Geosystems Handout 5

Jim Jarvis

Water and Atmospheric Moisture

Introduction - (What causes precipitation?):

One of the fundamental questions we will answer in the next few

classes is "What causes precipitation?" This is a complex and involved process, but involves some major, important steps.

Evaporation
I. Moisture Inventory

Lifting of Air
Water Covers 71% of the Earth's surface

Cooling of Air (Adiabatic Cooling)

Oceans
97%

Condensation
Ice
2.15%

Cloud Formation
Ground Water .62%

Precipitation Formation
Fresh Lakes
.009%
Salt Lakes
.008%
Soil
.005%
Atmosphere
.001%
Streams
.0001%

II. The Hydrologic Cycle Model:

Most of the water vapor in the atmosphere
comes from an ocean.

USGS

III. Changes of Phase of Water:

Water exists in three states; and routinely changes between these states. This
is called "change of phase." Heat energy is either absorbed or released during the changes of phase of water.

Sublimation
Uses 719 cal/g

Melting

Evaporation

Uses 80 cal/g

Uses 539 cal/g

liquid
water

ICE

water
vapor

Freezing

Condensation

Releases 80 cal/g

Releases 539 cal/g

Frost

Dont forget, it takes 100 cal/g to

change liquid water from the
freezing to the boiling point or vice
versa!

Releases 719 cal/g

Note: Chemists call this phase change deposition

but to scientists who are in the field that term has an
entirely different meaning.

Page 1

IV. Transfer of Water into and out of the Air

Evaporation is the change of liquid water to a gas.

Latent heat of vaporization = 539 cal/gm (plus the water that is being vaporized is not at 100 C, and that needs
to be taken into account, too.)
Requirements for Evaporation:
Available water 88% of evaporated water originates from oceans between 60 N and 60 S latitude.
Energy Highest rates of evaporation occur where there is ample available energy (tropical oceans).
Unsaturated atmosphere (a vertical gradient of moisture)
Wind (not necessarily required) removes water vapor from the evaporating surface
Transpiration is water loss (as a gas) from plants through leaf pores (stomata).
Depends on:
Energy: Approximately 600 cal/gm of energy is required to transpire water from leaves.
Water availability
Unsaturated atmosphere
Transpiration is a cooling process
How much water do plants contribute?
Mature Oak Tree = 100 gal/day

V. Moisture in the Atmosphere, some definitions

Vapor Pressure: Vapor pressure is the portion of atmospheric pressure exerted by water vapor.
Saturation: The maximum amount of water vapor possible in the air depends on temperature. The higher the
temperature of the air the more water vapor is possible. When this maximum is reached the air is said to be
saturated. Expressing this in terms of vapor pressure, as evaporation occurs, vapor pressure increases to the point
where the number of molecules evaporating equals the number condensing. At this point the air is saturated
Absolute Humidity: Mass of water vapor in a given volume of air. Expressed as g water vapor/ m 3 of air.
Relative Humidity: Relative humidity is the percentage of the observed amount of water vapor in the air compared to
the capacity at saturation.
Specific Humidity: Mass of water vapor in air. Expressed as grams of water vapor per kilogram of air. This is an actual
measure of quantity of water in the air.
Mixing Ratio: Mass of water vapor in a unit mass of dry air. Expressed as grams per kilogram.
Dew point: The temperature at which the relative humidity reaches 100% (saturation).

VI.

