ABEN 3410

HYDROMETEOROLOGY
Jophet D. Flores
Instructor
 Weather and Climate
• This chapter discusses the definition of weather and climate as
well as their differences and similarities.

• This also includes the discussion about the causes and the
driving forces of weather and climate which includes the Earth-
Sun relationship, the Heat Energy Balance on the surface of the
Earth, the Atmospheric Circulation, etc.
 Weather and Climate
• Weather is the state of the atmosphere, or the sequence of the states of the
atmosphere at any given time. It is the short-term variations of the
atmosphere in terms of temperature, pressure, wind, moisture, cloudiness,
precipitation and visibility. Weather is highly variable. It is constantly
changing, sometimes from hour to hour and at times from day to day.

• Climate (from Ancient Greek klima, meaning inclination) is commonly defined

as the weather averaged over a long period of time. The standard averaging
period is 30 years, but other periods may be used depending on the purpose.
Climate also includes statistics other than the average, such as the
magnitudes of day-to-day or year-to-year variations
 Weather and Climate
August 31, 2022 (Arizona)

August 2022
(Arizona)
 Weather and Climate

• The difference between climate and weather is usefully

summarized by the popular phrase “Climate is what you
expect, weather is what you get”. Weather and climate are
meteorological terms that are related but not interchangeable.
 The Earth-Sun Relationship
• At the core of the Sun, the temperature is about 15 000 000 °C and on the
surface 5700 °C.

• The solar energy is released as light and heat radiation into all directions of
the Solar System. It can reach the Earth in only about 8 minutes even though
the Sun is so far away from Earth.
 The Earth-Sun Relationship

• There are two primary movements of the Earth: rotation and revolution.

• Rotation refers to the spinning of the Earth from west to east upon its axis
once in approximately every 24 hours.

• Revolution refers to the movement of the Earth along an elliptical path

around the Sun once every 365 1⁄4 days (approximately).
 The Earth-Sun Relationship
• The Earth’s orbit is not an
even circle, but rather an
elliptical orbit with the Earth
closest to the Sun in early
January (91.5 million miles
away), called the perihelion,
and farthest away in early
July (94.5 million miles
away), called the aphelion.
 The Earth-Sun Relationship
• The latitude at which the sun is
directly overhead changes
continuously in an annual cycle
as the Earth moves in its orbit
around the sun. The sun appears
to move from northern latitudes
to the equator to southern
latitudes and back to the
equator and northern latitudes.
 The Earth-Sun Relationship
• The Earth’s axis is inclined at an angle of 23 1⁄2
° to the vertical drawn to a plane of the ecliptic.

• Earth’s axis always remains parallel to itself

throughout the annual orbit, i.e., it is always
tilted in the same direction. This parallelism of
the axis produces the seasons. There is greater
heating of the surface when the sun is directly
overhead, i.e., the sun’s rays are perpendicular
to the surface

• The movements (rotation and revolution)

combined with the tilt of the Earth’s axis
relative to the orbital plane contributes to the
daily and seasonal fluctuations in the amount of
solar radiation for different locations.
 Heat Balance at Earth’s Surface
• The temperature of the earth’s surface has been remarkably
constant over geologic time.

• Even the dramatic cooling during the ice age represented a change
of only 3 °C in the global average surface temperature, occurring
over thousands of years.

• Seasonal changes in temperature, although large in a particular

place, correspond to very tiny changes in global mean
temperature.
 Heat Balance at Earth’s Surface
• How is this remarkably steady condition maintained?

• To maintain the long-term stability of earth’s temperature, the

planet must radiate to space a flux of energy sufficient to just
balance the input from the sun, i.e., the Earth is, to good
approximation, in radiative energy balance.
Heat Balance at Earth’s Surface
 Heat Balance at Earth’s Surface
• The exchange of energy between the Earth’s surface and the overlying atmosphere
involves four important processes, namely:

– Absorption and Emission of ‘natural’ electromagnetic radiation by the surface.

– Thermal Conduction of heat energy within the ground.

