CJiAPTER 1 Properties of the Atmosphere

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January average vapor pressure

January average dewpoint temperature

July average vapor pressure

July average dewpoint temperature

FIGURE 1.8 Average vapor pressure (mb) acros s the United States in (A) January and (B) July. Average dewpointtemperature (F) in (C) January and (D) July. Note the cor~espondence between panels A and C, and panels Band D, illustrating
that vapor pressure and dewpoint temperature are both' measures of the absolute amount of moisture in the air.

summer in the western desert areas and the high

values along the Gulf Coast. Note also that, in winter,
the atmosphere in north-central areas of the United
States contains only about a quarter of the moisture
that the deserts do in summer. How can this be?
Imagine that we continually add water vapor
into a small volume of the atmosphere (you can do
this experiment by taking a hot shower in the bathroom with the door closed). What will happen?
After some time, a cloud or fog will form. The atmosphere reaches saturation when the invisible vapor
condenses into visible cloud droplets. When the
atmosphere cannot contain any more water vapor
without condensing into cloud droplets, we say that
the atmosphere is saturated. The vapor pressure at
which the atmosphere becomes saturated is called
the saturation vapor pressure. The atmosphere's
capacity for water vapor, and therefore its saturation vapor pressure, depends on temperature.
Think of the motion of individual air molecules and
water molecules. ~Lbig!;ier temp eratures, the ULQlecules move fast
.s..har:d.eJ:.for i.udildd.ual-.w ater
mo leCJ.lle.s...to--G0a-gul-ahd rrtu-droplet;s-wlum-taey-aFe

moving faster and enduring more and stronger collisions with their neighboring molecules.
The relationship between the saturation vapor
pressure and temperature is shown in Figure 1.9.
We can see from the table and the graph that the
atmosphere has little capacity for moisture when
the temperatures are very cold. The atmosphere can
contain 84 times as much moisture at 30C as it can
at-30C.
Humans are very sensitive to the amount of
moisture in the air because our bodies use evaporation of perspiration to cool. When air is near
saturation, our bodies cool inefficiently because
perspiration (water) has difficulty evaporating. This
is why summer temperatures near the humid Gulf
of Mexico coast can seem suffocating, while the
same temperatures in the dry western United States
feel pleasantly warm.
Since humans are sensitive to how close air is to
saturation, meteorologists frequently use a quantity
called the relative humidity to describe the atmospheric moisture. The relative humidity, the amount
of water vapor in the atmosphere relative to the

CHAPTER 1 Properties of the Atmosp

vapor pressure). The saturation vapor pressure is

determined by the temperature, as we saw in Figure
T (C)
SV! _(m ~~
1.9. When air is saturated, the relative humidity
70
l
40
equals 100 percent.
-..,:
Let us imagine a location where the atm osphere's
30
42.4
:o- 60
vapor
pressure was constant for an entire day. What
E
20
23.4
would happen as the atmosphere is heated during the
~ 50
)
day and cooled during the night? Figure 1.10 shows
10
~
0..
the evolution of the temperature and relative humid0
6.1
a
40
e temperature gQes
ity
over a 24-hour period. ~
0..
"'>
- 10
2.9
~
e relative humidity goes up and vice versa. In
c
.g 30
this case, the change in the relative humidity is due
- 20
1.3
~
::::,
,, solely to the change in the saturation vapor pressure,
+-30
0.5
U)
"' 20
which varies with the temperature. The amount of
water vapor in the air remains essentially constant,
and thernfore, the vapor pressure is constant as well.
10
To understand how relative humidity can vary
with
temperatur A-eis return to the question con0 -1-.-,~ =--~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ _ _ _ _ j
7
cerning why the summer atmosphere in the des-30 - 20 - 10
0
10
20
40
30
50
. erts of the southwestern United States contains
Temperature (C)
more moisture than the .winter atmosphere in the
FIGURE 1.9 Re lationship between satu ratio n va po r
north-central plains of the United States, yet th e
pressure (mb) and temperature (C).
atmosphere in the desert feels dry and the winter
atmosphere can feel moist. Suppose that the vapor
pressure (the actual moisture content) is 8 mb in
atmosphere's capacity for moisture at a given temthe desert and 2 mb in the north-central plains.
perature, is defined as:
Let's further suppose that the summertim e temperature
in the desert is 95F (35C), and the winRelative humidity= (vapor pressure/ saturation
ter temperature is 32F (0C) in the north-central
vapor pressure) x 100%.
plains. Based on Figure 1.9, the saturation vapor
The relative humidity depends on two quantipressure in the desert would be about 60 mb and
ties, the _absolute amount of moisture in the air
in the north-central plains only about 6 m b. The
(the vapor pressure) and the amount of moisture the
relative humidity would be 8 mb/ 60 mb x 100 = 13
arr can contain when it is saturated (the saturation
percent in the desert and 2 mb/6 mb x 100 = 33

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Cl)
Cl)

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Extreme Indoor Relative Humidity

in Winter
In winter, cold air from outside enters our homes and
is heated to a comfortable temperature. Although the
amount of water vapor in the air (the vapor pressure)
re mains the same, t he relative humidity of the air changes
dramatically as it is heated. Th is is because the capacity of the indoor atmosphere fo r water vapor increases
as the air is warmed . For example, consider a bitter-cold,
foggy winter day when the outside temperature is - 20C
(- 4F) and the relative humidity is 100%. From the chart

in Figure 1.9, the saturation vapo r pressure would be

1.3 ~ Because the air is saturated , the vapor pressure
would also be L 3 mb. Let's assume that the air enters a
house and is heated to 20C (68F). Now the saturation
vapor pressure is 23.4 mb. The amount of moisture in
the air does not change , so the vapor pressure remains
f~ The relative humidity of the indoor air becomes
1.3 mb/23.4 mb x 100% = 6%. Values of relative humidity this low t'au:Se physical discomfort for many people.
Humidifiers must be us ed to combat respirato ry problems
and cracked skin caused by the dry indoor air of winter.