Saturation

Pressure Gauge

Imagine a closed container half-full of pure water and

overlain with dry air as shown in the diagrams to the right.
As the water begins to evaporate from the water surface,
a small increase in pressure can be detected in the air
above. This increase in pressure is the result of the
motion of the water vapor molecules that were added to
the air through evaporation. In the open atmosphere this
pressure is termed vapor pressure and is defined as that
part of the total atmospheric pressure attributable to its
water vapor content. As more and more molecules escape
from the water surface in the closed container, the
steadily increasing vapor pressure in the air above forces
more and more of these molecules to return to the liquid.
Eventually the number of vapor molecules returning to the
surface will balance the number leaving. At that point the fcps: Chem Poster 23
air is said to be saturated. When air is saturated, the
pressure exerted by the water vapor is called saturation vapor pressure. If we increase the temperature of the water in the
closed container, however, more water would evaporate before a balance was reached. Consequently, the saturation vapor
pressure is temperature dependent and rises with an increase in temperature. Stated more simply, at higher temperatures more
water vapor is required for saturation to occur. The amount of water vapor required for saturation at various temperatures is
Page 2

g/kg

shown in the graph to the right. Now that we have become familiar with the concept of saturation, we can better appreciate the
differences between the various methods of measuring the moisture content of air. Of the methods used to express humidity,
absolute humidity and mixing ratio are similar in that both
specify the amount of water vapor contained in a unit of air.
Saturation Mixing Ratio
Absolute humidity is expressed
Table 1 Saturation Mixing
as the mass of water vapor in a
Ratio (at sea-level)
50
given volume of air (usually as
45
grams per cubic meter). As air
Temperature
40
moves from one place to
(C)
g/kg
35
another, variations in pressure
40
47
30
and temperature cause changes
35
35
25
in volume. When such volume
30
26.5
20
changes occur, the absolute
25
20
15
humidity also changes even if no
20
14
10
water vapor is added or
15
10
5
removed. Consequently, it is
10
7
0
difficult to monitor the water
5
5
-40 -30 -20 -10
0
10
20
30
40
vapor content of a moving mass
0
3.5
Temperature C
of air if absolute humidity is

-10

the index being used. Therefore

-20
0.75
meteorologists generally use
mixing ratio to express the water vapor content of air.
-30
0.3
Krup, Kasting, & Crane, Pg 75
The mixing ratio is expressed
as
the mass of water vapor in a unit mass of dry air.
-40
0.1
Because it is measured in units
of mass (usually grams per kilogram), the mixing ratio is
not affected by changes in pressure or temperature. Neither the absolute humidity nor the mixing ratio, however, can be easily
determined via direct sampling. Fortunately, they can be calculated from a more easily established measure, the relative
humidity.

VII. Questions
What is the relationship between relative humidity and temperature?
As the temperature increases Relative Humidity decreases. This is because it now has such a large capacity
without gaining more water vapor. As the temperature decreases Relative Humidity increases toward 100%.
Why does cold air feel drier than warm air at 100% RH
Continental Polar Air:
Avg Temp = 5 C (41 F)
Water holding capacity = 5 gm/kg at saturation
Relative Humidity Continental Polar at 100%
RH = 5 gm/kg (in the air)/5 gm/kg (capacity)
Maritime Tropical Air:
Avg Temp = 22 C (71.6 F)
Water holding capacity = 16 gm/kg at saturation
Relative Humidity Maritime Tropical at 100%
RH =16 gm/kg (in the air) / 16 gm/kg (capacity)

Why is it possible for dry air in a desert to

contain more water vapor than moist air in the
Arctic?
Warm air can hold more water vapor than cold air
can. As an example, compare the specific humidities
of desert and arctic samples.
Desert @ 30 C (86 F)
Arctic @ 10 C (50 F)

25% RH 6.62 g H2O/kg air

80% RH

5.60 g H2O/kg air

Therefore, polar air is drier at 100 % relative humidity

because it can't "hold" as much moisture.

VIII. Relative Humidity and Dew Point Charts

Page 3

To determine the relative humidity or dew point from sling psychrometers, determine the wet bulb depression by finding
the difference between the two readings, then locate this difference at the top of the chart. Next, locate the air
temperature along the left side of the chart. Where the row and the column containing these two temperatures meet,
the relative humidity or dew points are found.

