Chapter 6 summary

Atmospheric moisture
The water cycle refers to circulation of water in the earth system, particularly
the evaporation (evapotranspiration) of water into the atmosphere and
condensation of water as precipitation. Remarkable properties of water include
its specific heat or heat capacity, which we have noted extensively.
The shape of the water molecule (like Mickey Mouse’s ears) produces an
attraction between the positive and negative sides of neighboring water
molecules, causing surface tension. We may think of surface tension in
considering how a water droplet will form in the atmosphere from dispersed
water vapor. (Surface tension also allows a spider to “walk on water”)

Most materials are denser as solids than liquids, however, water is not. Ice floats
rather than freezing from the bottom up in water bodies.
Water also moves upward, against the force of gravity, with capillary action.
Water is often called a “universal solvent” because many substances dissolve in
water.

Phase changes of water between vapor (gas), liquid, and solid (ice) are very
important in understanding how water enters and leaves the atmosphere.
Latent heat is stored heat (energy) and refers to a quantity of heat, based on the
type of material, amount of material and temperature of the material storing the
energy.
Sensible heat is sensed or “felt” heat, measured by temperature, e.g., we sense
warm or cold relative to the temperature of our bodies and skin.
Specific heat is the heat capacity or heat storage capability of a substance, which
is the energy required to raise its temperature or the energy released in lowering
its temperature.
Water has a specific heat of 1, meaning it takes 1 calorie to raise 1 gram of water
1 degree C. Most substances have a much lower specific heat than water and will
be measure as a decimal of 1.
As ice melts, sensible heat is converted to latent heat. As water evaporates,
sensible heat is converted to latent heat. For example, on a hot summer day,
wearing a wet cotton shirt will cool your body while water evaporates from the
shirt, drawing heat away from your skin. As water condenses, latent heat is
converted to sensible heat. When water is condensing in the atmosphere, the air
around it heats up.

Water vapor in the atmosphere: Humidity

Evaporation occurs more readily from warmer water than cooler water. Warmer
air will hole more water vapor for its volume than cooler air. Water vapor in the
air exerts a physical pressure, known as vapor pressure and the maximum vapor
pressure at any given temperature is the saturation vapor pressure.
Measures of humidity: humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air.
Absolute humidity is the mass of water vapor in a volume of air (e.g., grams of
water per cubic meter of air)
Specific humidity is the mass of water vapor in a mass of air (e.g., grams of water
vapor in a kilogram of air). The maximum specific humidity is based on
temperature, shown by the red line in the figure (below).

Vapor pressure is measured in bars or millibars (mb). The water vapor capacity is
the maximum amount of water vapor the air can hold at a given temperature.
Relative humidity is the way we typically describe humidity (e.g., in the weather
report). Relative humidity is the water vapor in the air relative to the capacity of
the air at a given temperature, expressed as a percentage. For example, 50%
humidity is half of capacity and 100% humidity describes saturated air.
Our lab focuses on the relative humidity of a mass of air as it ascends over a
mountain range and descends on the other side (as below).
The lifting condensation level (LCL above) is the altitude at which the air is
saturated, condensation begins, and clouds form.
Condensation is a collecting, gathering, or coalescing of water into droplets.
Raindrops will be held together with surface tension on their edges (rather like a
water balloon) and merge into larger drops.
Adiabatic processes refer to changes in air temperature as it moves up and cools
because of a density decrease or moves down and warms because of a density
increase.
The average rate of adiabatic cooling in undersaturated air is the dry adiabatic
rate (DAR) or dry adiabatic lapse rate (DALR). Air decreases in temperature at an
average rate of 10 degrees C per 1000 meters or 5.5 degrees F per 1000 feet as it
rises. The average rate of adiabatic cooling in saturated air is the saturated
adiabatic rate (SAR) or saturated adiabatic lapse rate (SALR). Air decreases in
temperature at an average rate of 6 degrees C per 1000 meters or 3.3 degrees F
per 1000 feet as it rises.
Clouds are a visible expression of condensation in the atmosphere and are a
source of precipitation.
Cirriform clouds are thin and wispy clouds, composed of ice crystals (shown
below).

Stratiform clouds are spread out or layered clouds that cover most of the sky
(below).
Cumuliform clouds are massive, rounded, and puffy clouds (below).

Cloud families grouped, based on shape and altitude.

