Abstract
Covariances and correlations of the humidity mixing ratio are calculated which are necessary for the construction of an objective humidity analysis scheme with the optimum interpolation method. The statistics are derived for winter and summer and for three levels, 850, 700 and 500 mbar. It appears that the best description of the humidity correlation function is a function of the form ρ0 exp (–bs), s being the distance between two locations. The constants ρ0 and b are dependent on the season, level, and guess field used in the analysis. A representative value for b-1 is 400 km. From the determination of ρ0, which varies between about 0.5 and 0.9, one obtains a quantitative impression of the observation error.
The results obtained are used in a humidity analysis system and examples of analyses of the absolute humidity are given.
© 1981 Jan Van Maanen, published by Stockholm University Press
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