Abstract
Abstract Water vapor distributions obtained from the fourth generation ECHAM general circulation model are compared with satellite observations of total precipitable water (TPW) from the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/1) and upper-tropospheric relative humidity (UTH) from TIROS-N Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS). In general, the model simulators agree well with satellite observations of the climatological mean, seasonal variation, and interannual variation of moisture. There are, however, biases in the details. Underestimates in TPW and UTH are found off the west coast of continents, especially in the boreal summer over the eastern subtropical Pacific. These biases are related to both enhanced dry advection due to an excessively strong subtropical high and greater large-scale subsidence. A more intense tropical circulation in ECHAM4 is evidenced by the broadening of the high TPW and UTH zone that coincides with the equatorial convective regions. Additionally, interannual anomalies in equatorial U...
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