High clouds are generally above 6 km (20,000 feet), composed of ice crystals and
include cirrus, cirrostratus, and cirrocumulus. High clouds often indicate
approaching weather systems.
Middle clouds normally occur from 2-6 km (6500-20,000 feet), are composed of
liquid water, and include altostratus (changing weather) and altocumulus (settled
weather).
Low clouds, below 2 km (6500 feet) often appear as general overcast and include
stratus, stratocumulus, and nimbostratus.
Clouds with high vertical development with heights up to 15 km (60,000 feet)
indicate vertical motion in the atmosphere, including cumulonimbus clouds,
which are storm clouds (example below in Arizona)
Fog, a cloud on the ground may be caused by the ground radiating heat, usually at
night to produce radiation fog.
 Advection fog occurs when warm moist air moves sideways over a cooler
surface (e.g. in the Tacoma narrows).
Upslope fog results from the orographic effect when warmer moist air
moves up a mountain.
Evaporation fog forms over water when moisture is added to cooler air.

The stability of rising air is effected by the DAR and SAR relative to the lapse rate
of the surrounding air.
When the DAR and SAR exceed the lapse rate of the surrounding air, the air
mass is stable (top, below).
When the DAR and SAR are less than the lapse rate of the surrounding air,
the air mass is unstable (middle figure, below).
When the DAR is greater than the lapse rate of the surrounding air, and SAR is
less than the lapse rate of the surrounding air, the air mass will become unstable
when it reaches saturation (lower figure, above)

Precipitation includes:
Rain: drops of liquid water,
Snow: ice crystals, pellets, or flakes (noting the variation of the water content),
Sleet: rain that freezes during descent, and related glaze or “freezing rain”,
where rain turns to ice on solid objects.
Hail falls as pellets or lumps when strong convection in the atmosphere allows
accretion of ice. Hail is associated with other severe weather, most frequently
during the spring seasons.
Note: recent very large hailstones recently recorded in Argentina:
https://news.psu.edu/story/617800/2020/04/29/research/gargantuan-hail-argentina-may-have-
smashed-world-record

Precipitation mechanisms:
Convective lifting or convection occurs as warm air heats up and rises.
Convective precipitation is associated with thunderstorms, common on summer
afternoons in areas where the land surface heats up during the day and warms
the air above it. While thunderstorms are not too common in the Puget Sound
area, they are very common in areas like eastern Washington and the U.S.
Midwest. Convergent lifting is similar to convection, as we noted in the tropics
where warm air rises and condenses in the equatorial region and air moves in the
replace it.

Orographic lifting occurs when air is forced upslope and includes the rain shadow
effect. Washington and Oregon provide great examples of the orographic effect,
where air is forced upward over the Olympics or Cascade Range. We also study
the orographic effect in lab 4.

Frontal lifting occurs along a boundary where air masses contrast and interact.

A mobile warm front (the direction indicated by the red bumps along a line on a
weather map) overrides the colder denser air along a protracted (spread out)
boundary of gradual lifting (below). Typical weather is multiple hours and days of
rain.
A mobile cold front (the direction indicated by the blue spikes along a line on a
weather map) forms a narrower boundary where the colder denser air forces the
warm air to lift abruptly. Cold fronts are associated with thunderstorms, hail, and
severe weather.
Areas of high annual precipitation include the tropics (ITCZ), the monsoon
regions, and coastal areas in the latitudes of the westerlies (like Forks,
Poulsbo/Silverdale/Bremerton, and Shelton). Areas in dark blue and blue show
higher precipitation on map (below).
Regions of low annual precipitation in include the subtropical highs (STH), e.g.,
the Sahara of N. Africa, interiors of continents, e.g., central Asia, and the high
latitude polar areas. Areas in tan show low precipitation on the map (above).

Acid rain is a product of rainwater collecting acids as it falls through polluted air.
In areas with higher industrialization and population centers, the pH of rainwater
is typically lower (more acidic), e.g., in the U.S. (below).
The sensitivity of the terrestrial environment to acid rain varies, depending on the
bedrock geology and soils (see below). For example, granitic rock is acidic. When
acid rain falls on regions with acidic bedrock the pH stays lower. This will cause
environmental damage and loss of living things, e.g., dying fish in lakes of the
Adirondack mountains in northern New York (shaded area on map, below).
If the bedrock or soils are basic, acid rain is buffered at the earth’s surface,
neutralizing the acids, e.g., in stream water. An example of a basic rock is a
carbonate or limestone, common in Kentucky, Ohio, and Florida.