TY - JOUR
T1 - Metrological challenges for measurements of key climatological observables: Oceanic salinity and pH, and atmospheric humidity. Part 1: Overview
AU - Feistel, R.
AU - Wielgosz, R.
AU - Bell, S.A.
AU - Camões, M.F.
AU - Cooper, J.R.
AU - Dexter, P.
AU - Dickson, A.G.
AU - Fisicaro, P.
AU - Harvey, A.H.
AU - Heinonen, Martti
AU - Hellmuth, O.
AU - Kretzschmar, H-J.
AU - Lovell-Smith, J.W.
AU - McDougall, T.J.
AU - Pawlowicz, R.
AU - Ridout, P.
AU - Seitz, S.
AU - Spitzer, P.
AU - Stoica, D.
AU - Wolf, H.
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Water in its three ambient phases plays the central
thermodynamic role in the terrestrial climate system.
Clouds control Earth's radiation balance, atmospheric
water vapour is the strongest "greenhouse" gas, and
non-equilibrium relative humidity at the air-sea
interface drives evaporation and latent heat export from
the ocean. On climatic time scales, melting ice caps and
regional deviations of the hydrological cycle result in
changes of seawater salinity, which in turn may modify
the global circulation of the oceans and their ability to
store heat and to buffer anthropogenically produced
carbon dioxide. In this paper, together with three
companion articles, we examine the climatologically
relevant quantities ocean salinity, seawater pH and
atmospheric relative humidity, noting fundamental
deficiencies in the definitions of those key observables,
and their lack of secure foundation on the International
System of Units, the SI. The metrological histories of
those three quantities are reviewed, problems with their
current definitions and measurement practices are
analysed, and options for future improvements are
discussed in conjunction with the recent seawater
standard TEOS-10. It is concluded that the International
Bureau of Weights and Measures, BIPM, in cooperation with
the International Association for the Properties of Water
and Steam, IAPWS, along with other international
organisations and institutions, can make significant
contributions by developing and recommending
state-of-the-art solutions for these long standing
metrological problems in climatology.
AB - Water in its three ambient phases plays the central
thermodynamic role in the terrestrial climate system.
Clouds control Earth's radiation balance, atmospheric
water vapour is the strongest "greenhouse" gas, and
non-equilibrium relative humidity at the air-sea
interface drives evaporation and latent heat export from
the ocean. On climatic time scales, melting ice caps and
regional deviations of the hydrological cycle result in
changes of seawater salinity, which in turn may modify
the global circulation of the oceans and their ability to
store heat and to buffer anthropogenically produced
carbon dioxide. In this paper, together with three
companion articles, we examine the climatologically
relevant quantities ocean salinity, seawater pH and
atmospheric relative humidity, noting fundamental
deficiencies in the definitions of those key observables,
and their lack of secure foundation on the International
System of Units, the SI. The metrological histories of
those three quantities are reviewed, problems with their
current definitions and measurement practices are
analysed, and options for future improvements are
discussed in conjunction with the recent seawater
standard TEOS-10. It is concluded that the International
Bureau of Weights and Measures, BIPM, in cooperation with
the International Association for the Properties of Water
and Steam, IAPWS, along with other international
organisations and institutions, can make significant
contributions by developing and recommending
state-of-the-art solutions for these long standing
metrological problems in climatology.
U2 - 10.1088/0026-1394/53/1/R1
DO - 10.1088/0026-1394/53/1/R1
M3 - Review Article
SN - 0026-1394
VL - 53
SP - R1-R11
JO - Metrologia
JF - Metrologia
IS - 1
ER -