PRECIPITATION

Presented by,
Liza Gogoi
Parishma Nath
Lalramchhana Tinthe
Christopher Lalthazuala
Lalrinchhana Pautu
Dennis Lalhruaitluanga
INTRODUCTION:
Precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water
vapour that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation
include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow and hail. Precipitation occurs when a
portion of the atmosphere becomes saturated with water vapour, so that the
water condenses and "precipitates".
Precipitation occurs when so much water has condensed the air cannot hold it
in anymore. The clouds gets heavier and water falls back to d surface in
different form..
 TYPES OF PRECIPITATION
1.RAIN
Rain is a major
component of the water
cycle and is responsible
for depositing most of
the fresh water on the
Earth. It provides suitable
conditions for many types
of ecosystems, as well as
water for hydroelectric
power plants and
crop irrigation.
 The diameter of raindrops
is usually 5 to 6 mm
 Small raindrops are of almost spherical shape, but
bigger ones are flattened when falling, especially in the
lower part of the cloud. The terminal velocities of rain
drops range from two meters per second for the smallest
to about 10 meters per second for the largest.
 The largest drops of more than six millimetres in
diameter appear only in heavy rains, especially at the
start of a rain storm.
 beyond this size, inter-molecular cohesive forces
become to weak to be held
 mass of water together as a single drop
2.FREEZING RAIN

 When raindrops pass

through cold air layers
(below 0 °C), they
become super-cooled,
and freezing rain so the
rain droplets quickly
turn into ice.
 Freezing rain falls in
liquid form but freezes
upon impact to form a
coating of glaze on the
ground and exposed
objects.
 3.SLEET
 transparent / translucent
spheres of frozen water
 a diameter > 5 mm
 develop first as raindrops
in relatively warm
atmosphere
(Temp:freezing),
 then raindrops descend
into a colder layer of the
atmosphere (Temp:<0oC)
 Causing the freezing into
ice pellets while reaching
the ground surface
4. SNOW
 Snow is solid
atmospheric precipitation
of different forms of ice
crystals. Groups of ice
crystals form snowflakes
in the shape of six-cone
stars, needles or multiple
combinations.
 The size of snowflakes
varies from one millimeter
to a few centimeters
depending on air
temperature: the higher
the temperature and
weaker the wind, the
larger the flakes.
 The rate of snowfall is measured by precipitation amount in 1 mm water
layers per unit of time, mostly per hour or 24 hours.
 Weak snow has a rate of less than 0.1 mm/hour, average snow – from
0.1 to 1 mm per hour, and heavy snow – more than 1mm per hour.
 The length of snowfall period is usually inversely proportional to the rate
of its fall.
 Dense snowfall rarely lasts more than 1 to 2 hours, and weak snow can
last 24 hours or even longer.
 commonly found in the mid- and high- latitudes, it develops when water
vapour deposits itself directly to a six-sided (hexagon) deposition nuclei
as a solid crystal, at temperature below freezing
 FORMATION OF PRECIPITATION
To produce precipitation, cloud droplets and crystals must form and
then grow large enough to fall to the ground. There are three stages in the
growth process.
A. NUCLEATION: Initial phase of precipitation. A minimum number of particle
precipitate will gather together to form nucleus of particle precipitate( solid
phase). Higher degree of super saturation, greater rate of nucleation.
Vapor molecules collide and stick to aerosols to form an embryo droplet or
crystal. This begins to happen when RH < 100%. For example, salt
particles get wet and expand (deliquesce) when RH > 75%.
B. DIFFUSION: When air is slightly
supersaturated with water vapor
(RH > 100%), vapor molecules
drift or diffuse toward the droplet or
crystal and stick. When both super
cooled liquid droplets and ice
crystals are present the crystals
grow at the expense of the
droplets, which shrink and often
evaporate.
C. COLLISION AND COLLECTION:
(Coalescence for drops and
Accretion for snow and hail.) Large
particles fall faster than small
particles, so they collide and the
large particles collect or engulf the
smaller particles. At this stage,
raindrops grow like planets.
MECHANISM OF PRECIPITATION

1.Coalescence theory
2. Bergeron-Findeisen
process
 All precipitation originates from parcels of moist air that
have been cooled below dew point temperature.
 Lifting mechanism to cool the air.
 Formation of cloud elements(droplets/ice crystals)
 Growth of cloud elements
 Sufficient accumulation of cloud elements
1.COLLISION- COALSESCENCE THEORY
 A theory of raindrop formation
in warm clouds in which large
cloud droplets collide and join
together to form with smaller
droplets to a raindrop; opposite
electrical charges may bind the
cloud droplets together.
 A droplet may continue to grow
by
diffusion beyond 20
micrometers in
diameter, however, once a
droplet
attains this size, growth is slow
and
inefficient.
 Droplets this large begin to
collide and coalesce with other
droplets as they fall through the
cloud, meaning they will bump
into and bond to one another
and form larger drops.
 Tiny aerosol nuclei grow into
large water droplets more than
10,000 times their initial size.
 Updrafts in a cloud can
transport a droplet upward
repeatedly allowing it many
opportunities to fall back down
through the cloud and collide
and coalesce with other
droplets.
2. BERGERON-FINDEISEN PROCESS
 A theory that relates the
formation of precipitation
to supercooled clouds,
freezing nuclei, and the
different saturation levels
of ice and liquid water.
 also known as the cold
rain or ice crystal process
 As the formation of
precipitation in the cold
clouds of the mid and
upper
latitudes by ice crystal
growth.
 The equilibrium vapor pressure over water is greater
than the saturation vapor pressure over ice, at the same
temperature.
 Therefore in a mixed phase cloud, the liquid water will be
out of vapor pressure equilibrium and will evaporate to
reach equilibrium.
 The water droplets will move toward the lower pressure
over the ice and diffuse onto the ice crystals.
 CONCLUSION
• Precipitation is one of the most important factor in
completing the hydrological cycle.
• Formation of rain water, ice crystals depend on the point of
precipitation.
• Play a vital role in climate change and depend on the
atmospheric temperature.
 REFERENCES
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precipitation
• https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-
precipitation-definition-types-formation.html
• http://www.eolss.net/Sample-
Chapters/C07/E2-02-05-02.pdf
• https://in.images.search.yahoo.com