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Moist Air Thermodynamics: Humidity Explained

Humidity refers to the amount of water vapor in the air, which affects comfort levels and can lead to heat stress. It is measured using instruments like hygrometers, with various definitions of humidity including absolute humidity, specific humidity, and relative humidity. Understanding these concepts is crucial for meteorology and weather prediction, as they relate to energy transfer and atmospheric conditions.

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8 views8 pages

Moist Air Thermodynamics: Humidity Explained

Humidity refers to the amount of water vapor in the air, which affects comfort levels and can lead to heat stress. It is measured using instruments like hygrometers, with various definitions of humidity including absolute humidity, specific humidity, and relative humidity. Understanding these concepts is crucial for meteorology and weather prediction, as they relate to energy transfer and atmospheric conditions.

Uploaded by

zinabu ze rain
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Atmospheric Thermodynamics

Lecture 3: Thermodynamics of Moist Air


Part1. Humidity
3.1 What is humidity?
 Humidity is the amount of water vapor, an invisible gas, in the air.
 Warm air can ‘hold’ more water vapor than cold air; in fact, air at 35°C can hold
six times more water vapor than air at 5°C. Humidity can affect comfort levels
– a hot day will feel oppressive and muggy if the air is very humid, and it may
lead to heat stress because sweat cannot evaporate from your body to cool you
down.
3.2 How is Humidity Measured?
 Instruments for measuring relative humidity are called hygrometers.
 A traditional weatherman’s tool is the ‘wet and dry-bulb thermometer’ (or
Mason’s hygrometer). Two identical thermometers are mounted side by side, but
the bulb of one of them is kept wet by a wick dipping into a water reservoir.
Evaporation from the wet bulb causes it to cool – you can demonstrate this by
licking your finger and blowing on it - and the amount it cools depends on the
humidity. So to measure the RH, we take the air temperature and the difference
between the wet bulb and the dry bulb and use a table (supplied with the
thermometer) to read off the RH.
 Electronic sensors with digital displays now are also available.
3.3 Water Vapor
Water vapor is important for moving energy around the Earth. Energy from the
Sun evaporates water into water vapor, which can easily be moved around the
atmosphere. The water vapor eventually condenses back into water releasing
energy as heat. This heat is a key component in the formation of storms.
3.4 Moisture Variables
There are a number of ways to specify the amount of moisture (referred to as
humidity) in the air such as:
(1) Absolute humidity (2) specific humidity (3) vapor pressure
(4) saturation vapor pressure (5) relative humidity (6) mixing ratio
(6) saturation mixing ratio (7) wet-bulb temperature (8) dew-point temperature

1
3.4.1 Absolut humidity
The Absolute Humidity of a parcel of air is expressed as:
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑟
𝐴𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝐻𝑢𝑚𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑦 =
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑖𝑟
𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠
So, Absolute Humidity is like a water vapor density (𝜌𝑣 ), commonly express in
𝑚3

Question: Is Absolute Humidity a good variable to use for measuring moisture in air?
Answer: No, because it is sensitive to changes in both the air temperature and
atmospheric pressure.
How? Consider a parcel of air that is rising and expanding and recall that absolute
humidity = mass of H2O / volume. The amount of moisture in the parcel does not
change as it rises. However, the absolute humidity is not constant as the parcel rises
even though the amount of moisture is not changing because the volume is
changing.
3.4.2 Specific humidity
Specific humidity is defined as:
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑟
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝐻𝑢𝑚𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑦 =
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑖𝑟
example: In a given parcel, the mass of water vapor is 1 gm, the total mass of the
parcel (N2, O2, AR, H2O, other trace gasses) is 1 kg. Then the specific humidity
is: 1 gm/kg
Q: what will the latitudinal distribution of specific humidity look like?

