GEL 10 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Latent Heat, Evaporation, Coriolis Force
Document Summary
The hydrologic cycle: transfer of water and heat globally. Clouds form when air is at saturation vapor pressure for water. Point when rate of evaporation = rate of condensation. Changes in saturation vapor pressure occur primarily as: Air masses convect upward in atmosphere and cool (decreasing saturation vapor pressure) - forming clouds. Or when air descends and warms (increasing saturation vapor pressure) - no clouds. Once the saturation vapor pressure is reached, any additional evaporation adds water vapor molecules to the air where they condense to form water droplets in clouds. Precipitation (rain) occurs when droplets grow too large and gravity works to send them down to land/ocean surface as rain or snow. Evaporation, condensation, and precipitation transfers heat energy from the warm tropics to the cooler high altitudes. Energy needs to overcome the molecular forces (the image displayed in class) Temporary storage of tropical ocean heat energy in water vapor.