ATM OCN
(Meteorology)
100
WATER and the HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE
Summer 1999
Lecture # 7 Scheduled for:
23 JUN 1999 (W)
Recommended Readings from Moran and Morgan (1997):
pages 125-126; 92-96 (review).
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
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 (H
2
O)
Chemical Properties of H
2
O
Physical Properties of H
2
O
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)
Last revision 26 May 1999
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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