2
3.4.3 Vapor pressure
Given a parcel of air comprised of only nitrogen, oxygen, and water vapor:
[ is N2 78% , is O2 21% , is H2O less than
1%]
The total pressure of the air parcel is due to the sum of
"partial pressures" of each of the gasses comprising the
parcel. The partial pressure due to water vapor is called
the "vapor pressure".
 We usually denote vapor pressure as e.
 vapor pressure is related to absolute humidity via the
ideal gas law: 𝑒 = 𝜌𝑣 𝑅𝑣 𝑇
Where 𝑅𝑣 is the specific gas constant for water vapor (461 J kg-1 K-1).
 Vapor pressure similar to absolute humidity is not very convenient expressions
for humidity (at least for meteorologists).
3.4.4 Saturation vapor pressure
When an air parcel is saturated, the vapor pressure is then the saturation vapor pressure
(𝑒𝑠 ).
 The saturation vapor pressure is a function of temperature, and is given by the
Clausius-Clapeyron equation
𝐿𝑣 1 1
𝑒𝑠 = 𝑒0 𝑒𝑥𝑝 [ ( − )]
𝑅𝑣 𝑇0 𝑇
where 𝑒0 is the vapor pressure at some known temperature 𝑇0
, and 𝐿𝑣 is the latent heat of vaporization. We typically use
𝑇0 = 273 𝐾, 𝑒0 = 611 𝑃𝑎 , 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐿𝑣 = 2.5 × 106 𝐽 𝑘𝑔−1 .

Q: For an unsaturated parcel of air at a given temperature, there are two ways to saturate
it where the vapor pressure will then equal the saturation vapor pressure. What are
they?

Ans.: (1) cool the parcel until it is saturated. (2) add more moisture to it.

3
2.4.5 Relative humidity
It is the most common variable used to describe atmospheric moisture and is defined
as the ratio of the vapor pressure to the saturation vapor pressure,
𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡
𝑅𝐻 =
𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦
𝑒
𝑅𝐻 = × 100 %
𝑒𝑠
𝑚𝑖𝑥𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜
𝑅𝐻 =
𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑚𝑖𝑥𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜
 Relative humidity tells us how close an air parcel is to saturation but it does not
directly tell us how much water vapor is in the parcel!
3.4.6 Mixing ratio
Mixing ratio is defined as:
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑟
𝑚𝑖𝑥𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜 =
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑖𝑟
Example: in a given parcel, the mass of water vapor is 1 gm, the mass of dry air in the
parcel (N2, O2, AR, other trace gasses) is 1.0 kg
Then the mixing ratio is: 1 gm/kg
 Mixing ratio can be related to vapor pressure via:
𝑒
𝜌𝑣 𝑅𝑣 𝑇 𝑅𝑑 𝑒 𝑒
𝑚𝑖𝑥𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜 (𝑟) = = 𝑝 = =𝜀
𝜌𝑑 𝑑 𝑅𝑣 𝑝𝑑 𝑝−𝑒
𝑅𝑑 𝑇
𝑅𝑑
where 𝜀 =
𝑅𝑣

 Specific humidity is very close to mixing ratio, as shown:


𝜌𝑣
𝜌𝑣 𝜌𝑣 𝜌𝑑 𝑟
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑦 (𝑞) = = = = ≈𝑟
𝜌 𝜌𝑑 + 𝜌𝑣 1 + 𝜌𝑣 1+𝑟
𝜌𝑑
since 𝑟 ≪ 1

 In meteorology, mixing ratio is used far more than specific humidity, and for
most purposes the two can be considered as equivalent.
 The saturation mixing ratio, 𝑟𝑠 , is found by using 𝑒𝑠 in the formula.

4
3.4.7 Wet bulb temperature
The wet bulb temperature is the lowest temperature that can be reached by
evaporating water into the air.
Note: the wet bulb temperature will always be less than or equal to the air
temperature.
Example: If you are a runner:
T = 90 F, RH = 90% => high wet-bulb temp.
T = 90 F, RH = 10% => low wet-bulb temp.
feel more comfortable when wet-bulb temperature is low
Wet-bulb temperature is related to the heat index (see the figure below).

