Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net 1680-7367 1680-7375 3 5 2003 10.5194/acpd-3-4833-2003 http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/3/4833/2003/ http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/3/4833/2003/acpd-3-4833-2003.html http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/3/4833/2003/acpd-3-4833-2003.pdf 4833 4856 2003-09-25 Ground-based water vapour soundings by microwave radiometry and Raman lidar on Jungfraujoch (Swiss Alps) D. Gerber I. Balin D. Feist N. Kämpfer V. Simeonov B. Calpini H. van den Bergh Institute of Applied Physics, University of Bern, Switzerland Laboratory of Air Pollution, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology – Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland Now at: MétéoSuisse, Payerne Station, Switzerland Water vapour has been measured from the International Scientific Station Jungfraujoch (ISSJ, 47° N, 7° E, 3580 m a.s.l.) during the winters of 1999/2000 and 2000/2001 by microwave radiometry and Raman lidar. The abundance of atmospheric water vapour between the planetary boundary layer and the upper stratosphere varies over more than three orders of magnitude. The currently used measurement techniques are suited to determine the abundance of water vapour in different atmospheric regimes, however none can resolve by itself a vertical distribution profile over a full altitude range from ground level to the top of the stratosphere. We present such a water vapour profile where simultaneous measurements from a Raman lidar and a microwave radiometer are combined to cover both the troposphere and the stratosphere, respectively. We also present a study of the stratospheric and tropospheric water vapour variability for the two consecutive winters.