– Turbulent transfer of heat energy towards or away from the surface within the
atmosphere

– Evaporation of water stored in the soil or Condensation of atmospheric water

vapor onto the surface
 Heat Balance at Earth’s Surface
• The exchange of energy between the Earth’s surface and the overlying atmosphere involves four important
processes, namely:

Q - the total heat energy stored in the surface layer

Rn - the net surface irradiance (commonly referred to as the net radiation). It represents the gain of
energy by the surface from radiation. It is a positive number when it is towards the surface.
G - the Ground Heat Flux. It is the loss of energy by heat conduction through the lower boundary.
It is a positive number when it is directed away from the surface into ground. The value at
the surface is denoted G0.
H - the Sensible Heat Flux. It represents the loss of energy by the surface by heat transfer to the
atmosphere. It is positive when directed away from the surface into the atmosphere.
λE - the Latent Heat Flux. It represents a loss of energy from the surface due to evaporation. (λ is
the specific latent heat of evaporation, unit and E is the evaporation rate )
 Heat Balance at Earth’s Surface
• For an infinitely thin surface layer the heat storage in the above equation is zero
and reduces to

or

The quantity Rn − G0 is known as the available energy. In modelling the surface

energy balance, we need to be able to calculate the available energy and partition it
between the sensible and latent heat fluxes.
 Heat Balance at Earth’s Surface
• The way in which the available energy is partitioned between the sensible and latent heat flux can be
quantified by taking the ratio of the sensible to latent heat flux, which is known as the Bowen ratio:

• The Bowen ratio is non-dimensional and depends on the availability of water at the surface.

– For surfaces where water is freely available B0 is small, and most of the available energy is
transferred to the atmosphere in the form of latent heat (λE is larger than H).

– For arid surfaces (e.g., deserts) B0 is large, and most of the available energy is transferred to the
atmosphere in the form of sensible heat (H is large than λE), which warms the air close to the
surface.

– Vegetation is a significant influence on the Bowen ratio.

 Heat Balance at Earth’s Surface
• In terms of the Bowen ratio the surface energy balance can be
written as:

or
 Assignment
• Show how these equations are derived:
 Latitudinal Energy Variation
• As mentioned above, the average global temperature remains
nearly constant because the incoming solar radiation is
balanced out by the outgoing longwave radiation.

• However, the global balance is not applicable at all points on

the Earth’s surface. There are latitudinal variations in energy
distribution of the Earth’s surface.
Latitudinal Energy Variation
• The zone that lies within 38° of the equator
receives more solar radiation than is lost to space
while the opposite is true for higher latitudes
where the outgoing longwave radiation exceeds
incoming solar radiation .

• With this, we might say that the tropics is heating

up while the poles are cooling down. However,
this is not the case. Instead, the global wind
systems and the ocean act as giant thermal
engines, transferring surplus heat from the tropics
poleward.
 General Atmospheric Circulation
• The tropical regions actually receive more energy from the sun than they
emit back to space, whereas the converse is true in high latitudes .

• Since both regions are, on an annual average, in equilibrium, there must be a

process acting to transport excess energy from the tropics to make up the
deficit in high latitudes.

• To balance these inequities between the tropical and polar regions, the
atmosphere transports warm air poleward and cool air equatorward (global
atmospheric circulation).
 General Atmospheric Circulation
• Two circulation models widely known:

• Single-Cell Model
• Three-cell Model
 General Atmospheric Circulation
• Single-Cell Model

– The first model is the single-cell model, in which assumes that:

• Earth’s surface is uniformly covered with water (so that differential heating
between land and water does not come into play).

• The sun is always directly over the equator (so that the winds will not shift
seasonally).

• Earth does not rotate (so that the only force we need to deal with is the
pressure-gradient force – force caused by the difference in pressure).
 General Atmospheric Circulation
Single-Cell Model

• The circulation of air described in the image is the Hadley cell

(named after the eighteenth-century English meteorologist
George Hadley, who first proposed the idea).

• It is referred to as a thermally direct cell because it is driven by

energy from the sun as warm air rises and cold air sinks.

• Excessive heating of the equatorial area produces a broad

region of surface low pressure, while at the poles excessive
cooling creates a region of surface high pressure

• In response to the horizontal pressure gradient, cold surface

polar air flows equatorward, while at higher levels air flows
toward the poles

• The entire circulation consists of a closed loop with rising air

near the equator, sinking air over the poles, an equatorward
flow of air near the surface, and a return flow aloft. In this
manner, some of the excess energy of the tropics is
transported as sensible and latent heat to the regions of
energy deficit at the poles.
 General Atmospheric Circulation
Three-Cell Model

• If we allow Earth to spin, the simple convection system breaks into a series of cells.

