Chemical & Physical Processes

in the Atmosphere-II
BS-SS-09

Fall-2022

Dr. Mujtaba Hassan

Assistant Professor

Department of Space Science IST,

Islamabad
Air Compression and Expansion

 Adiabatic Temperature Changes

• When air is allowed to expand, it cools, and
when it is compressed, it warms.

 Expansion and Cooling

• Dry adiabatic rate is the rate of cooling or

heating that applies only to unsaturated air.
• Wet adiabatic rate is the rate of adiabatic
temperature change in saturated air.
 Cloud Formation by Adiabatic Cooling

A cloud is a visible aggregate of tiny water droplets or ice

crystals suspended in the air.
 Atmospheric Stability

The moist adiabatic rate is much less than the dry adiabatic rate
when the rising air is quite warm; however, the two rates are
nearly the same when the rising air is very cold.
Although the moist adiabatic rate does vary, to make the numbers easy
to deal with we will use an average of 6°C per 1000 m (3.3°F per 1000
ft) in most of our examples and calculations.
To figure out the air’s stability, we need to measure the temperature
both of the rising air and of its environment at various levels above the
earth.
 Atmospheric Stability
A Stable Atmosphere; If the lifted parcel of air is colder
and heavier than the air surrounding it will be absolutely stable.
If released, the parcel would have a tendency to return to its
original position
 Atmospheric Stability

The atmosphere is stable when the environmental lapse rate is

small, that is, when there is a relatively small difference in
temperature between the surface air and the air aloft.

Consequently, the atmosphere tends to become more stable—it

stabilizes—as the air aloft warms or the surface air cools.

The cooling of the surface air may be due to:

1. nighttime radiational cooling of the surface

2. an influx of cold surface air brought in by the wind

3. air moving over a cold surface

 The initial environmental lapse rate in diagram (a) will
become more stable (stabilize) as the air aloft warms and
the surface air cools, as illustrated in diagram (b).
 Atmospheric Stability
An Un-Stable Atmosphere; a lifted parcel of air will be
warmer (lighter) than the air surrounding it, and thus will continue
to rise upward, away from its original position.

*When an air parcel is

warmer (less dense) than
the air surrounding it, there
is an upward-directed force
(called buoyant force)
acting on it. The warmer
the air parcel compared to
its surroundings, the
greater the buoyant force,
and the more rapidly the air
rises.
 Atmospheric Stability

The atmosphere becomes more unstable as the environmental

lapse rate steepens; that is, as the temperature of the air drops
rapidly with increasing height.

This circumstance may be brought on by either the air aloft

becoming colder or the surface air becoming warmer.

The warming of the surface air may be due to:

1. daytime solar heating of the surface (Sensible fluxes)
2. an influx of warm surface air brought in by the wind
3. air moving over a warm surface
 The initial environmental lapse rate in diagram
(a) will become more unstable (that is, destabilize) as the air aloft cools
and the surface air warms, as illustrated in diagram (b).
 Atmospheric Stability

A Conditionally Un-Stable Atmosphere; A conditionally

unstable atmosphere exists when a parcel of air can be lifted to a
level where it becomes saturated, a cloud forms, and the rising
parcel becomes warmer than the air surrounding it.

Here the latent heat play its role (i.e. during the cloud formation) to
make air parcel warmer

Conditional instability means that, if unsaturated stable air is

somehow lifted to a level where it becomes saturated, instability
may result.
 The atmosphere is conditionally unstable when unsaturated, stable air is lifted
to a level where it becomes saturated and warmer than the air surrounding it. If the atmosphere
remains unstable, vertical developing cumulus clouds can build to great heights.
Water in the Atmosphere
 Precipitation is any form of water that falls
from a cloud.

