Articles | Volume 21, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-779-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-779-2017
Research article
 | 
08 Feb 2017
Research article |  | 08 Feb 2017

The residence time of water in the atmosphere revisited

Ruud J. van der Ent and Obbe A. Tuinenburg

Viewed

Total article views: 13,076 (including HTML, PDF, and XML)
HTML PDF XML Total Supplement BibTeX EndNote
6,825 5,911 340 13,076 618 276 331
  • HTML: 6,825
  • PDF: 5,911
  • XML: 340
  • Total: 13,076
  • Supplement: 618
  • BibTeX: 276
  • EndNote: 331
Views and downloads (calculated since 01 Sep 2016)
Cumulative views and downloads (calculated since 01 Sep 2016)

Viewed (geographical distribution)

Total article views: 13,076 (including HTML, PDF, and XML) Thereof 12,421 with geography defined and 655 with unknown origin.
Country # Views %
  • 1
1
 
 
 
 

Cited

Saved (final revised paper)

Discussed (final revised paper)

Latest update: 06 May 2026
Download
Short summary
This research seeks out to answer a fundamental question about the functioning of the water cycle in the atmosphere: how much time does a water particle spend in the atmosphere? Based on state-of-the-art data, we derive a global average residence time of water in the atmosphere of 8–10 days. We further show in this paper how the residence time of water varies in time and space. This serves to illustrate why it is so difficult to make weather predictions on timescales longer than a week.
Share