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Published byOliver Newman Modified over 9 years ago
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Water Vapor and the Atmosphere
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Water in the Atmosphere © Precipitation is any form of water that falls from a cloud. © When it comes to understanding atmospheric processes, water vapor is the most important gas in the atmosphere
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Water Changes State The three states of matter solid, liquid, and gas (plasma is the fourth)
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Humidity amount of water vapor in air.
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Relative Humidity ©Ratio of the air’s actual water-vapor content compared with the amount of water vapor air can hold at that temperature and pressure. © Lowering air temperature causes an increase in relative humidity © Raising air temperature causes a decrease in relative humidity
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Dew Point Dew point is the temperature to which a parcel of air would need to be cooled to reach saturation.
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How do I measure humidity? Instrument: Hygrometer Psychrometer : a type of hygrometer consisting of two identical thermometers mounted side by side Dry bulb: give the present air temperature Wet bulb: has thin wet wick tied around the end
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Cloud Formation Clouds form when air is cooled to its dew point
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Clouds Clouds are classified on the basis of their form and height.
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Three Types of Clouds Cirrus (cirrus = curl of hair) high, white, and thin Cumulus (cumulus = a pile) rounded individual cloud masses that have a flat base and the appearance of rising domes or towers Stratus (stratus = a layer) best described as sheets or layers that cover much or all of the sky
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Classification of Clouds by Height High Clouds Have bases above 6000 meters Cirrus: high, white and thin Cirrostratus: flat layers Cirrocumulus: fluffy masses
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Middle Clouds (Alto) Have bases between 2000 and 6000 meters Altocumulus: rounded masses that are larger and denser than cirrocumulus clouds Altostratus: uniform white to grayish sheet covering the sky with the sun or moon visible as a bright spot
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Low Clouds Have bases below 2000 meters Stratus: uniform layer of clouds that covers much of the sky Stratocumulus: scalloped bottom that appears as long parallel rolls or broken rounded patches Nimbostratus: grayish clouds covering most of the sky often producing precipitation Cumulonimbus: cloud covering all three height producing thunderstorms
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Fog A cloud with its base at or very near the ground.
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How Does Precipitation Form? For precipitation to form, cloud droplets must grow in volume by roughly one million times.
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Forms of Precipitation © The type of precipitation that reaches Earth’s surface depends on the temperature profile in the lower few km of the atmosphere Rain: drops of water that fall from a cloud and have a diameter of at least 0.5 mm Snow: light, fluffy, six- sided ice crystals
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Forms of Precipitation © Sleet: fall of small particles of clear to translucent ice © Glaze: when raindrops become supercooled as they fall through subfreezing air and turns to ice when they impact objects Hail: form of solid precipitation which consists of balls of irregular lumps of ice produced in cumulonimbus clouds
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