Abstract
In the current generation of radiative-convective atmospheric models, a single water vapor profile is used to represent globally or zonally averaged conditions, and cloud amounts and location are fixed. The profile most commonly used to represent a mean water vapor profile is based on an assumed constant distribution of relative humidity. This profile underestimates the amount of atmospheric water vapor by as much as 30% and leads to an underestimation of the greenhouse effect of water vapor. It is demonstrated that the neglect of separate clear and cloudy sky water vapor profiles in radiative-convective models can cause up to fourfold differences in surface temperature sensitivity to model parameter changes such as the amount of cloud cover and the assumed surface relative humidity.
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