Course: CE 410 (Hydrology)

Lecture # 03: Weather and Climate

Weather and Climate

 Weather - short-term changes in temperature, humidity, rainfall, and barometric pressure
in the atmosphere in a certain region
 Climate – long-term weather conditions prevalent in a region over time

Meteorology
 The study of complex motions and interactions of the atmosphere, including the
observation of phenomena such as temperature, density, winds, clouds, and
precipitation

Earth’s Atmosphere
 Composed of gases that are held by the Earth’s gravitation
 The Earth’s atmosphere extends at around 2,414 km (1,500 mi) above its surface, with
around 75% of the gases in it residing within 16 km (10 mi) of it.
 Composed of two major layers
o Homosphere – the lower portion of the atmosphere
 Troposphere
 Where living organisms spend most of the time and also where
weather takes place
 Height from the Earth’s surface is at ~11 km (7 mi) on average
 Stratosphere
 Layer above the troposphere
 Located between 11-48 km (7-30 mi) from the Earth’s surface
 Where ozonosphere (ozone layer) is located (between 16-48 km
[10-30 mi]); this layer protects all organisms from the ultraviolet
rays coming from the Sun
 Mesosphere
 Layer above the stratosphere
 Located between 48-88 km (30-55 mi) from the Earth’s surface
 Temperature at this layer is significantly lower compared to the
lower layers
o Heterosphere – the upper portion of the atmosphere
 Thermosphere
 Layer above the mesosphere
 Located between 85-700 km (55-435 mi) from the Earth’s surface
 Temperature at this layer rises again
 Exosphere
 Layer above the thermosphere
 Located beyond 700 km (435 mi) from the Earth’s surface
 Going beyond the exosphere is the outer space
o Ionosphere
 A layer of the atmosphere overlapping the upper mesosphere and the
lower thermosphere (48-402 km [30-250 mi])
 Air particles in this layer are ionized due to some factors such as the
ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.
 This layer is responsible for reflecting radio waves, thus important for
long-distance communication
 (Image from NYPL Science Desk Reference)

 The conditions of the Earth’s atmosphere allow the hydrologic cycle to occur.

Earth’s Wind System

 Wind – moving air caused by different factors such as differential heating and horizontal
variation of atmospheric pressure
 Wind is a very influential factor in several hydrometeorological processes.
 Earth’s winds are mainly divided into three groups:
o Planetary Winds
 Major Circulation Cells
 Hadley Cells (Tropical Cells)
o Caused by rising of heated air and sinking of cooled air
o The heated air rises near the equator, travels toward the
poles, and then sinks again at 30°N/S latitudes
o Named after English meteorologist George Hadley
 Polar Cells
o Heated air rises about 60°N/S latitudes, then sinks at their
respective poles
 Ferrel Cells
o Air cells that exist between the Hadley cells and the polar
cells
o Cold air rises at 60°N/S latitudes, then descends at 30°N/S
latitudes
 o Named after American meteorologist William Ferrel
 Prevailing Winds
 Produced by global variations of barometric pressure both at the
surface and aloft
 Influenced by the Earth’s rotation by what is called the Coriolis
effect, with the northern winds curving to the east, and the
southern winds to the west
 Polar high, polar easterlies, subpolar lows, westerlies, subtropical
high horse latitudes, trade winds
o Secondary Winds
 Land and Sea Breezes
 Common at the seashores and on the shores of large lakes
 Onshore breezes
o The land heats at a temperature higher that the nearby
water, causing pressure difference. As heated air rises,
cooler air rushes to take its place, creating a breeze from
the water to the land
 Offshore breezes
o The land cools to a temperature lower than the nearby
water, therefore changing the direction of the breeze from
the land to the water
 Monsoons
 Often predictable winds that bring rainy and dry weather to India
and Southeast Asia
 Monsoon winds occur due to differential heating of oceans and
land.
o Regional Winds
 Winds that are influenced by the local topography of a region
 Measurement of Wind
o Wind has both speed and direction.
o Wind Direction
 Direction from which it is blowing
 Usually expressed in terms of 16 compass points (4 cardinal directions, 4
secondary directions, and 8 directions between them)
 Determined by a device called wind vane
o Wind Speed
 Usually given in [L] / [T] (e.g. km/hr, mi/hr, m/s, knots etc.)
 Measured by a device called anemometer
 Three- or four-cup anemometer
 Propeller anemometer
 Pressure-tube anemometer
 (Image from NYPL Science Desk Reference)

