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Condensation: Dew, Fog (PART 1) and Clouds (PART 2)

Condensation: Dew, Fog (PART 1) and Clouds (PART 2) Please read Chapter 6 in Ahrens Condensation Condensation is the phase transformation of water vapor to liquid water Water does not easily condense without a surface present

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Condensation: Dew, Fog (PART 1) and Clouds (PART 2)

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  1. Condensation: Dew, Fog (PART 1)and Clouds (PART 2) Please read Chapter 6 in Ahrens

  2. Condensation • Condensation is the phase transformation of water vapor to liquid water • Water does not easily condense without a surface present • Vegetation, soil, buildings provide surface for dew and frost formation • Particles act as sites for cloud and fog drop formation

  3. Dew • Surfaces cool strongly at night by radiative cooling • Strongest on clear, calm nights • The dew point is the temperature at which the air is saturated with water vapor • If a surface cools below the dew point, water condenses on the surface and dew drops are formed • Dew does not “fall”

  4. Frost • If the temperature is below freezing, the dew point is called the frost point • If the surface temperature falls below the frost point water vapor is deposited directly as ice crystals • deposition

  5. Cloud and fog drop formation • If the air temperature cools below the dew point (RH > 100%), water vapor will tend to condense and form cloud/fog drops • Drop formation occurs on particles known as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) • The most effective CCN are water soluble. • Without particles clouds would not form in the atmosphere • RH of several hundred percent required for pure water drop formation

  6. Typical Sizes

  7. Very Small Drops Tend to Evaporate! • Surface of small drops are strongly curved • Stronger curvature produces a higher esat • Very high RH required for equilibrium with small drops • ~300% RH for a 0.1 µm pure water drop If small drops evaporate, how can we ever get large drops?!

  8. Homogeneous Nucleation • Formation of a pure water drop without a condensation nucleus is termed “homogeneous nucleation” • Random collision of water vapor molecules can form a small drop embryo • Collision likelihood limits maximum embryo size to < 0.01 µm • esat for embryo is several hundred percent • Embryo evaporates since environmental RH < 100.5%

  9. Water molecule Solute molecule The Solute Effect • Condensation of water on soluble CCN dissolves particle • Water actually condenses on many atmospheric salt particles at RH ~70% • Some solute particles will be present at drop surface • Displace water molecules • Reduce likelihood of water molecules escaping to vapor • Reduce esat from value for pure water drop

  10. Steps in Cloud/Fog Formation • Air parcel cools causing RH to increase • Radiative cooling at surface (fog) • Expansion in rising parcel (cloud) • CCN (tenths of µm) take up water vapor as RH increases • Depends on particle size and composition • IF RH exceeds critical value, drops are activated and grow readily into cloud drops (10’s of µm)

  11. Where do CCN come from? • Not all atmospheric particles are cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) • Good CCN are hygroscopic (“like” water, in a chemical sense) • Many hygroscopic salt and acid particles are found in the atmosphere • Natural CCN • Sea salt particles (NaCl) • Particles produced from biogenic sulfur emissions • Products of vegetation burning • CCN from human activity • Pollutants from fossil fuel combustion react in the atmosphere to form acids and salts • Sulfur dioxide reacts to form particulate sulfuric acid and ammonium sulfate salts • Nitrogen oxides react to form gaseous nitric acid which can combine with ammonia to form ammonium nitrate particles

  12. Fogs • Fogs are clouds in contact with the ground • Several types of fogs commonly form • Radiation fog • Advection fog • Upslope fog • Evaporation (mixing) fog

  13. Radiation Fog • Surface radiation and conduction of heat away from the overlying air cool air temperatures near the ground • A layer of air near the ground becomes saturated and fog forms • Fog deepens as radiative cooling from the fog top continues overnight • Solar heating warms the ground and causes the fog to “burn off” from the ground up • What type of meteorological conditions would favor radiation fog?

  14. Advection Fog • Warm air moves (is advected) over cold surface • Cold surface cools warm air • If saturation is reached, fog forms • Common on west coast of U.S. • Warm moist air from Pacific is advected over upwelling cold coastal waters • As foggy air moves ashore, solar heating warms the ground and overlying surface • Fog evaporates near ground • Coastal advection fogs are key moisture sources for California Redwoods

  15. Upslope fog Moist air flows up along sloped plain, hill or mountain Expansion of rising air causes cooling and RH increases Evaporation (mixing) fog Mixing of warm, moist air with colder air produces saturated air parcel Examples Exhale on a cold day Evaporation of water from relatively warm, wet surface and mixing with colder air above. (Smokestack plume, contrails) Other Fog Types

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