Increase in Atmospheric Moisture Tied to Human Activities

I included this earlier report because it has less-technical language; also Americans are likely to be familiar with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and its excellent reputation in sciencific research. I have also posted recent report on this subject, which reinforces the findings.

https://www-pls.llnl.gov/?url=science_and_technology-earth_sciences-moisture

September 18, 2007
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Observations and climate model results confirm that human-induced warming of the planet is having a pronounced effect on the atmosphere’s total moisture content. Those are the findings of a new study appearing in the Sept. 17 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“When you heat the planet, you increase the ability of the atmosphere to hold moisture,” said Benjamin Santer, lead author from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Program for Climate Modeling and Intercomparison. “The atmosphere’s water vapor content has increased by about 0.41 kilograms per square meter (kg/m²) per decade since 1988, and natural variability in climate just can’t explain this moisture change. The most plausible explanation is that it’s due to the human-caused increase in greenhouse gases.”

More water vapor – which is itself a greenhouse gas – amplifies the warming effect of increased atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide. This is what scientists call a “positive feedback.”

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