Earth’s Weather System

 Air Masses
o Movement of air is dominated by low and high pressure systems called air
masses.
o Air will flow from a high pressure area to a low pressure area.
o Weather Fronts
 Sharp, well-defined boundaries between air masses
 Caused by differing densities of warm and cold air
 Four types of fronts
 Cold front – occurs when a cold air mass is followed by a warm air
mass
 Warm front – occurs when a warm air mass is followed by a cold
air mass
 Stationary front – a front that does not advance
 Occluded front – occurs when cold, warm, and cooler air run into
each other
 (Image from NYPL Science Desk Reference)

 Jet Streams
o Flattened tubes of high-speed winds that separate the warm flow of air (usually
from the mid-latitudes) from the cold (usually from the poles)
o Range at 7,620-13,716 m (25,000-45,000 ft) in altitude
o Generally travel in a west-to-east direction, but may temporarily go northward
and southward
 Air Temperature
o Temperature – degree of hotness or coldness of the body; an indicator of amount
of heat in the body
o Air Temperature – measurement of atmospheric warmth; influenced by radiation
from the Sun
o Air temperature is usually measured by a thermometer
 Thermometers are placed in boxes called instrument shelters to protect
them from sunlight and precipitation.
 Minimum thermometer – an alcohol-in-glass type that has an index which
remains at the lowest temperature
 Maximum thermometer – has a constriction near the bulb which enables it
to keep the record of highest temperature without letting the mercury fall
down to the bulb
 Thermograph – makes an autographic record on a ruled chart wrapped
around a clock-driven cylinder
 Other types of thermometers include electrical-resistance thermometers,
thermocouples, gas-bulb thermometers etc.
o Some temperature-related terminologies
 Mean daily temperature – average of daily maximum and minimum
temperatures
  Normal daily temperature – average mean daily temperature for a given
date computed for a specific 30-year period
 Daily range – difference between the highest and lowest temperatures
recorded on a specific day
 Mean monthly temperature – average of mean monthly maximum and
minimum temperatures
 Mean annual temperature – average of monthly means for the day
 Lapse rate – also known as vertical temperature gradient; rate of change
of temperature with height in the free atmosphere
 Air Pressure
o Pressure – force per unit area acting on a surface
o Air pressure or barometric pressure is just the pressure on a surface caused by
air.
o As the altitude above the sea level increases, the average air pressure
decreases.
o At sea level, the air pressure is equal to 1 atmosphere (atm), equal to 1,013
millibars, 29.92 mmHg, or 14.7 psi.
o Air pressure is measured using a barometer.
 Humidity
o Amount of moisture in the air; measure of amount of water vapor in the air
o Vaporization / Evaporation – process by which liquid water is converted into
water vapor
o Ideal Gas Law
 Under moist conditions, water vapor can be assumed to obey the ideal
gas law
 Equation: 𝑃𝑉 = 𝑛𝑅𝑇
 P is the pressure of the ideal gas
 V is the volume of the ideal gas
 n is the number of moles of the ideal gas
 R is the universal gas constant (0.0821 atm-L / mol-K)
 T is the absolute temperature of the ideal gas (in Kelvins)
 As pressure decreases, temperature decreases.
o Dalton’s Law of Partial Pressures
 In any mixture of gases, each gas exerts a partial pressure independent
of other gases.
 The total pressure of a gas mixture is equal to the sum of partial
pressures of each gas.
 Water vapor pressure – partial pressure exerted by water vapor in air
 Total air pressure – sum of dry air pressure and water vapor pressure
 Water vapor pressure is typically 1-2% of total air pressure.
 Saturation vapor pressure – maximum water vapor pressure at a given
temperature
o Some properties of air density and pressure
 Specific gravity of water vapor: 𝑆𝐺𝑣 = 0.622 × 𝑆𝐺𝑑𝑟𝑦
 SGv is the specific gravity of the water vapor
 SGdry is the specific gravity of dry air
