Professional Documents
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Condensation and
Clouds
Circulation of water in the atmosphere
Evaporation, condensation and saturation
Humidity
Dew and frost
Fog
Foggy weather
Clouds
Circulation of Water
in the Atmosphere
Q: do we have more water vapor in the hot, `dry’ air
the Sahara desert than in the cold, `damp’ polar air?
(A: yes and no, depending on the type of humidity
we mean)
Circulation of Water in the
Atmosphere
evaporation
condensation
Precipitation
Runoff
hydrologic cycle
• The total amount of water vapor stored in the
atmosphere amounts to only one week’s supply of
precipitation for the planet.
Fig. 4-1, p. 80
Evaporation, Condensation
and Saturation
•Saturation
saturation is more likely
to occur in cool air
•Evaporation is increased
by
stronger wind;
Higher T
Evaporation, Condensation and
Saturation
condensation nuclei
• In very clean air, about 10,000 condensation nuclei
are typically found in one cubic centimeter of air,
a volume approximately the size of your fingertip.
• Condensation occurs
primarily when the air
is cooled
Humidity
•Water vapor density (absolute
humidity (kg/m3)
•Relative humidity
Vapor Pressure
actual vapor pressure
saturation vapor pressure
Fig. 4-5, p. 83
Relative Humidity
definition of relative
humidity:
vapor pressure divided by
saturation vapor pressure
saturation and
supersaturation
relative humidity and
temperature
Fig. 4-7, p. 85
Relative Humidity and Dew
Point
dew point temperature
• The It is the T to which air would have to be cooled (with
no change in air pressure and moisture content) for
saturation to occur
• Higher Td indicates higher water vapor content
Fig. 4-9a, p. 87
Relative Humidity and Human
Discomfort
wet bulb temperature
Tw: attained by evaporating water into the air;
a good measure of how cool the skin can become
Td: reached by cooling the air to saturation;
a good measure of actual vapor content
Heat index
• “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity” - both temperature and
relative humidity contribute to warm-weather discomfort.
Fig. 4-10, p. 89
Measuring Humidity
Psychrometers
Wet-bulb T (Tw);
Dry-bulb T (Ta);
wet-bulb depression (Ta-Tw);
Find Td and RH (based on
Table D on p. 443-446) for
Ta = 20C, Ta-Tw = 5C; or
Ta = 90F, Ta-Tw = 10F
Hygrometers
hair hygrometer and electrical hygrometer: RH
infrared hygrometer and dew cell: moisture content;
dew-point hygrometer (for ASOS)
Dew and Frost
dew
frost
frost point and deposition
• Frost is one of the few examples of deposition in nature.
Fog
radiation fog:
cooling from ground
advection fog:
warm, moist air over cold surface
upslope fog: cooling
evaporation (mixing) fog
when moist air from your mouth or nose
meets the cold air and mixes with it
Pileus: `cap’
mammatus clouds:
baglike
Contrails: condensation
trail from engine exhaust