In different reanalysis products (ERA 20C and NOAA/OAR/ESRL/PSD 20th Century daily data specifically) one can find the following variables:
- Total column water (ERA)
- Total column rain water (ERA)
- Total column water vapor (ERA)
- Total column cloud liquid water (ERA)
- Cloud water content (NOAA)
- Precipitable water content (NOAA)
How are they calculated? What are the differences between them? Could you please cite a reference or book in which this is explained in details?
Which of these may serve as a best approximation to represent large-scale patterns of rainfall (monsoonal cycles)?
Which of these is the vertically integrated specific moisture?
Are any of these equivalent to the vertically integrated moisture flux divergence as an approximation for precipitation, as in Banacos and Schultz (2005)?