QUESTIONS FOR THOUGHT:


1. On a warm, muggy day, the air is described as "close". What are several
plausible explanations for this expression?
[“The air is close”, is generally referring to a hot, muggy (humid) room, with no
ventilation. It's a feeling of not having enough air to breathe.]
2. Why are evaporative coolers used in Arizona, Nevada, and California, but not
in Florida, Georgia, or Indiana?
3.4.8 Dew point temperature (Td)
Temperature to which one must cool air for it to reach saturation. It's a pretty good
approximation to amount of vapor in air.
The difference between T, Td is proportional to the relative humidity.
5
 The dew point temperature can be found from the Clausius-Clapeyron equation
by using the actual vapor pressure instead of the saturation vapor pressure, and
solving for T. This gives:
1 𝑅𝑣 𝑒 −1
𝑇𝑑 = [ − 𝑙𝑛 ( )]
𝑇0 𝐿 𝑒0
3.5 Key difference between the measures of humidity
 There are two ways to change the relative humidity, or absolute humidity of an
air parcel:
o Add or subtract water vapor.
o Change the temperature.
 There is only one way to change mixing ratio, specific humidity, vapor pressure,
or dew point (assuming pressure is constant):
o Add or subtract water vapor.
3.6 Humidity Measurement
 Meteorologists commonly measure humidity by measuring the wet-bulb
temperature.
 Wet-bulb temperature is measured using a psychrometer.
 The difference between the air temperature (dry-bulb temperature) and the wet-
bulb temperature is called the wet-bulb depression.
o The wet-bulb depression is a relative measure of the moisture content of the
air. Dry air can be cooled much further by evaporation than moist air, so a
larger wet-bulb depression means less humidity (for the same dry-bulb
temperature).
o The dew-point temperature and relative humidity are found by using
psychrometric tables, with dry-bulb temperature and wet-bulb depression as
the independent variables.
3.7 Virtual Measurement
 Moist air is a mixture of two ideal gases: dry air and water vapor.
 The ideal gas law for moist air is:
𝑝 = 𝑝𝑑 + 𝑒 = (𝜌𝑑 𝑅𝑑 + 𝜌𝑣 𝑅𝑣 )𝑇
 We can manipulate this in the following manner:
𝜌𝑑 𝜌𝑣 𝑅𝑣 𝜌 − 𝜌𝑣 𝜌𝑣 𝑅𝑣
𝑝 = 𝜌𝑅𝑑 𝑇( + ) = 𝜌𝑅𝑑 𝑇( + )
𝜌 𝜌 𝑅𝑑 𝜌 𝜌 𝑅𝑑
𝜌𝑣 𝜌𝑣 𝑅𝑣
𝑝 = 𝜌𝑅𝑑 𝑇(1 − + ) = 𝜌𝑅𝑑 𝑇(1 − 𝑞 + 𝑞/𝜀 )
𝜌 𝜌 𝑅𝑑
 If we define a new temperature, 𝑇𝑣 such that
𝑇𝑣 = 𝑇(1 − 𝑞 + 𝑞/𝜀)
6
then we can write the ideal gas law for moist air as
𝑝 = 𝜌𝑅𝑑 𝑇𝑣
 𝑇𝑣 is called the virtual temperature.
 For moist air we can use the ideal gas law for dry air, only using the virtual
temperature in place of the actual temperature.
 Virtual temperature is always greater than or equal to the actual temperature.
o The addition of water vapor causes the air to behave as though it is
warmer. This makes sense, because moist air is lighter than dry air.
 Since 𝜀 = 0.622 , we have
𝑇𝑣 = 𝑇(1 + 0.61 𝑞) 𝑉𝑖𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑇𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒
 Virtual temperature can also be written in terms of mixing ratio as

𝑟
1+
𝑇𝑣 = 𝑇 ( 𝜀)
1+𝑟

 Since mixing ratio and specific humidity are so close, we often write virtual
temperature using mixing ratio as
𝑇𝑣 ≅ 𝑇(1 + 0.61 𝑟)
 In all of the preceding equations for virtual temperature we must use the
absolute (Kelvin) temperature and the dimensionless form of mixing ratio or
specific humidity.
o However, there is an approximate formula for virtual temperature in Celsius
that uses the dimensional (g/kg) form of mixing ratio or specific humidity.

