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Meteorology and Oceanography 1

MET-O 211
2ND sem. Prelim Wk 3-4 sy 2022-23
Date: 29 OCTOBER 2022
INSTRUCTOR; Capt. SABINO C. JIPOS
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MET-O 211 WEEK 2 PRELIM WEEK 3-4 WEEK 2 (06-12 May 21)

MODULE 1: Interpret ocean current system and principal adjoining seas using various charts and nautical
publication
TOPIC:
Prelim wk 3:
Ocean Currents
The atmosphere, its composition and the physical properties:
- Layers of atmosphere
- Water vapor
Prelim wk 4:
•Pressure
•Atmospheric Pressure
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Learning Outcomes:
Prelim wk 3:
* Discuss the layers of atmosphere, solar radiation and its effect on isolation of a variation.
* Describe the processes of mixing, cooling and the evaporation of water vapor, by which a sample of
air may be brought to saturation.

Prelim wk 4:
* Determine the different reading using units of pressure including how it exerts on any surface placed
within it.
* Discuss atmospheric pressure at sea level normally varies between about 940 mbar and 1050 mbar.
* Determine how surface pressure rises if air is added to the column above the surface and vice versa.
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The Water Cycle

A k a The Hydrologic Cycle

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The water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle or the hydrological cycle, is the
continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth. This cycle
describes how water evaporates from the surface of the earth, rises into the atmosphere,
cools and condenses into rain or snow in clouds, and falls again to the surface as
precipitation.
Water moves around the Hydrologic Cycle in three of its physical state or form, solid (hail,
snow) liquid (rain, drizzle) and gaseous state (in the form of moisture or water vapour).

Water as a gas in the atmosphere is called water vapour.

Water vapour is transparent, like most constituents of the atmosphere. Under
typical atmospheric conditions, water vapour is continuously generated by evaporation and
removed by condensation.
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The Three Most Important Processes in the Hydrologic Cycle…
• Evaporation

• Condensation

• Precipitation
Evaporation
Whenever a water molecule leaves a surface and diffuses into a surrounding gas, it is said to
have evaporated. Each individual water molecule which transitions between a more
associated (liquid) and a less associated (vapor/gas) state does so through the absorption or
release of kinetic energy.
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When a material in liquid state is given energy, it changes its phase from liquid to vapour; the
energy absorbed in this process is called heat of vaporization. The heat of vaporization of
water is about 2,260 kJ/kg, which is equal to 40.8 kJ/mol.

Changing of phase undergoes a heat transfer, but the temperature of the substances remains
constant. So, the heat necessary for phase changes of water from solid to liquid or gas, or
liquid to solid or gas, without any temperature alteration is known as latent heat of water.

The enthalpy of vaporization, also known as the heat of vaporization or heat of evaporation, is
the amount of energy that must be added to a liquid substance, to transform a quantity of that
substance into a gas. The enthalpy of vaporization is a function of the pressure at which that
transformation takes place.
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Vapour pressure or equilibrium vapor pressure is defined as the pressure
exerted by a vapour in thermodynamic equilibrium with its condensed
phases at a given temperature in a closed system. The equilibrium vapour
pressure is an indication of a liquid's evaporation rate.

When a liquid is heated, its molecules obtain sufficient kinetic energy to

overcome the forces holding them in the liquid and they escape into the
gaseous phase. By doing so, they generate a population of molecules in
the vapour phase above the liquid that produces a pressure—the vapour
pressure of the liquid.
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Absolute humidity is the same as the water vapor density, defined as the mass of water
vapor divided by the volume of associated moist air and generally expressed in grams per
cubic meter.
Relative humidity is the ratio of the actual vapor pressure to the saturation vapor pressure at
the air temperature, expressed as a percentage.

Saturation
A volume of air at a given temperature holds the maximum amount of water vapour, the air is
said to be saturated.
Saturation occurs only when RH = 100%. The air is “holding” all the possible water vapor it
can at a given temperature.
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Mixing Process of Water Vapour in the Air…
Unsaturated air can become saturated in three ways—by evaporation of water into the air;
by the mixing of two masses of air of different temperatures and by cooling the air
1. Air becomes saturated due to evaporation because in order for water vapor to enter the
atmosphere, evaporation needs to occur. Evaporation is impacted by temperature, so if it's
hot, the molecules move faster and are more likely to become a gas.
2. Air can also become saturated if it's cooled.
Colder air can hold less water vapor, so if one cools some hot air that is not saturated, it will
eventually become saturated.
3. The mixing of two unsaturated air masses can create a saturated air parcel.
In this case, the two air masses are not saturated, but when they mix,
they become saturated.
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Dew point
Dew point is the temperature at which air becomes saturated if cooled at constant pressure. It is at this
temperature that when cooled further, the airborne water vapour will condense to form liquid water
(dew).
Condensation
Condensation is the change of water from its gaseous form (water vapor) into liquid water.
Condensation generally occurs in the atmosphere when warm air rises, cools and looses its capacity to
hold water vapor. As a result, excess water vapor condenses from cloud to form droplets.
Precipitation
Precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapour that falls under gravity.
The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, graupel and hail.
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Pressure
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Pressure
Pressure is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over
which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the ambient
pressure. Various units are used to express pressure.
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Various Units of Pressure…

