GEOG 1112 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Vapor Pressure, Humidity, Water Cycle
Document Summary
Distribution of water vapor: the hydrologic cycle refers to the cycle of water through the earth and atmosphere. Atmospheric humidity: humidity: a generic term for the amount of water vapor present in the air. Vapor pressure: the amount of atmospheric pressure exerted by water vapor molecules, we can measure vapor pressure in the same way as with total pressure, in millibars Processes that cause saturation: air may become saturated through 3 ways: the addition of water vapor, mixing cold air with warm air, moist air by cooling the air to dew point. If enough vapor is added to the air to saturate it, a precipitation fog forms beneath the cloud (#1 listed above) Relative humidity: this is probably the most familiar measure of water vapor content. Humidity & human comfort: dry skin, more colds, heat stress. If air at 50 of has a capacity of 8 g/kg and it actually contains 8 g/kg, then it is saturated: rh = 100%