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Spatial analysis of relative humidity during ungauged periods in a mountainous region

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Abstract

Although atmospheric humidity influences environmental and agricultural conditions, thereby influencing plant growth, human health, and air pollution, efforts to develop spatial maps of atmospheric humidity using statistical approaches have thus far been limited. This study therefore aims to develop statistical approaches for inferring the spatial distribution of relative humidity (RH) for a mountainous island, for which data are not uniformly available across the region. A multiple regression analysis based on various mathematical models was used to identify the optimal model for estimating monthly RH by incorporating not only temperature but also location and elevation. Based on the regression analysis, we extended the monthly RH data from weather stations to cover the ungauged periods when no RH observations were available. Then, two different types of station-based data, the observational data and the data extended via the regression model, were used to form grid-based data with a resolution of 100 m. The grid-based data that used the extended station-based data captured the increasing RH trend along an elevation gradient. Furthermore, annual RH values averaged over the regions were examined. Decreasing temporal trends were found in most cases, with magnitudes varying based on the season and region.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Korea Meteorological Administration R&D Program under Grant KMIPA 2015-6180 and also partly as well as by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (2015R1C1A2A01054800).

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  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 120-749, South Korea

    Myoung-Jin Um & Yeonjoo Kim

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  1. Myoung-Jin Um
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  2. Yeonjoo Kim
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Correspondence to Yeonjoo Kim.

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Um, MJ., Kim, Y. Spatial analysis of relative humidity during ungauged periods in a mountainous region. Theor Appl Climatol 129, 1157–1166 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-016-1831-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-016-1831-9

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