Spatial–Temporal Variability of Global GNSS-Derived Precipitable Water Vapor (1994–2020) and Climate Implications

Abstract

Precipitable water vapor (PWV) is an important component in the climate system and plays a pivotal role in the global water and energy cycles. Over the years, many approaches have been devised to accurately estimate the PWV. Among them, global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) have become one of the most promising and fastest-growing PWV acquisition methods because of its high accuracy, high temporal and spatial resolution, and ability to acquire PWV in all weather and in near real time. We compared GNSS-derived PWV with a 5 min resolution globally distributed over 14,000 stations from the Nevada Geodetic Laboratory (NGL) from 1994 to 2020 with global radiosonde (RS) data, temperature anomalies, and sea height variations. Then, we examined the temporal and spatial variability of the global PWV and analyzed its climate implications. On a global scale, the average bias and root mean square error (RMSE) between GNSS PWV and RS PWV were ~0.72 ± 1.29 mm and ~2.56 ± 1.13 mm, respectively. PWV decreased with increasing latitude, and the rate of this decrease slowed down at latitudes greater than 35°, with standard deviation (STD) values reaching a maximum at latitudes less than 35°. The global average linear trend was ~0.64 ± 0.81 mm/decade and strongly correlated with temperature and sea height variations. For each 1 °C and 1 mm change, PWV increased by ~2.075 ± 0.765 mm and ~0.015 ± 0.005 mm, respectively. For the time scale, the PWV content peaked ~40 days after the maximum solar radiation of the year (the summer solstice), and the delay was ~40 days relative to the summer solstice.