Zone J. 6, 531-532
   Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)