Water’s Changes of State

 When it comes to understanding

atmospheric processes, water vapor is the
most important gas in the atmosphere.
Water in the Atmosphere

 Solid to Liquid
• The process of changing state, such as melting
ice, requires that energy be transferred in the form
of heat.
• Latent heat is the energy absorbed or released
during a change in state.
 Liquid to Gas
• Evaporation is the process of changing a liquid to
a gas.
• Condensation is the process where a gas, like
water vapor, changes to a liquid, like water.
Water in the Atmosphere
 Solid to Gas
• Sublimation is the conversion of a solid directly
to a gas without passing through the liquid state.
• Deposition is the conversion of a vapor directly
to a solid.
Water in the Atmosphere

 Humidity is a general term for the amount

of water vapor in air.

 Saturation
• Air is saturated when it contains the maximum
quantity of water vapor that it can hold at any
given temperature and pressure.

• When saturated, warm air contains more water

vapor than cold saturated air.
Humidity

Imagine we have an enclose volume of air (about

the size of a large balloon)-we called it a parcel-

We can specify the humidity in the following ways;

Water Vapor Density or Absolute Humidity:
We could compare the weight (mass) of the water vapor
in the parcel with the volume of air parcel and obtain
water vapor density or absolute humidity. Normally
expressed as g/m3
 Humidity

Specific Humidity:

We could compare the weight (mass) of the water vapor in the

parcel with the total weight (mass) of all air in the parcel
(including vapor) and obtain the specific humidity. Normally
expressed as g(water vapor)/kg(total air)
Mixing Ratio:
We could compare the weight (mass) of the water vapor in the
parcel with the weight (mass) of the remaining dry air and
obtain mixing ratio. Normally expressed as g(water
vapor)/kg(remaining dry air)
Humidity

Vapor Pressure: The total pressure of a gas is due to

collision of all the molecules against the wall of the
parcel.
Suppose air contain Nitrogen (78%), Oxygen (21%)
and vapor (1%). If the pressure of the gas is
1000mb, that means nitrogen have 780mb, oxygen
210mb and actual water vapor 10mb(1 % of
1000mb).
Increase in the number of water vapor molecules will
increase the total vapor pressure.
Hence the actual vapor pressure is a fairly good
measure of the total amount of water vapor in the air.
 Humidity

Hence the actual vapor pressure is a fairly good measure of

the total amount of water vapor in the air: high actual
vapor pressure indicates large number of water vapor
molecules and vice versa.
Actual vapor pressure indicates the air’s total water vapor
content, whereas saturation vapor pressure
describe how much water vapor necessary to make the
air saturated at any given temperature.
OR
Saturation vapor pressure is the pressure that the water
vapor molecules would exert if the air were saturated with
the vapor at a given temperature.
 Vapor Pressure

Let us consider the evaporation of water molecules from the

surface. Since the fast moving molecules increases as the
temperature increases, the number water molecules
escaping per second increases also.

At higher air temperatures, it takes more water vapor to

saturate the air (evaporation increases). And more vapor
molecules exert a greater pressure. Hence Saturation
vapor pressure depends primarily on the air temperature.

From the graph (next page) we can see that at 10 degC, the
saturation vapor pressure is about 12 mb, whereas at 30
degC, it is about 42 mb
 Relative Humidity

• Relative humidity is a ratio of the air’s actual water-vapor

content (vapor pressure) compared with the amount of
water vapor air can hold (saturation vapor pressure) at that
temperature and pressure.

 Relative Humidity indicates how close the air is to being

saturated. Does not indicate the actual amount of water
vapor in the air.

 Relative humidity can change when the air’s water-

vapor content changes, or when the air temperature
changes.
Relative Humidity
 In summary, as water vapor is added to the air (with no
change in air temperature), the relative humidity increases,
and, as water vapor is removed from the air, the relative
humidity lowers
If the air temperature increases, the saturation vapor pressure
also increases, which raises the air’s water vapor capacity. If
there is no change in the air’s actual water vapor content, the
relative humidity lowers.

If, on the other hand, the air temperature decreases, so does

the air’s saturation vapor pressure. As the saturation vapor
pressure approaches the actual vapor pressure, the relative
humidity increases as the air approaches saturation.

