Chapter 3 & 4 (More Seasonality, Albedo, Water Vapor,

Evaporation and Condensation)

Two factors that affect seasonality: Latitude. Proximity to large

bodies of water. Use both factors todetermine which continentshould have the mostseasonality.

Re-cap On Seasonality

High Latitud

e

Far from large oceans

Ocean Currents

Fraction of solar energy reflected from the Earth’s surface back into space.

Lighter objects have higher albedo and darker objects have lower albedo.

To stay cooler on a warm summer day, should you wear a white or black t-shirt?

Albedo

Ratio of the vapor pressure to the saturation vapor pressure (times 100%).

Simply put, tells us how much water is in the air relative to how much could be in the air if it were saturated.

More water vapor can exist in warmer air than cooler air, thus the saturation vapor pressure depends on temperature!

Relative Humidity

Relative Humidity (cont)

RH = (Vapor Pressure / Saturation Vapor Pressure) * 100

Since Saturation Vapor Pressure depends on temperature, RH does as well.

What is the Saturation (or equilibrium) vapor pressure if the RH is 50% and the vapor pressure is 5 mb?

50% = (5 mb / Saturation Vapor Pressure) * 1000.5 = 5 mb / Saturation Vapor PressureSaturation Vapor Pressure = 5 mb / 0.5 = 10 mb

Another way to measure water vapor. Temperature at which air contains its

maximum amount of water vapor. Rate of Condensation = Rate of Evaporation

when the temperature cools to the dew point. AKA the air becomes saturated.

“Cleaner” measure than the relative humidity because of it’s independence to temperature.

Dew Point

RH vs. Dewpoint

Dew Points in Wx Forecasting

What atmospheric variable is related to buoyancy? Think about why you float in water if you fill

your lungs. What does this mean about the density of

moist air relative to dry air?

Why is moist air so buoyant?

3.12 (a, b)3.13 (a, b, c, d, e)3.16 (a , b)4.1 (a, b)4.2 4.64.8

Lab Assignment