Chapter 7

PROPERTIES OF ATMOSPHERE

Preamble
Clouds are the first indication of the weather systems but humidity
determines the development of those clouds into systems. In tropics
these systems develop in a more stabilised way but in the higher
latitudes these have a very fast rate of change and hence the
continuous changing weather.
Humidity
Humidity is the amount of water vapour in the air, a property that has a
crucial effect on the weather. Not only does the likelihood of fog depend
on it, but so does the vertical stability of the air, which in turn determines
the likelihood of squalls and storms. Humidity is expressed in terms of
dew point or relative humidity.
At most, there is only a small amount of water vapour in the air at any
time, but this small quantity often determine the winds and weather we
observe. This small amount of water vapour is the fuel of the
atmospheric engine. When air rises it cools, and when it cools the water
vapour condenses into water, which gives off heat. This makes the
surrounding air warmer and lighter than it was before, so the air rises
more, and so on, building huge convective cells of cumulonimbus
clouds, which in turn lead to strong gusty winds on the surface as air
rushes in to replace that which went up.
Whether we have little white puffy fair-weather cumulus skies with light
air, or towering black cumulus with 40 knots of wind, is often determined
by differences of just a percent or so of water vapour in the air. Whether
we have 20 miles visibility, or fog so thick we can't see the bow, again
depends on differences of a few percent of water vapour in the air. To
see how all this comes about, we take a closer look at how water
behaves and how it interacts with air.
Water molecules in the surface layer of the ocean, or in a glass of
drinking water, are in constant motion which causes them to periodically
break loose from the surface and enter the air above it. The escaped
water molecules make up an invisible gas of water vapour, which mixes
52

with the air molecules. When any of these water molecules in turn strike
the surface, some of them stick and are re-bonded into the liquid water.
Consequently, the boundary between liquid water and air is undergoing
a constant exchange of water molecules, back and forth from the liquid
to gaseous stage. When there are more water molecules leaving the
surface than returning to it, the result is evaporation. When more are
sticking on the surface than leaving it, it is called condensation.
Whenever water is placed in an enclosed container of pure dry air (0%
water vapour in it), water vapour will begin to enter the air through
evaporation. As time goes by, the percent water vapour increases and
as it does the rate of condensation back into the liquid form increases
with it. Eventually, the processes of evaporation and condensation do
not balance out in a dynamic equilibrium condition after which the
amount of liquid water does not change nor does the amount of water
vapour in the enclosed air. This equilibrium condition is called
saturation, and it occurs at water vapour concentrations in the air of
some 1 to 10 percent or so. The exact percent varies with the
temperature of the air.
One might ask why the saturation limit at, say, 68 F, is 2.3% instead of,
say, 23% or 46%? First and this may seem surprising it has
nothing at all to do with the air. This limit is purely a property of water
itself. Even if the water were exposed to pure neon gas rather than air,
the equilibrium amount of water vapour in the neon at 68 F would be
the same. Even if liquid water were placed in an evacuated jar at 68 F,
eventually the pressure in the jar would rise to an equilibrium value
(about 23 mb in this case) due to a gas of pure evaporated water, and
the same number of water molecules would be in the previously empty
container as there were when the container was initially filled with air. In
other words, the actual amount of water vapour present in air is
determined by the temperature of the liquid water present, not the air
surrounding it. When we say the air temperature is such and such, we
make the tacit assumption that the liquid water in the air (which is
condensed onto dust particles as mist, drizzle, cloud droplets, or rain
drops) is also at this temperature.
Hence it might be helpful to clarify some terminology. We often speak of
air "holding" water vapour, or we say "warm air can hold more water
vapour than cold air," and so on, bringing forth the image of air acting as
53

