Statistical Estimates of Computed Water-Vapor Radiative Flux from Clear Skies at an Oceanic Location

Abstract

Based upon four years of complete data spanning 1957 through 1960 at Ship P, ?clear-sky? multiple regression equations were obtained relating computed long-wave flux from water vapor over Ship P to shipboard measurements of the black-body flux and the square root of vapor pressure, as the two independent variables. The water-vapor radiative flux computations were made using the ?total water vapor? flux table in the recent Elsaaser-Culbertson Meterological Monograph. In order to limit the noise, only those clear-sky cases synoptic with the filing time of radiosondes were selected. The multiple correlation coefficient was of the order of 0.95. Statistical tests indicate, at high confidence levels, that both independent variables gave significant contributions to the explained variance.