 Water vapor pressure (empirical psychrometric equation)
𝑇 −32
 𝑒 = 𝑒𝑠 − 0.000367𝑝𝑎 𝑇 − 𝑇𝑤 1 + 𝑤
1571
 e is the vapor pressure of air in millibars
  T is the dry-bulb temperature in °F
 Tw is the wet-bulb temperature in °F
 es is the saturation vapor pressure corresponding to Tw in millibars
 pa is the moist air pressure in millibars
 1 millibar is equal to 0.0143 psi; 1 atm is equal to 1013 millibars
 Saturation vapor pressure
−4278.6
 𝑒𝑠 = 2.7489 × 108 × exp
𝑇+242.79
 T is the temperature in °C
𝑒
 Density of water vapor: 𝜌𝑣 = 0.622
𝑅𝑔 𝑇
 ρv is the density of water vapor in g/cm3
 T is the absolute temperature in °C
 Rg is a gas constant equal to 2.87 x 103
𝑝 𝑑𝑟𝑦
 Density of dry air: 𝜌𝑑𝑟𝑦 =
𝑅𝑔 𝑇
 ρdry is the density of dry air in g/cm3
 T is the absolute temperature in °C
 pdry is the dry air pressure in millibars
𝑝 𝑒
 Density of moist air: 𝜌𝑎 = 𝑎 1 − 0.378
𝑅𝑔 𝑇 𝑝𝑎
 ρa is the density of moist air in g/cm3
 T is the absolute temperature in °C
 pa is the moist air pressure in millibars
o Relative Humidity – measure of degree of saturation of the air
𝑒
 Equation: 𝑓 = 100
𝑒𝑠
 f is the relative humidity of moist air in %
 Dew-point temperature
 Temperature at which air becomes saturated when cooled under
constant pressure and with constant water vapor content
 Temperature having a saturation vapor pressure equal to e
o Specific Humidity – mass of water vapor in a unit mass of moist air
𝑒
 Equation: 𝑞𝑛 = 622
𝑝 𝑎 −0.378𝑒
 qn is the specific humidity of air in g/kg (grams of water vapor per
kg of moist air)
o Measurements of humidity
 Official measurements of humidity in the surface layers of the atmosphere
are made with a psychrometer.
 A psychrometer consists of two thermometers (wet-bulb and dry-bulb).
The two thermometers would have different readings, with their difference
called the wet-bulb depression, which is used together with air
temperature to determine humidity through the use of some reference
tables (psychrometric tables).
 Other devices for measuring humidity include hair hygrometer, hair
hygrograph, hygrothermograph (combination of features of hair
hygrograph and thermograph), dew-point hygrometer, and spectroscopic
hygrometer.
 Measurement of humidity is one of the least accurate instrumental
procedures in meteorology due to risk of observational errors and factors
due to environment.
 Clouds
o Accumulations of water droplets or ice crystals in the atmosphere
o Formed when atmospheric cooling causes some of the water vapor in the air to
condense into water droplets or ice crystals
o Can be classified depending on the altitude above ground in which they form
 Noctilucent Clouds
 Thin, wavy, low-density clouds of unknown composition
 Occur between 75-90 km (45-54 km) in altitude
 Usually seen at dusk or dawn
 Usually silver, blue, or orange in color
 High Clouds
 Similar with mares’ tails
 Occur between 5.5-12 km (18,000-40,000 ft)
 Examples: cirrus, cirrostratus, cirrocumulus
 Middle Clouds
 Occur between 3-6 km (10,000-20,000 ft)
 Examples: altostratus, altocumulus
 Low Clouds
 Occur between 450-2,000 m (1,500-6,500 ft)
 Examples: stratus, stratocumulus, nimbostratus
 Vertically Developing Clouds
 Examples: cumulus, cumulonimbus

(Image from NYPL Science Desk Reference)

 Hydrometeors and Precipitation

o Hydrometeors – condensation and sublimation products from atmospheric water
vapor and windblown water particles
 Haze, fog, drizzle, rain, freezing drizzle and rain, ice crystals and pellets,
hail, snow, virga, drifting and blowing snow, and liquid or solid water
deposited on objects
o Precipitation – all forms of water (either liquid or solid) that fall to the surface of
the Earth
  Forms when water vapor cools to the dew-point temperature

References:
 Barnes-Svarney, P. (editor). (1995). The New York Public Library Science Desk
Reference. New York, USA: Macmillan, Inc.
 Dizon, C. (--). CE 110: Climate and Weather. Lecture slides from UP Diliman Institute of
Civil Engineering.
 Linsley, R. et.al. (1958). Hydrology for Engineers. USA: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.