This formula is

𝑟[𝑔/𝑘𝑔]
𝑇𝑣[°𝐶] = 𝑇[°𝐶] +
6

7
EXERCISES
1. Show that the specific gas constant for water vapor, 𝑅𝑣 , 𝑖𝑠 462 𝐽 𝑘𝑔−1 𝐾 −1 .
(𝑅 = 8.3145 𝐽 𝑚𝑜𝑙 − 𝐾 −1 , and the molecular weight of water is 18.001 g/mol)
2. An air sample at standard sea level pressure, and with a volume of 1 m3 at 20o
C, contains 7 grams of water vapor.
a. What is the vapor pressure?
b. What is the saturation vapor pressure?
c. What is the relative humidity?
d. What is the absolute humidity?
e. What is the mixing ratio?
f. What is the specific humidity?
g. What is the dew-point temperature?
3. The air parcel in question 2 is cooled (at constant pressure) to 10 oC.
a. What is the vapor pressure?
b. What is the saturation vapor pressure?
c. What is the relative humidity?
d. What is the absolute humidity?
e. What is the mixing ratio?
f. What is the specific humidity?
g. What is the dew-point temperature?
h. Which humidity variables remained constant as a result of the cooling?

Common questions

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The wet-bulb temperature is the lowest temperature that can be reached by evaporating water into the air, and it indicates how much cooling can occur through perspiration evaporation. It is used to assess human comfort and safety, particularly in heat stress conditions, as high wet-bulb temperatures indicate limited cooling ability, leading to greater heat risk . Practical applications include its use in heat index calculations and guiding activities or warnings during extreme heat .

Relative humidity is the ratio of current water vapor content to the maximum possible at the same temperature (saturation), thus it doesn't directly indicate the amount of vapor present, only how close the air is to saturation . Dew point is the temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated; it provides a good approximation of the actual moisture content since higher dew points correspond to higher actual moisture content .

An unsaturated parcel of air can reach saturation primarily by cooling, reducing the temperature to the dew point, or by adding more moisture through processes like evaporation . These mechanisms are critical in weather prediction as cooling can occur due to rising air parcels, leading to cloud formation and potential precipitation, while moisture addition often leads to fog or mist formation .

Vapor pressure is the part of total atmospheric pressure exerted by water vapor alone . It is related to absolute humidity through the ideal gas law, as both increase with the water vapor content in the air, but vapor pressure is more significant for meteorological applications . Unlike absolute humidity, vapor pressure is less affected by changes in volume and provides insight into how close the air is to saturation, influencing phenomena like precipitation and condensation .

Absolute humidity is less favorable because it is sensitive to changes in air temperature and atmospheric pressure. As an air parcel rises and expands (thus increasing its volume), its absolute humidity changes even if the moisture content remains constant . Specific humidity, on the other hand, only changes with actual changes in water vapor content, making it a more stable measure for moisture .

Relative humidity is highly sensitive to changes in air temperature; it decreases as temperature rises if the actual air moisture content remains constant, while specific humidity remains unchanged unless actual water content changes . This means that weather interpretations using relative humidity must consider temperature fluctuations, as similar moisture levels can indicate vastly different weather patterns depending on temperature, whereas specific humidity provides a consistent measure of air moisture content regardless of temperature .

Wet-bulb depression is the difference between the air's dry-bulb (ambient) temperature and its wet-bulb temperature. This measure is inversely related to relative humidity; a larger wet-bulb depression indicates lower relative humidity and higher capacity for evaporative cooling. The greater the wet-bulb depression, the less moisture there is in the air at a given temperature, revealing insights into the air parcel's moisture content and potential for precipitation .

Virtual temperature is a theoretical construct that allows the ideal gas law for dry air to be applied to moist air by adjusting for the presence of water vapor, essentially treating it as a single gas . It accounts for the buoyancy effects of water vapor, as moist air behaves as if it is warmer and lighter than dry air. This adjustment facilitates accurate atmospheric modeling by accounting for air density differences, critical for predicting air movement and weather phenomena like convection .

Warm air has a higher capacity to hold water vapor than cold air. Specifically, at 35°C, air can hold six times more water vapor than at 5°C . This affects human comfort as high humidity on a hot day can make it feel muggy and lead to heat stress since sweat evaporation, which cools the body, is hindered .

The mixing ratio is preferred in meteorological studies because it is a direct measure of the mass of water vapor relative to dry air, which remains constant as an air parcel rises or falls unless water vapor is added or removed . It is closely equivalent to specific humidity for practical purposes, but mixing ratio calculations are more straightforward under varying pressure conditions, a common scenario in atmospheric science .

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