• Although this model is considerably more complex than the single-cell model, there are
some similarities

• The tropical regions still receive an excess of heat and the poles, a deficit. In each
hemisphere, three cells instead of one have the task of energy redistribution.

• A surface high-pressure area is located at the poles, and a broad trough of surface low
pressure still exists at the equator.
 General Atmospheric Circulation
Three-Cell Model

• Over equatorial waters, the air is warm, horizontal pressure

gradients are weak, and winds are light. This region is referred
to as the doldrums.

• Here, warm, humid air rises, often condensing into huge

cumulus clouds and thunderstorms called convective “hot”
towers because of the enormous amount of latent heat they
liberate.

• This heat makes the air more buoyant and provides energy to
drive the Hadley cell.

• The rising air reaches the tropopause, which acts like a barrier,
causing the air to move laterally toward the poles.

• The Coriolis force deflects this poleward flow toward the right
in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern
Hemisphere, providing westerly winds aloft in both
hemispheres.
 General Atmospheric Circulation
Three-Cell Model

• Over the ocean, the weak pressure gradients in the

center of the high-pressure area produce only weak
winds. According to legend, sailing ships traveling to
the New World were frequently becalmed in this
region, and, as food and supplies dwindled, horses
were either thrown overboard or eaten. Because of
this, this region is sometimes called the horse
latitudes.

• From the horse latitudes, near latitude 30°, some of

the surface air moves back toward the equator. It does
not flow straight back, however, because the Coriolis
force deflects the air, causing it to blow from the
northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the
southeast in the Southern Hemisphere. These
steadywinds provided sailing ships with an ocean
route to the New World; hence, these winds are called
the trade winds.
 General Atmospheric Circulation
Three-Cell Model

• Near the equator, the northeast trades

converge with the southeast trades along
a boundary called the intertropical
convergence zone (ITCZ)

• In this region of surface convergence, air

rises and continues its cellular journey.
Along the ITCZ, it is usually very wet as
the rising air develops into huge
thunderstorms that drop copious
amounts of rain in the form of heavy
showers.
 General Atmospheric Circulation
Three-Cell Model

• Meanwhile, at latitude 30°, not all of the

surface air moves equatorward. Some air
moves toward the poles and deflects
toward the east, resulting in a more or
less westerly airflow — called the
prevailing westerlies, or, simply,
westerlies—in both hemispheres.
 General Atmospheric Circulation
Three-Cell Model

• As this mild surface air travels poleward

from latitude 30°, it encounters cold air
• moving down from the poles. These two
air masses of contrasting temperature
do not readily mix. They are separated
by a boundary called the polar front, a
zone of low pressure — the subpolar low
— where surface air converges and rises,
and storms and clouds develop.
 General Atmospheric Circulation
Three-Cell Model

• Some of the rising air returns at high levels to the

horse latitudes, where it sinks back to the surface
in the vicinity of the subtropical high.

• The middle cell (a thermally indirect cell, in which

cool air rises and warm air sinks, called the Ferrel
cell, after the American meteorologist William
Ferrel) is completed when surface air from the
horse latitudes flows poleward toward the polar
front. Notice in the figure that, in the Northern
Hemisphere, behind the polar front, the cold air
from the poles is deflected by the Coriolis force,
so that the general flow of air is from the
northeast. Hence, this is the region of the polar
easterlies
 General Atmospheric Circulation
Three-Cell Model

• In winter, the polar front with its cold air

can move into middle and subtropical
latitudes, producing a cold polar
outbreak. Along the front, a portion of
the rising air moves poleward, and the
Coriolis force deflects the air into a
westerly wind at high levels. Air aloft
eventually reaches the poles, slowly
sinks to the surface, and flows back
toward the polar front, completing the
weak polar cell.
 References
• Ahrens C. D., R. Henson (2019). Meteorology Today - An Introduction to Weather,
Climate, and the Environment, Twelfth Edition. Cengage Learning. WCN 02-200-202

• Earth and Sun – Unit 2. Radmaste Center

• Lutgens, F. and Tarbuck, E. (2016). The Atmosphere: An Introduction to

Meteorology, 13th ed., Pearson.

• Kaur, J. Weather and Climate. Department of Geography. Post Graduate Govt.

College. For Girls-Sector-11-Chd.

• Salem State University. Earth-Sun Relationships. Weather and Climate. Salem State
University.