To summarize, when the water-vapor content of air remains

constant (no evaporation), lowering air temperature causes
an increase in relative humidity, and raising air temperature
causes a decrease in relative humidity.
Relative Humidity Varies with Temperature
In many places, the air’s total vapor content varies only slightly during an
entire day, and so it is the changing air temperature that primarily
regulates the daily variation in relative humidity.
As air cools during the night, the relative humidity increase. Normally,
highest relative humidity occurs in the early morning, during the coolest
part of the day.
During the day time, temperature increases and relative humidity
decreases, with the lowest value occur during the warmest part of the
afternoon.
Relative Humidity Adverse Effects
Very low relative humidity (RH) can have an adverse effect.
For example, leaves and the soil evaporates rapidly in daytime
low RH.
People suffer too, when RH is low. Rapid evaporation of
moisture from exposed flesh (The soft tissue of the body of a
vertebrate) cause skin to crack, dry or itch. Low RH can also
irritate the mucous membranes in the nose and throat,
producing an itchy. Similarly, dry nasal passages permit
inhaled bacteria to incubate, causing persistent infections.
The relative humidity in a home can be increased
just by heating water and allowing it to evaporate into the air.
The added water vapor raises the relative humidity to a more
comfortable level. In modern homes, a humidifier, installed
near the furnace, adds moisture to the air at a rate of about
one gallon per room per day.
 Dew Point and Relative Humidity
• Dew point is the temperature to which a parcel of air
would need to be cooled to reach saturation.
 Saturation vapor pressure increases with increasing temperature. At a temperature of 10°C, the
saturation vapor pressure is about 12 mb, whereas at 30°C it is about 42 mb. The insert illustrates
that the saturation vapor pressure over water is greater than the saturation vapor pressure over ice.
 Dew Point and Relative Humidity

Suppose during the day the air warms to 30°C (86°F), with no
change in water vapor content (or air pressure). Because
there is no change in water vapor content, the actual vapor
pressure must be the same (12 mb) as it was in the early
morning when the air was saturated.
The saturation vapor pressure, however, has increased
because the air temperature has increased. From Fig. Tem
Vs Pressure, note that air with a temperature of 30°C has a
saturation vapor pressure of 42 mb. The relative humidity of
this unsaturated, warmer air is now much lower, as
 Dew Point and Relative Humidity
To what temperature must the outside air, with a temperature of
30°C, be cooled so that it is once again saturated? The answer,
of course, is 10°C. For this amount of water vapor in the air,
10°C is called the dew-point temperature or, simply, the dew
point.
It represents the temperature to which air would have to be
cooled (with no change in air pressure or moisture content) for
saturation to occur.
Since atmospheric pressure varies only slightly at the earth’s
surface, the dew point is a good indicator of the air’s actual
water vapor content.
High dew points indicate high water vapor content; low dew
points, low water vapor content.
Addition of water vapor to the air increases the dew point; removing water vapor lowers it.
 Dew Point and Relative Humidity

The difference between air temperature and dew point can

indicate whether the relative humidity is low or high.
When the air temperature and dew point are far apart, the
relative humidity is low; when they are close to the same value,
the relative humidity is high.
When the air temperature and dew point are equal, the air is
saturated and the relative humidity is 100 percent.
Even though the relative humidity may be 100 percent, the air,
under certain conditions, may be considered “dry.”
Dry air can have a high relative humidity. In polar air, the dew-
point temperature is low and the air is considered dry. But the air
temperature is close to the dew point, and so the relative
humidity is high.
 Dew Point and Relative Humidity

Since dew point is a measure of the amount of water vapor in

the air, the desert air (with a higher dew point) must contain
more water vapor.
So even though the polar air has a higher relative humidity, the
desert air that contains more water vapor has a higher water
vapor density, or absolute humidity. (The specific humidity and
mixing ratio are also higher in the desert air).
Low dew-point temperature in polar regions means that there is
little water vapor in the air. Consequently, the air is “dry” even
though the relative humidity is high.
The relative humidity can be computed from Fig. Tem Vs Pressure. The desert air with an air temperature
of 35°C has a saturation vapor pressure of about 56 mb. A dew-point temperature of 5°C gives the desert
air an actual vapor pressure of about 9 mb. These values produce a relative humidity of 9⁄56 × 100, or 16
percent.