a sort of sponge. This is misleading in a sense. Air is not so much

holding water vapour, as just co-existing with it. As stated above, the air
itself has nothing to do with the amount of water vapour present; it is
only the temperature of the water in the air that matters, which is for
practical purposes the air temperature itself. In another sense, it doesn't
matter how we say it as long as the concept is clear. Warm air can hold
more water vapour than cold air, but it is a property of water we are
referring to, not air.
The key property involved is called the vapour pressure of water, which
is related to the molecular structure of its individual molecules and its
surface. The fact that water has a vapour pressure of 23 mb at 68 F is
a fact of nature, much the same as saying it has a freezing point of 32
F. Gasoline, for example, has a vapour pressure of some 170 mb at 68
F and a freezing point of -70 F. We could say that saturated air at 68 F
contains some 2% (23 mb/1013 mb) water vapour, just as we would say
that air saturated with gasoline contains some 17% gasoline vapour
(170 mb/1013 mb) note the gasoline values are rough guesses.
The saturation limits on water content in the air (or of any liquid in any
gas) depend on temperature because the rate of evaporation depends
on the water temperature. The higher the temperature, the faster the
surface molecules are moving which gives them more energy to break
free of the surface bonding. In the enclosed container example, we
assumed that the water and air temperature had equalized by the time
saturation set in. Real air masses in contact with water rarely reach
saturation throughout the air mass, but they can do so in the thin layer
next to the surface if the air is still. This layer is then mixed into the air
mass by diffusion or wind circulation which increases the relative
humidity of the air. Evaporation therefore also depends on wind
because the wind mixes the surface layer of air which keeps it from
becoming saturated. Evaporation would cease when saturation was
reached.
The term "relative humidity" is used to describe the amount of water in
the air relative to the maximum amount that can be present at
saturation for that temperature of the air. At 77 F, for example, a
relative humidity of 80% means the air contains 80% of the water it can,
which is 3.1% or 23 grams of water for each cubic meter of air. In other

54

words, 77 F air with a relative humidity of 80% contains (0.8 x 3.1 or)
2.5% water vapour.
Once the air is saturated, no more water vapour can enter it, regardless
of how much water is present. The air in between rain drops or snow
flakes, for example, is saturated, as is the air supporting fog or clouds.
The amount of moisture in the air is a key factor to understanding the
weather. But when considering the actual moisture content of air, it is
usually the temperature that is more important than the relative humidity
itself. Consider North Atlantic air in a snow storm with 100% relative
humidity at 15 F, compared to off shore breeze in the Red Sea at 105
F with only 10% relative humidity. Which has the most water vapour in
it? The very warm air, even at a very low relative humidity, has some 2.5
times more water in it than does very cold air at 100% relative humidity.
Summary: Air always contains a small amount of water vapour. It is
typically about 1% (measured by weight or partial pressures), but it can
be as high as 6 or 7% for saturated very warm air. Relative humidity is
the ratio of the actual amount of water vapour in the air to the maximum
amount it can hold at that temperature. As the temperature drops, the
relative humidity will rise since the amount of water vapour there is not
changing, but the amount it can hold is going down with temperature.
As the temperature is lowered further, it will eventually reach the dew
point, which is that temperature at which the air becomes saturated.
When the air temperature equals the dew point, the relative humidity is
100%.
Once we know the air temperature, knowing the dew point is equivalent
to knowing the relative humidity of the air as far as the moisture content
is concerned.
Usually tables or special computations are required. Generally relative
humidity is a better measure of how the air feels (muggy, dry, etc) but
dew point is more explicit with regard to predicting visible effects like fog
or the elevation of cloud bases.
If the air temperature is 70 F in near coastal waters and the dew point
is 62 F, then we could well expect fog on a clear night as we could
expect the air temperature to drop at least 8 without the sun.
Likewise, in these circumstances during the day, we would estimate
cloud base height from an estimated lapse rate. Lapse rate is the rate of
55

temperature drop with increasing altitude as you rise above the surface
of the earth. If the lapse rate were 3 per 300 m, we would expect cloud
bases at (2150/3 or about 700 m. These are all fairly rough numbers,
however, since we rarely know precise values of dew point or lapse
rate, and these are not provided in any weather broadcasts available
underway. The point here is just to illustrate the physical meaning of
dew point. The extremes are easy to imagine. When the relative
humidity is 100% the air temperature equals the dew point and the
height of the clouds (stratus) is zero. We are in fog.
Note that there are rarely seen any tables that convert directly from dew
point to relative humidity. Most tables are designed to be used with
measurements of the humidity and are expressed one way or the other
in terms of air temperature and "suppression of the wet bulb
temperature."
Humidity measurements usually involve measuring two temperatures: a
"dry bulb" temperature (the normal air temperature) and a "wet bulb"
temperature, which is a rather special temperature. Then the difference
between these two temperatures is then used to look up either the dew
point or the relative humidity. If you have only these typical tables
available and want to convert dew point to relative humidity, you must
first go to the dew point tables to work backwards to find the
suppression of the wet bulb, and then use this suppression value in the
relative humidity tables to find relative humidity.
It is easy, though, to see how this "wet bulb" temperature is just what we
need to measure to get at the humidity in the air. The typical device
used to measure humidity is called a whirling psychrometer. It is two
identical thermometers mounted on a handle with a pivot so it can be
swung around in a circle. This whirling process is just a way of putting a
good wind onto the instrument if it happens to be calm. One
thermometer is a normal one called the dry bulb. The other is covered
by a clean cotton wick which must first be wetted in distilled water
before slinging it (the wet bulb).
Wind on the wet bulb causes evaporation which cools it, so the wet bulb
temperature is always lower than the dry bulb. The amount lower
depends on how much evaporation takes place which in turn depends
on how much water vapour is in the air. If the air is already saturated,
no evaporation occurs and the wet bulb equals the dry bulb.
56

