Water Vapor from NVAP
Teaser image
Main content
The NASA Water Vapor Project (NVAP) total column water vapor (aka, precipitable water) data sets comprise a combination of radiosonde observations, Television and Infrared Operational Satellite (TIROS) Operational Vertical Sounders (TOVS), and Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) data sets. These data sets span 14 years (1988 - 2001) and contain total and layered global water vapor data.
Key Strengths
Key Strengths
Direct observations of water vapor
Key Limitations
Key Limitations
Changes in algorithms result in time series (almost) unuseable for climate studies
Please cite data sources, following the data providers' instructions
Suggested Data Citation
Dataset DOIs
None
Hosted Climate Index Files
None
Data Access
None
Usage Restrictions
None
Key Figures
NVAP total precipitable water anomalies 1988-1999; region 10S-20N, 120-270E.
NVAP January Climatology (1988-1999); anomalies for January 1998.
Other Information
Earth system components and main variables
Dataset collections
Years of record
to
Data time period extended
No, data set not being extended
Timestep
Daily, Monthly
Domain
Formats:
Input Data
satellite
Vertical Levels:
None
Missing Data Flag
Missing data present
Ocean or Land
Ocean & Land
Spatial Resolution
1° X 1°
Model Resolution (reanalysis)
None
Data Assimilation Method
None
Model Vintage (reanalysis)
None
Key Publications
- Randel, D.L., T.H. Vonder Haar, M.A. Ringerud, G.L. Stephens, T.J. Greenwald, and C.L. Combs, July 1996: "A New Global Water Vapor Dataset." Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 77, 1233-1246.
- Amenu, Geremew G., Praveen Kumar, 2005: NVAP and Reanalysis-2 Global Precipitable Water Products : Intercomparison and Variability Studies. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 86, 245–256.