ATM OCN (Meteorology) 100

WATER and the HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE

Summer 2001

Lecture # 7 scheduled for:

27 JUN 2001 (W)

Today's Lecture Objectives:

To identify and rank according to relative size the major water reservoirs on Planet Earth.
To describe the movement of water through the hydrological cycle, summarizing the various phase change processes.
To describe the meteorological and climatological importance of the hydrological cycle.
To explain why water has some unique chemical and physical properties.
To identify the utilization of energy during the various phase change processes of water.
To describe the saturation process and how the amount of atmospheric water vapor at saturation depends upon temperature.
To identify the various instruments used to measure atmospheric water vapor.
To explain how the water vapor content of air is quantified and define the following moisture parameters

dewpoint temperature
wet bulb temperature
vapor pressure
mixing ratio
relative humidity

To perform simple calculations involving moisture parameters.
To explain the temperature dependency of relative humidity.

Outline:

A. INTRODUCTION

Definition
Historical Perspective of the Hydrologic Cycle

B. IMPORTANCE OF THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

Meteorological Significance

Contribution to the planetary energy budget
Factor in weather systems

Biological Significance
Human Significance

Resources
Hazards
Environment

C. ASSESSING THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

Mass Budgets
Total Water Budget of Planet Earth

The Major Reservoirs of Water
Recycling Processes between Reservoirs

Measurement Techniques

D. WATER - A WONDER

Background
Molecular Structure of Water (H₂O)
Chemical Properties of H₂O
Physical Properties of H₂O

E. WATER VAPOR

Humidity (Atmospheric vapor) Considerations
Concept of Saturation
Water Vapor Variables
Humidity Measurements and Instruments
Climatology of Atmospheric Humidity (Water vapor)

Links to Other References:

The Hydrologic Cycle module from Weather World 2010 (Univ. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Water Resources of the United States (U.S. Geological Survey)
National Weather Service's Heat Index Page
Educational resource unit (K-12) on air pressure from Nebraska Earth Science Education Network (NESEN):

Elementary level: Drip...drop...raindrops!!
Intermediate level: It's So Sticky Outside that...
Secondary level: Using a Sling Psychrometer to determine Relative Humidity

Last revision 5 June 2001 (1835 UTC)

Produced by Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D.

Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI 53706

hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu

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