Chapter 6 Water and Atmospheric

Moisture
So now we are leaving the Atmosphere and moving on to the hydrosphere. In
this lecture, we will talk about water’s properties and how it changes phases (gas,
liquid, solid). We will also discus humidity (moist parcels of air affecting the
atmosphere) and briefly talk about clouds and fog.

Unique Water Properties

Water has 3 phases that occur naturally on earth: Liquid, Ice, and Vapor (Gas). A
water molecule is made up of 2 Hydrogen atoms and 1 Oxygen atom. These
atoms are joined by a strong covalent bond. A covalent bond gives the molecule
the strength of one outer shell. The atoms share an electron between them which
makes it a very stable molecule and difficult to separate. This makes the water
molecule one of the most stable molecules on Earth. The covalent bond gives the
Hydrogen side of the molecule a positive charge and the oxygen a negative charge
so that water molecules attract each other. This attraction is called polarity.
When water molecules bond to one another, it’s called hydrogen bonding, the
effect is cohesion (attraction between molecules of the same kind) which can be
seen via surface tension. Surface tension is the ability for water to behave as if its
surface were covered by stretched elastic. We can see this any time something is
able to "float" on water. The molecules form a 'surface.'
Another related characteristic is called capillarity in which water molecules
attract other water molecules against the force of gravity. This happens to beads
of water that are really close together, they attract each other to become one.
You can see this when you put a paper towel at the edge of a water spill, it will
pull up extra water and become absorbed by the paper towel through adhesion
to the paper molecules. (attraction between different kinds of molecules). This
will become more important when we talk about soil properties later in the
quarter. Without these hydrogen bonds water would just be a gas, not a liquid or
ice.

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Phase Changes and Heat Exchange
To understand atmospheric moisture, you must have an understanding of how
water changes phases and the energy required to make those changes. So that is
what we will discuss now.
Phase change refers to changing from one state to another. For water to change
from one state to another, heat energy must be added to it or released from it
(remember heat is energy transferred between two molecules of different
temps). The amount of energy must be sufficient to affect the hydrogen bonds
between the water molecules. The water molecules must interact with the
atmosphere near it for this change to happen. The molecules are either taking
energy away from the surrounding air to help break the covalent bonds – in which
case, the surrounding air will feel cooler; or the molecules will release energy into
the air thus making the surrounding air warmer. Perhaps you have noticed that
the air hovering around an ice-cold beverage feels cool – that’s because the water
molecules need some energy to melt, so they take it from the surrounding
atmosphere.
Kinds of phase changes:
 Melting (energy is absorbed) & Freezing (energy released) between a solid
and liquid.
 Evaporation (energy absorbed) & Condensation (energy released) between
a liquid and gas.
 Sublimation (energy absorbed) & Deposition (energy released) between a
solid and gas. Deposition happens when a vapor molecule attaches to an
ice crystal and forms frost.
Evaporation and Condensation
Energy is being absorbed from the atmosphere when liquid water turns into a gas
state. This energy is latent heat that is available in the atmosphere. This process is
called the latent heat of evaporation and results in an overall cooling effect on the
nearby air because energy has been taken out of the atmosphere and absorbed
by the liquid molecules.
Energy is released into the atmosphere and warms the surrounding air when a gas
turns into a liquid. Again the energy being released is latent heat. This is called the
latent heat of condensation and can result in atmospheric instability because the
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surrounding air will then become warm and will thus rise. As we will discuss in
later modules, latent heat of condensation is the main driver of major
thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. It is really important that you know
how this energy gets into the atmosphere - it is released from water that is
cooling from a gas to a liquid (condensation).
Properties of Ice
When liquid water turns to ice it starts to expand as the slowing molecules create
a hexagonal crystalline structure that actually creates pockets of empty space,
resulting in both expansion and decrease in density. This is why ice floats and also
why ice can break/damage the container it was formed in - through expansion.
This expansion can burst pipes, damage pavement, and break down rocks. Ice
burgs are mostly underwater, about 86% while just 14% is above water. The
reason they don't completely sink underwater is because they are less dense than
water.

Humidity
The amount of water vapor in the air is humidity. This is a function of the
temperature (temp) of air and the amount of water vapor (gas) in the air. The
most common measure of humidity is relative humidity (RH), which is a ratio of
the amount of water vapor that is actually in the air compared to the maximum
water vapor the air could hold at a given temperature. The relative humidity will
change if either the water vapor content increases or decreases OR the
temperature of the air changes. It is expressed by the equation below.
When the two values are equal, we have reached saturation (saturation
equilibrium) or 100% relative humidity. Any more water vapor OR decrease in
temperature will result in active condensation (clouds, fog, or precipitation).
Dew-Point
Warm air can hold more water vapor molecules than cold air because warm air is
less dense and has more space between the molecules. The temperature at which
air can no longer hold water vapor molecules is called dew-point temperature.
When the air temperature decreases to the dew-point temperature, saturation
has occurred. The water vapor will condense into liquid forming water droplets
such as dew or rain.

