An assessment of convective influence on upper tropospheric and lower stratospheric moisture simulations in analysis and reanalysis models using satellite bservations

We use 10-year global water vapor maxing ratio (H2O) measurements from Microwave LimeSounder (MLS) on Aura satellite to evaluate the performance of three analysis/reanalysis models: Goddard Earth Observation System data assimilation system, version 5 (GEOS5); Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for research and Applications (MERRA); and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). We focus on influences of convection and temperature on the H2O variations on both seasonal and decadal time scales. Vertical and horizontal speeds of H2O transport are estimated from the pressure-time and latitude-time series analyses. The differences between the MLS observations and analysis/reanalysis models are quantified.