The mathematical relationships physical processes that relate amount

of evaporation to amount of humidity, and amount of cooling to amount
of evaporation, and so forth are all complex and indeed largely
empirical. Hence the final analysis is usually done with tables of data
rather than formulas.
Although a whirling psychrometer may seem a handy device, there are
some cautions to be noted. Accurate measurements are not as easy as
they might appear. It is crucial that the wick and applied water remain
pure in order to obtain good data. Salt spray is a serious wick
contaminant, which will invalidate the data, and it is difficult without
extra care and extra equipment to insure that this is kept clean.
Remember, you will always get a suppressed wet bulb, but whether it is
suppressed the right amount is another question?
To complete this general background on humidity, we have one last
point to look at. Why does evaporation cause cooling and condensation
cause warming and what exactly is cooled and warmed in the process?
We will see that this question is closely related to the basic scientific
concept of energy conservation and how atoms and molecules are
bound together in solids and liquids.
Water molecules are bound together in chains and these chains are in
turn bound together in the surface. The binding takes place in large part
due to the electromagnetic attraction between negative and positive
parts of neighbouring molecules. Work must be done on the molecules
to break them apart. Who ever does this work is going to lose energy in
doing so. One way to look at the process is to imagine the air molecules
continually bombarding the water surface and each time they hit it they
impart a certain amount of energy to the surface. Some of the collisions
might by chance hit a molecule that is already moving fast within its own
statistical distribution of speeds. That collision then might significantly
slow down the colliding air molecule while at the same time (since total
energy must be conserved) giving an adequate kick to the water
molecule to set it free.
In other words, if a lot of evaporation takes place, then a lot of energy
has to be transferred from air to the liquid water which means the
temperature of the air must go down. Note that in the process of adding
energy to water, two things take place. Some of the energy goes to
raising the temperature of the water and some of it goes to breaking
57

lose its molecules in evaporation. The part that caused evaporation is

not raising the temperature of the water at all, but just changing its
phase from liquid to gas.
Instead of thinking of water on the surface of the ocean evaporating, we
can apply the same idea to clouds evaporating. Consider, for example,
a cloud of water droplets (liquid water condensed onto a speck of dust),
that happens into a high pressure region which pulls the cloud down
into warmer air near the surface. As the cloud descends each of the
water drops in it absorbs heat from the neighbouring air (and from
radiation from the earth) which warms some of them and evaporates
others. The warm ones, on the other hand, now have an even higher
probability of evaporation, and eventually they all evaporate and in so
doing cool off the neighbouring air. Highs have clear skies for exactly
this reason.
Condensation heating is just the opposite of evaporation cooling, but to
understand it, we must carefully note who is heating whom. We have
two gases coexisting, water vapour and air. While the water molecules
are in a gaseous phase, they have much energy due to their motion, but
when they condense into the liquid phase they have much less energy
of motion. The difference is in a sense the energy they give up to the
surrounding air. The over all temperature of the gas (water plus air) is
due to the motion of all of its molecules, but if we remove the motion
energy of the water molecules this difference must be picked up by the
air molecules.
Pursuing the collision analogy, if two high speed molecules have
glancing collisions, they would not slow down much, and nothing
special would happen. But some collisions between air and water
vapour molecules will leave the water molecule travelling at a very low
speed while the air molecule leaves the collision at a higher speed.
When this takes place near a water droplet, the vapour molecule is
likely to make a slow collision with the water drop and stick. Hence the
net effect of such interactions is to increase the average temperature of
the air as it converts water vapour into water liquid.

58