Table 2
Dry-Bulb
Temperature
C
-20
-18
-16
-14
-12
-10
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
28
30
32
34
36
38
40

RELATIVE HUMIDITY IN PERCENT (1000 MILLIBARS)

Wet-Bulb Depression (T d -T w )
1
28
40
48
55
61
66
71
73
77
79
81
83
85
86
87
88
88
89
90
91
91
92
92
92
93
93
93
93
94
94
94

2
0
11
23
33
41
48
54
58
63
67
70
72
74
76
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
86
86
86
87
87
87

Table 3

0
13
20
32
37
46
51
56
59
62
65
67
69
71
72
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
81
82
82

0
11
20
28
36
42
46
51
54
57
60
62
64
66
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
76

1
11
20
27
35
39
43
48
50
54
56
58
60
62
64
65
66
68
69
69
70
71

6
14
22
28
33
38
41
45
48
51
53
55
57
59
61
62
63
64
66
67

10
17
24
28
33
37
40
44
46
49
51
53
55
56
58
59
60
61

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

0
6
13
19
25
29
33
36
40
42
45
47
49
50
52
54
55
57

4
10
16
21
26
30
33
36
39
42
44
46
48
50
51
52

2
8
14
19
23
27
30
34
36
39
41
43
44
46
48

1
7
12
17
21
25
28
31
34
36
38
40
42
44

1
6
11
15
20
23
26
29
32
34
36
38
40

0
5
10
14
18
21
25
27
30
32
34
36

0
4
9
13
17
20
22
26
28
30
33

0
4
9
12
16
19
22
24
26
29

0
5
8
12
14
18
21
23
25

4
8
11
14
17
20
22

4
8
11
13
16
19

4
8
10
13
16

4
7
10
13

4
7
10

5
7

DEW-POINT TEMPERATURE (1000 MILLIBARS)

Dry-Bulb
Saturation
Temperature
Vapor
C
Pressure mb
-20
-18
-16
-14
-12
-10
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
28
30
32
34
36
38
40

2.2540
1.4877
1.7597
2.0755
2.4409
2.8627
3.3484
3.9061
4.5451
5.2753
6.1078
7.0547
8.1294
9.3465
10.722
12.272
14.017
15.977
18.173
20.630
23.373
26.430
29.831
33.608
37.796
42.430
47.551
53.200
59.422
66.264
73.777

Wet-Bulb Depression (T d -T w )
1

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

-33
-28
-24
-21
-18
-14
-12
-10
-7
-5
-3
-1
1
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
39

-36
-28
-22
-17
-14
-11
-8
-6
-3
-1
1
3
6
8
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37

-29
-22
-17
-13
-9
-6
-4
-1
1
4
6
9
11
13
15
17
20
22
24
26
28
30
32
34
36

-29
-20
-15
-11
-7
-4
-2
1
4
6
9
11
14
16
18
20
22
24
27
29
31
33
35

-24
-17
-11
-7
-5
-2
1
4
7
9
12
14
16
18
21
23
25
27
29
32
34

-19
-13
-9
-5
-2
1
4
7
10
12
14
17
19
21
24
26
28
30
32

-21
-14
-9
-5
-1
2
4
7
10
12
15
17
19
22
24
27
29
31

-14
-9
-5
-1
24
4
8
10
13
16
18
21
23
25
28
30

-28
-16
-10
-6
-2
2
5
8
11
14
16
19
21
24
26
28

-17
-10
-5
-2
3
6
9
11
14
17
20
22
26
27

-17
-10
-5
-1
2
6
9
12
15
18
20
23
25

-19
-10
-5
-1
3
7
10
13
16
19
21
24

-19
-10
-5
0
4
8
11
14
17
19
22

-19
-10
-5
0
4
8
12
15
17
20

-18
-9
-3
1
5
9
13
15
18

-18
-9
-2
2
6
10
13
16

-18
-8
-2
3
7
11
14

-15
-7
-1
4
8
12

-14
-5
0
5
9

-12
-4
1
6

-29
-10
-3
2

-8
-5

Page 4