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Case in point, when you have an ice-cold drink outside in the warm air (see image
below), the air around the glass cools (because the ice is absorbing energy (latent
heat) from the surrounding air causing it to melt) and reaches the dew-point
temperature. At this point, the air has reached 100% relative humidity, is
saturated so the rest of the water vapor will condense into liquid forming water
droplets onto the glass. Therefore, the water you see on the outside of the glass is
NOT coming from the contents of your glass, and your glass is not “sweating”
either. The air around the glass is simply reaching its dew point temperature and
100% relative humidity so the water vapor in the air is condensing into a liquid. I
discuss this further in the video at the bottom of the page.
Vapor Pressure and Specific Humidity
There are different ways to express relative humidity. The most two common
ways are by looking at Vapor Pressure (measures pressure) and Specific Humidity
(measures mass) (your book discusses mixing ratio too, but we are not going to
get that technical since it is basically the same thing as specific humidity). Even
though these are different units of measurement- pressure & mass - they are still
measuring water vapor and the concept of relative humidity still applies.
1. Vapor Pressure (millibars: mb): This is the share of air pressure that is
made up of water vapor molecules (remember oxygen and nitrogen make
up most of the air molecules). Air that contains as much water vapor as
possible at a given temp has reached saturation vapor pressure (SVP). For
every 10° increase of temperature, the SVP nearly doubles, so that by the
time you reach really warm temps, it takes a ton of water vapor to saturate
the air.
a. Vapor Pressure = the share of air pressure (mb) that is made up of
water vapor molecules (actual content)
b. Saturation Vapor Pressure = air’s maximum vapor pressure capacity
at a given temp (total possible)
2. Specific Humidity (mass: g/kg): This is the mass of water vapor (g) per mass
of air (kg) at any specific temp. This is a little easier to measure than vapor
pressure.
a. Specific humidity = the mass of water vapor (g) per mass of air (kg) at
a specific temp (actual content).

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 b. Maximum/Saturation Specific Humidity = maximum mass of water
vapor possible in a kg of air at a given temp (total possible).
Daily Relative Humidity Patterns
Relative humidity is highest at dawn when air temperatures are the lowest. As the
day goes on and the air warms the heat energy evaporates the dew into a gas.
Relative humidity is the lowest in the late afternoon when temperatures tend to
be the highest thus able to hold more water vapor. The actual amount of water
vapor may actually stay the same throughout the day, it condenses and
evaporates based on the temperature.

Atmospheric Stability
Okay, so Meteorologists use the term “parcel” to describe a body of air that has
specific temperature and humidity characteristics. The "parcel" can be buoyant if
it is of lower density than the surrounding air which will cause it to rise. If it is
denser than the surrounding air, it will descend under the force of gravity. The
buoyancy depends on density, which depends on temperature and moisture.
Warm, moist air is less dense and has less pressure (Low Pressure) which will rise
while colder, dry air is more dense and has higher pressure (High Pressure) which
will cause it to descend.
Stability refers to the tendency of an air parcel either to remain in place or to
change in vertical position by ascending (rising, due to lower pressure) or
descending (falling, due to higher pressure). An air parcel is stable if it resists
upward movement or returns to its starting position after it was disturbed
(usually by wind). It’s unstable if it continues to rise until it reaches an altitude
where the surrounding air has a similar temp and density - where it eventually
becomes stable.
Adiabatic process
The reason that the air parcel warms or cools is not because there is some kind of
heat exchange; it cools through expansion and warms through compression. This
kind of warming or cooling without exchange of heat is called adiabatic and these
are measured at 2 specific rates depending on the moisture content. It is said to
be “dry” if the air is not saturated and we use the Dry Adiabatic Rate (DAR) to
calculate the rate of change. If the air is saturated than we use the Moist

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Adiabatic Rate (MAR). We then compare these to the ELR (Environmental Lapse
Rate) to determine the stability of the atmosphere. Remember: DAR means
unsaturated, and MAR means saturated.
The cooling rate of the MAR is slower than the DAR because when vapor
condenses into water for a saturated parcel, latent heat released goes into
warming the air within the parcel. So as a result, the saturated parcel now
experiences both expansion cooling AND condensation warming. The net result is
that the parcel still cools on ascent but at a slower rate.
If the parcel cools enough it will reach its dew point (100% relative humidity), and
clouds form. Saturated air that continues to rise gives up more and more of its
bound moisture as it cools. This saturated air now cools at a lesser rate, about 3°
per 1,000 feet, due to the released latent heat of condensation. Air rises and cools
at the dry adiabatic lapse rate until it reaches its saturation point and then
continues to rise and cool at the moist adiabatic lapse rate. Eventually it will
condense most of its moisture and continue to rise at the DAR. Remember,
temperature measures the movement of the molecules, if latent heat is released
and stored in the air parcel through condensation, then that is extra energy in
that parcel and thus will cool at a slower rate, because it has more energy going
on.
The normal lapse rate is the average decrease in temp with increasing altitude
which is 6.4°C/1000m (or 3.5°F/1000ft). But that’s not actually always the case.
The actual lapse rate at a given time and place is called the environmental lapse
rate (ELR)
Atmospheric Conditions
The temperature relationships of air parcels results in cloud formation and
precipitation. Based on these conditions the air in the lower atmosphere
(Troposphere) can either be: stable, unstable, or conditionally unstable.
If clouds do form during stable conditions, they tend to be flat (stratiform) or
wispy (ciroform), lacking vertical development.
Conditionally unstable means if it is dry it will act stable, but if it reaches
saturation, it will be unstable. Or when stable air is forced up like near a mountain
range, which we’ll talk more about.

