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Atmospheric Water
In order to predict storms, rainfall, and
climate change, we need to quantify
moisture and determine when vapor
changes into liquid or ice.
Question!
Are deserts devoid of atmospheric
moisture?
Properties of Water
Physical States
only natural substance that occurs naturally in three states on the earths surface
Heat Capacity
Highest of all common solids and liquids
Surface Tension
Highest of all common liquids
Latent Heat of Fusion
Highest of all common substances
Compressibility
Virtually incompressible as a liquid
Density
Density of seawater is controlled by temperature, salinity and pressure
Liquid has maximum density at +4oC; solid phase has lower density!
Properties of Water (cont)
Radiative Properties
transparent to visible wavelengths
virtually opaque to many infrared wavelengths
large range of albedo possible
water 10 % (daily average)
Ice 30 to 40%
Snow 20 to 95%
Cloud 30 to 90%
Energy associated with phase change
Sublimation
Deposition
Why does it take so much energy
to evaporate water?
In the liquid state, adjacent water molecules
attract one another
- charge on O attracted to + charge on H
we call this hydrogen bonding
This same hydrogen bond accounts for
surface tension on a free water surface
column of water
Sublimation - evaporate ice directly to water vapor
Take one gram of ice at zero degrees centigrade
Evaporation
from oceans is
vital!
2001 Prentice-Hall. From Lutgens and Tarbuck, The Atmosphere, 8th Ed.
Moisture Variables and
Saturation
Moist and Dry Air
We say that the air is dry when there
is no water vapor in the air.
The air is moist when there is some
water vapor in the air. Recall that the
amount of water vapor in the air can
reach 4%.
Note:
Moist air does not imply that condensation
has occurred!
Moist air can be cloud-free.
Almost all air in the atmosphere is moist.
Saturated Air
We say that the air is saturated when
moist air is in a state of equilibrium with
a plane (flat) surface of pure water or
pure ice at the same temperature and
pressure.
Consider a box of water with only dry air
above the water:
Dry Air
H2O
Saturation
Over time, water vapor
molecules will leave the
liquid and go into the
vapor phase.
For a given temperature H2O
and pressure, there will be
When we achieve
a limit to the amount of this equilibrium state
water vapor molecules that (same number of
can enter the air without molecules leaving
the same number returning the liquid as
to the liquid. returning) we say
the air is saturated.
Supersaturation
We can continue adding water vapor to the
air beyond saturation (but we have to do
work to do this!)
We say that a supersaturation condition
exists in a given portion of the atmosphere
when the relative humidity exceeds 100%.
Or we can say that the air is supersaturated
when the water vapor in the air is in excess
of that required to achieve saturation.
Moisture in the Air
1. Absolute Humidity
2. Specific Humidity
3. Mixing Ratio (w)
4. Vapor Pressure (e)
5. Relative humidity (RH)
Absolute Humidity
Absolute Humidity
The mass of water vapor (in grams)
per unit volume (m3) of dry air.
Called the water vapor density.
Not terribly useful in meteorology.
A simple change in volume will
change the absolute humidity!
mv g
a Units:
3
volume m
Absolute Humidity -- Problem
Absolute Humidity
The value for absolute humidity changes
as the volume changes.
So, if a parcel were to rise and the volume
expands, then the absolute humidity would
decrease even though the amount of water
vapor had not changed!
We say that absolute humidity is not
conserved.
Absolute humidity is not used much in
meteorology.
Specific Humidity
Specific Humidity
mv g
q Units:
ma kg
Specific Humidity
Consider the
average
specific
humidity at
various
latitudes.
Highest q in the
tropics!
Example: 10 g kg-1
Range: 0 to 30 g kg-1
Mixing Ratio and Specific
Humidity
We can relate the mixing ratio to the
specific humidity by the following simple
relationship:
w
q
1 w
Pressure -- Review
Gravity
Pressure -- Review
Pressure is a force per unit area:
F
P
A
In meteorology we use the units millibars.
Typical sea-level pressure is
approximately 1013 mb.
We shall revisit pressure later -- what about
the pressure associated with water vapor?
Vapor Pressure
Vapor pressure: The partial pressure of
water vapor, i.e., that portion of total
atmospheric pressure that is due to the
presence of water vapor (H2Ov).
Recall: N2, O2, A, CO2
Each of these gasses exerts a pressure.
The sum total of these partial pressures is the
total atmospheric pressure.
We denote the vapor pressure by the letter
e.
Vapor Pressure
Example 1:
Assume an atmosphere is made up of
three gasses:
CO2 -- 75 %
N2 ---- 15 %
H2 ---- 10 %
You measure the pressure and find it to
be 1000 mb. What is the partial
pressure of Nitrogen?
Moist air is less dense than dry air and will tend to rise.
Nitrogen = 14 x 2 = 28 x 0.78 ~ 22
Oxygen = 16 x 2 = 32 x 0.21 ~ 7
29 Units
Hydrogen = 1 x 2 = 2
Oxygen = 16 x 1 = 16
18 Units
Which environment has higher water vapor content?
The Sling Psychrometer
Measures water vapor content of air
Figure 4. Hygrometer Figure 5. Sling Psychrometer