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Presentation-BS281-Week 04

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17 views30 pages

Presentation-BS281-Week 04

Uploaded by

Mazen Ayman
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Week 04

Water Vapor Cycle in


Atmosphere

BS-281
Dr. Kareem Tonbol
Meteorology & Hydrographic Survey Program
[email protected]
The Water Cycle
Change of State
Evaporation
• Evaporation: is the process of converting
a liquid to a gas (vapor).

• Evaporation: refers mainly to the transfer


of water from oceans and lakes to the
atmosphere as a result of solar heating. It
also includes the transpiration of water
from plants (evapotranspiration).
Evaporation
Factors Affecting Evaporation:

1. Air Temperature,

2. Wind Speed,

3. Area,

4. Relative Humidity,

5. Atmospheric Pressure,

6. Salinity.
Humidity
• Humidity: is a
general term for the
quantity of water
vapor in the
atmosphere.
Humidity
Meteorologists employ several methods to express the

water-vapor content of the air, including:

• Absolute Humidity - Mixing Ratio,

• Specific Humidity,

• Vapor Pressure,

• Relative Humidity,

• Dew Point.
Humidity
• Absolute Humidity: is
the mass of water vapor
in a given volume of air
(usually as grams per
cubic meter).

• Mixing Ratio: is the mass


of water vapor in a unit of
air compared to the
remaining mass of dry air.
Humidity
• Specific Humidity: is the mass of water vapor in a

unit mass of air, including the water vapor.

• Because the amount of water vapor in the air rarely

exceeds a few percent of the total mass of the air,

the specific humidity of air is equivalent to its mixing

ratio for all practical purposes.


Humidity
• Vapor Pressure: is the part of the total atmospheric pressure
attributable to its water-vapor content.

• Suppose an air parcel is near sea level and the air pressure
inside the parcel is 1000 hpa. Parcel is 78% nitrogen, 21%
oxygen and 1% water vapor. Pressure of nitrogen is 780 hpa,
oxygen 210 hpa and water vapor is 10 hpa (the partial
pressure of the water vapor).

• When air is saturated, the pressure exerted by the motion of


the water vapor molecules is called the Saturation Vapor
Pressure.
Humidity
• Relative Humidity: is a ratio of the air’s actual water-
vapor content compared with the amount of water vapor
required for saturation at that temperature (and
pressure).

• Relative Humidity indicates how near the air is to being


saturated, whereas the air’s Mixing Ratio denotes the
actual quantity of water vapor contained in that air.

• Generally, the higher the air temperature, the greater the


mass of water it can contain without reaching saturation.
Humidity
Relative humidity changes when water vapor is added to or
removed from the atmosphere
Humidity
Relative humidity changes when water vapor is added to or
removed from the atmosphere
Humidity
Relative humidity varies with temperature: when the water-
vapor content remains constant, a decrease in temperature
results in an increase in relative humidity
Humidity
Relative Humidity Daily Variation
Humidity
• Dew Point Temperature (Dew Point): is the
temperature to which air needs to be cooled to reach
saturation.
• Dew-Point is a measure of the actual moisture
content of a parcel of air.
• High dew point = high water vapor content.
• Low dew point = low water vapor content.
• (Air temp. - Dew Point) high values indicate RH
is low; close to zero, RH is high; Zero implies air is
saturated and the RH is ~100%.
• Polar Air is ‘dry’ when the RH is ~100% (Air temp
and dew point are close together; low dew point
temp means little water vapor in the air)
Humidity
Polar Air temp = -2°C; dew point = -2°C; RH=100%
Humidity
Desert Air temp = 35°C; dew point = -5°C; RH=16%
Humidity
• Instruments called hygrometers are used to measure
the moisture content of the air.
Condensation
• Condensation is the process by which water vapor in
the air is changed into liquid water.

• Conditions for Condensation:

1. The temperature of a parcel of air must be lowered to


its dew-point for condensation to occur.

2. The moisture content of the parcel, the air must be at


or near saturation,

3. Hygroscopic nuclei must be present.


Condensation
Condensation Forms
1. Dew 2. Frost
Condensation
Condensation Forms

3. Fog

1. Radiation Fog,

2. Advection Fog – Sea Fog,

3. Steam Fog (Sea Smoke),

4. Upslope Fog,

5. Precipitation Fog (Frontal Fog),


Condensation
Condensation Forms

4. Clouds

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