ATMOSPHERIC MOISTURE

Water represents only 2% of the total mess of the atmosphere and 4% of its

Volume. It can vary from nearly zero in the hot arid areas, to a maximum of 3% in

the middle latitudes and 4% in the humid tropics. Just as it is for other gases, water

vapour is constantly added to and removed from the atmosphere, and as long as

these balance the atmospheric store will remain constant. This movement of water

between and within the atmosphere and the earth Is referred to as the “ Hydrologic

Cycle”.

SIGNIFICANCE OF WATER VAPOUR TO METEOROLOGY/CLIMATOLOGY

1. The atmosphere’s potential capacity to give precipitation is indicated by the

amount of water vapour in a given volume of air. So water vapour is the

source of all forms of condensation and precipitation.

2. Water vapour serves as heat regulator within the earth-atmosphere system

because it can absorb both solar and terrestrial radiation.

3. The latent energy released when vapour condenses is an important source of

energy for atmospheric circulation and the development of atmospheric

disturbances.

4. The quatity and vertical distribution of water vapour in the atmosphere

indirectly affects the stability or otherwise of the air due to latent heat in the

vapour.
5. As a result of its influence on the rate of evaporation and evapotranspiration,

amount of water vapour in the air is a determinant of the temperature sensed

by the human skin and hence human comfort.

6. Unlike of gases, water vapour can be changed to liquid or solid form within

the range of normal atmospheric temperature.

HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

Evaporation occurs directly from oceans and from water bodies, on land

surfaces such as lakes and rivers, and indirectly through plants via the process

called “Transpiration”. The water vapour which rises into the air becomes

water droplets or crystals in the form of clouds or fog. While some of the cloud

droplets or crystals fall as precipitation others evaporate back into the air.

Precipitation which falls onto the oceans may be evaporated back into the air.

Some precipitation falling towards the land may actually fall onto vegetation

and accumulate as a coating of water or ice. The water undergoing this process

called, “Interception”, may drip or trickle down the plant to the surface or

evaporate back into the air. Once on the land (directly or after interception),

rainfall flows above the surface into rivers, which then transport the water into a

lake or ocean or it can evaporate directly back into the atmosphere. When
precipitation falls as ice, (e.g. snow) it might temporarily remain on the ground

before melting, or it might be locked away for several years as part of a glacier.

Some of the liquid water penetrates into the ground through the process of

infiltration. Under gravity the water is pulled down and collects in the pores of

underlying soil or rock as “Groundwater”. Much of the groundwater

eventually seeps into rivers for transport towards the ocean where the cycle

continues. However, much is almost immediately withdrawn by plants and

transpired to the atmosphere.

WATER VAPOUR DYNAMICS

Air that contains as much water as possible is said to be saturated and the

introduction of additional water vapour results in formation of water droplets or

ice crystals. This concept of saturation is fundamental to understanding the

processes that form clouds and fogs.

Evaporation: defines a process whereby molecules break free of a liquid

volume. In the opposite process called condensation, water vapour molecules

randomly collide with the water surface and bond with adjacent molecules. The

low water vapour content at early stages of evaporation prevents much

condensation from occurring, so the rate of evaporation exceeds that of

condensation. This leads to an increase in the amount of water vapour present.

However with increasing water vapour content, the condensation rate likewise

increases. Eventually, the amount of water vapour above the surface is enough

for the rate of condensation and evaporation to become equal.

This implies that a constant amount of water vapour now exist in the volume

above the water surface due to offsetting gains and losses by evaporation and

condensation. The resulting equilibrium state is called saturation. Dry air plays

no role in achieving this state.

The exchange of water vapour as described above applies also to the change of

phase between water vapour and ice. The change of phase directly from ice to

water vapour, without passing into the liquid phase is called sublimation. The

reverse process that is from water vapour to ice is called deposition.

SOME INDICES OF WATER VAPOUR CONTENT

Humidity: Refers to the water vapour content of the atmosphere. It can be

expressed in a number of ways such as density of water vapour, the pressure

exerted by water vapour and the percentage of the amount of water vapour that

can actually exist. Although there is no single “correct” measure, because each

has its own advantages and disadvantages, all measures of humidity apply

exclusively to water vapour and to liquid droplets or ice crystals.

Vapour Pressure: is the part of the total atmospheric pressure due to water

vapour. It is commonly expressed in millibars (mb) in U.S, in kilopascals (kPa)

in Canada and in pascal (Pa) in most scientific applications. (100Pa = 1mb =

0.1kPa).

The vapour pressure of a volume of air, depends on both the temperature and

the density of water vapour. At high temperature, water vapour molecules move

more rapidly and exert a greater pressure. Similarly, a greater concentration of

water vapour molecules means a greater amount of mass is available to exert

pressure. In practice, vapour pressure is determined by changes in the density or

abundance of water molecules, because temperature influences are small

compared to density changes. Since there is a maximum amount of water

vapour that can exist, there is also a maximum vapour pressure, called the

“saturation vapour pressure”. This is an expression of the maximum that can

exist and not the current amount of mixture in the air. Saturation vapour

pressure depends only on temperature. Higher temperatures bring about higher

saturation vapour pressures. This increase in saturation vapour pressure with

temperature is not linear. Only a modest increase in saturation vapour pressure

takes place at low temperature while at high temperatures saturation vapour

pressure grows rapidly.

Absolute Humidity: Is the total mass of water in a given volume of air

(density) expressed in grams per cubic meter of air. Absolute humidity is not

widely used because its value changes whenever air expands or contracts.

Specific Humidity: expresses the mass of water vapour existing in a given

mass of air. Most often, it is expressed as the number of grams of water vapour

per kilogram of air. Specific humidity does not change as air expands or

contracts, because the mass of air remains the same. Specific humidity is also

not temperature dependent. Therefore, it is a good indicator for comparing

water vapour in the air at different locations whose air temperatures might be

different from each other.

Since there is a maximum amount of water vapour that can exist at a particular

temperature, there is also a maximum specific humidity. This is called the

“saturation specific humidity”.