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Clouds
Clouds are an aggregation of tiny moisture droplets and ice crystals suspended in
air that are great enough in volume and concentration that we can see them. Fog
is a cloud in contact with the ground. A moisture droplet is about 20 micrometers
in diameter which is 2 thousands of a cm. It takes a million or more such droplets
to form an average raindrop which is 2000 micrometers or .2cm (or 2 tenths of a
cm).
When an air parcel cools, rises, expands, and condenses into water, it needs a
cloud-condensation nuclei to form a droplet. A condensation nucleus is a
microscopic particle that is always present in the atmosphere (dust, soot, ash,
aerosols, whatever). They provide the mass for the water to condense on since
water requires a surface to make the transition from vapor to liquid.
Clouds can tell us a lot about what is happening in the atmosphere and what kind
of weather is likely to occur. Therefore, it is helpful to classify the types of clouds
into categories. There are 10 principal cloud types that can be grouped according
to their form and altitude. There are also more unusual clouds, that do not fit
conveniently into these categories, as well as contrails, which are streaks of
clouds created from the warm, moist exhaust of airplanes flying at high altitudes
in very cool air. In California, they are often the only clouds we see in the sky
because there is such a lack of moisture throughout most of the year.
The four basic form categories are:
1. Cirroform: hairlike, feathery (horse tails)
2. Stratiform: flat and layered
3. Cumuliform: dense, heavy, and puffy
4. Nimbus: rain-producing
The four categories according to altitude are:
1. Low/-strato- (up to 2000m)
2. Middle/Alto- (2000–6000m)
3. High/Cirro- (6000–13000m)
4. Vertically developed (near-surface to 13000m)

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Clouds are then labeled by combining these categories. Clouds can then be
further divided into subtypes, called species, but those are beyond the scope of
this class. Study the figure below and in your book to get an idea of what these
combinations look like.

Fog
Fog, which is essentially clouds on or at the surface/ground, tells us that the air
temperature and the dew point temperature at the ground are nearly identical
indicating saturation. There are different types of fog that we will discuss below,
including radiation fog, advection fog, and evaporation fog.
Radiation Fog
Radiation fog often happens over fields and ground with a lot of soil and
vegetation that evaporate and transpire water. This evapotranspiration provides
water vapor to the air just above the ground, then on clear nights when the
temperature drops the cool air can't hold that much water vapor so it condenses.
If the air is still it will just turn into dew, but if there is a light wind (around 3 mph)
then it will turn into fog and fill the air with suspended liquid water droplets. It's
called radiation fog because clear, cloudless nights allow the longwave radiation
from the surface to easily escape to space thus cooling the air. Therefore, the
main components required for radiation fog are a source of moisture, cool
temperatures from a lack of radiation, and light wind.
Eventually, during the day, radiation usually warms the air and the fog will
dissipate because the warmer air will be able to hold more moisture. However,
some places, particularly valleys, the fog can get trapped and stick around for
longer periods of time. An example of this is tule (pronounced: toolee) fog over
the San Joaquin Valley and Sacramento Valley in Central California. It's named
after the tule plants in this area.
Advection Fog
Advection fog occurs when warm, moist air moves vertically over a cooler surface.
As the warmer air directs its energy to the cooler surface, the air itself becomes
cooler, which then can't hold as much moisture and thus reaches saturation, and
condensation forms as fog. This frequently happens along the west coast because
ocean currents bring down very cool water, creating a cool surface. In Southern

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California, we call this “June Gloom or May Gray.” Advection fog is also the kind of
fog that is notoriously present in San Francisco and London.
Evaporation Fog
You can see this happening in the early morning or late at night over warm bodies
of water. As the air temperature cools and hovers over a body of warmer water,
the water is evaporating some vapor into the air. The cool air can't hold that
vapor though so it becomes saturated and fog will form just over the water (see
image on the right). This is known as evaporation fog or steam fog and looks
wispy or like steam coming off the water.