GEOG 111 1st Edition Lecture 17 Outline of Last Lecture I Wind a Wind systems b Factors affecting wind Outline of Current Lecture I Review from last lecture II Water in the atmosphere a Phase changes of water b Effects examples III Humidity Current Lecture I Review from last lecture a Winds blow from higher to lower pressure i Pressure gradient force the rate of change of pressure across a distance b Valley mountain breeze suns rays hit a slope directly so it s receiving the most solar insolation in the valley warming more quickly than the other side of the valley Air warms up and convection occurs making the air rise and a pressure gradient force develops i Upslope flow ridge mountain tops receive more radiation than the valleys which creates ii First storms of the day occur on the ridge tops c Cold air drainage As air becomes cooler it becomes more dense heavy on the slopes coolest air drains to the lowest elevation the valley d Factors affecting wind i Pressure gradient 1 The closer together the isobars the greater the change in pressure the stronger the winds 2 Hurricanes tornados have a very large pressure gradient and therefore high winds e Winds get turned due to the Coriolis Effect f Friction i Gust factor the variation in wind speed with respect to time 1 How much does the wind change from one second minute to the next ii Wind fetch II Water in the atmosphere a Phase changes of water i Melting evaporation sublimation is a cooling process absorbs heat and creating latent energy These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute ii Condensation freezing deposition latent heat released b Effects examples i Melting cools snow melt inhibits temperature rises warming not observed in Arctic until snow has melted around July ii Freezing warming latent heat going back to sensible energy surface temperature hangs at 32 until all of the water has frozen and then the temperature continues to drop iii Evaporation cooling cooling when it starts to rain falling through an atmosphere that s not saturated iv Condensation warming convection lifting adds buoyancy to updrafts in thunderstorm or hurricane Nocturnal temperature drop decreases stops when dew forms v Sublimation cooling cooling when it starts to snow vi Deposition warming ice fogs which are common in high latitudes contrails III Humidity a Vapor pressure expression of how much water vapor is in the atmosphere the partial pressure exerted by water vapor in the atmosphere b Saturation vapor pressure how much water vapor the atmosphere can hold once the air is 100 saturated condensation occurs i At extremely low temperatures the air has no capacity for water vapor as temperature rises the capacity of the atmosphere to hold water vapor increases but not linearly
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