e. Relative Humidity Distribution (Troposphere)
The meridional difference is more evident in the relative
humidity distribution than in the specific humidity distribution. In
all cases examined, the pattern of relative humidity is
characterized by large values in the region of the Hadley
circulation extending between 30° latitude north and south,
decreasing values in the subtropical regions beyond the region of
the Hadley circulation, and again increasing values in the polar
regions. In the region of the Hadley circulation, relative humidity
becomes almost constant due to the circulation effect. It can be
presumed that the aridification in the subtropical regions is caused
by the descending flow of the Hadley circulation. The structure of
the relative humidity distribution described above appears to
persist regardless of the value of solar constant adopted. While the
pattern of the relative humidity distribution is similar among all
the cases examined, the values of relative humidity decrease with an
increasing amount of incident radiation. The reason for this
phenomenon has not yet been well investigated and will be addressed
in the future.
Figure 1:Distributions of relative humidity in equilibrium states.