Pressure (mathematical symbol: p or P)
Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the ambient pressure.
Various units are used to express pressure. Some of these derive from a unit of force divided
by a unit of area.
The traditional unit of pressure in the imperial and U.S. customary systems. Is the pound-
force per square inch (psi).
The SI unit of pressure is the pascal (Pa) which is equal one newton per square metre (N/m2)
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International System of Units (SI), French Système International d'Unités, international
decimal system of weights and measures derived from and extending the metric system of
units. Adopted by the 11th General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) in 1960, it
is abbreviated SI in all languages
Pressure may also be expressed in terms of standard atmospheric pressure.
The atmosphere (atm) is equal to this pressure.
The standard atmosphere (atm) is an established constant. It is approximately equal to typical
air pressure at Earth mean sea level and is defined as 101325 Pa or 1013.25 hPa (hectoPascal)
1 bar is roughly the atmospheric pressure on Earth at an altitude of 111 metres at 15 °C.
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Former popular pressure units
include the following:

• atmosphere (atm)
• manometric units:
centimetre, inch, millimetre (torr) and micrometre (mTorr, micron) of mercury,
height of equivalent column of water, including millimetre (mm H2O)
centimetre (cm H2O), metre, inch, and foot of water;
(imperial and customary units:)

• kip, short ton-force, long ton-force, pound-force, ounce-force, and poundal per square inch,
short ton-force and long ton-force per square inch,
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• fsw (feet sea water) used in underwater diving, particularly in connection with diving
pressure exposure and decompression.
(non-SI metric units)

•bar, decibar, millibar ( mb )

•msw (metres sea water), used in underwater diving, particularly in connection with diving
pressure exposure and decompression,
•kilogram-force, or kilopond, per square centimetre (technical atmosphere),
•gram-force and tonne-force (metric ton-force) per square centimetre,
•barye (dyne per square centimetre),
•kilogram-force and tonne-force per square metre,
•sthene per square metre (pieze)
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The ‘Panofsky and Brier method’
The ‘Panofsky and Brier method’ is a formula developed by the latter to calculate the
conversion of barometric pressure to wind speed .

Wind Speed = 3.9 + 3.5√1016 - Storm central pressure.

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Atmospheric Pressure

Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is

the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a
unit of pressure defined as 101,325 Pa (1,013.25 hPa; 1,013.25 mbar), which is equivalent to
760 mm Hg, 29.9212 inches Hg, or 14.696 psi.
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Atmospheric pressure on a unit area of a surface is equal to the weight of the "air column"
extending from that surface to the outer fringes of the atmosphere
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Atmospheric Pressure , in
proportion with the decrease in
gravitational force, also decreases
with height above sea level.
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Like any other gas pressure, Atmospheric Pressure
has a magnitude but no direction associated with
it. Therefore Atmospheric Pressure acts in all
directions. This signifies that a parcel of air could
go up or down, sideways and about all around.
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What is the basic unit for Pressure?
The basic unit of pressure is the N/ m² . Newtons per Square Meter is a unit that shows how
the pascal unit is derived from other SI units. Pressure is defined as Force/Area and the SI
unit for Force is newtons (N) and the SI unit for Area is Sq. Meters (m²). Then, 1 newton per
square metre equals 1 pascal.
The unit of measurement called standard atmosphere (atm) is defined as 101325 Pa.
Common multiple units of the pascal are the hectopascal (1 hPa = 100 Pa), which is equal to
one millibar, ( mb) and the kilopascal (1 kPa = 1000 Pa), which is equal to one centibar.
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1 mb = 100 N/m2
The hPa (hectopascal) unit has exactly the same value as mb (millibar) unit, so the
conversion is one to one, 1018 hPa = 1018 mbs exactly.

Millibar, unit of air pressure in the metric system, commonly used in meteorology, equal to
100 pascals, 1,000 dynes per square cm (about 0.0145 pounds per square inch), or slightly
less than one-thousandth of a standard atmosphere.
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Normally the atmospheric pressure at sea level varies between about 940 mbar and 1050
mbar. But in some cases under certain circumstances, atmospheric pressure can dive deep up
to 870 hPa.
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What is an isobar?
Isobar is a line on the surface of
the Earth where the atmospheric
pressure is constant.
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Synoptic Weather Chart issued by the Met Office

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Synoptic Weather Chart issued by the Met Office

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Why are there areas of low and high

pressure?
Areas where the air is warmed often have
lower pressure because the warm air rises. These
areas are called low pressure systems. Places where
the air pressure
is high, are called high pressure systems. A low
pressure system has lower pressure at its center
than the areas around it.
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Associated weather
within the pressure
system

Low-pressure systems are associated with clouds and precipitation that

minimize temperature changes throughout the day, whereas…
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High-pressure systems normally associate with dry weather and

mostly clear skies with larger diurnal temperature changes due to
greater radiation at night and greater sunshine during the day.