CE 394K.

2 Hydrology
Atmospheric Water and Precipitation
Literary quote for today:
In Khln, a town of monks and bones,
And pavements fang'd with murderous stones
And rags, and hags, and hideous wenches;
I counted two and seventy stenches,
All well defined, and several stinks!
Ye nymphs that reign o'er sewers and sinks,
The river Rhine, it is well known,
Doth wash your city of Cologne;
But tell me, nymphs, what power devine
Shall henceforth wash the river Rhine?

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The City of Cologne, 1800
Contributed by Eric Hersh
Questions for today
(1) How is net radiation to the earths surface partitioned
into latent heat, sensible heat and ground heat flux and
how does this partitioning vary with location on the
earth?
(2) What are the factors that govern the patterns of
atmospheric circulation over the earth?
(3) What are the key variables that describe atmospheric
water vapor and how are they connected?
(4) What causes precipitation to form and what are the
factors that govern the rate of precipitation?
(5) How is precipitation measured and described?
(Some slides in this presentation were prepared by Venkatesh Merwade)
Questions for today
(1) How is net radiation to the earths surface partitioned
into latent heat, sensible heat and ground heat flux and
how does this partitioning vary with location on the
earth?
(2) What are the factors that govern the patterns of
atmospheric circulation over the earth?
(3) What are the key variables that describe atmospheric
water vapor and how are they connected?
(4) What causes precipitation to form and what are the
factors that govern the rate of precipitation?
(5) How is precipitation measured and described?
(Some slides in this presentation were prepared by Venkatesh Merwade)
Heat energy
Energy
Potential, Kinetic, Internal (E
u
)
Internal energy
Sensible heat heat content that can be
measured and is proportional to temperature
Latent heat hidden heat content that is
related to phase changes

f
h
g
V
y z
g
V
y z + + + = + +
2 2
2
2
2 2
2
1
1 1
Energy Units
In SI units, the basic unit of energy is
Joule (J), where 1 J = 1 kg x 1 m/s
2
Energy can also be measured in calories
where 1 calorie = heat required to raise 1
gm of water by 1C and 1 kilocalorie (C) =
1000 calories (1 calorie = 4.19 Joules)
We will use the SI system of units
Energy fluxes and flows
Water Volume [L
3
]
(acre-ft, m
3
)
Water flow [L
3
/T] (cfs
or m
3
/s)
Water flux [L/T]
(in/day, mm/day)
Energy amount [E]
(Joules)
Energy flow in Watts
[E/T] (1W = 1 J/s)
Energy flux [E/L
2
T] in
Watts/m
2
Energy flow of
1 Joule/sec
Area = 1 m
2
MegaJoules
When working with evaporation, its more
convenient to use MegaJoules, MJ (J x
10
6
)
So units are
Energy amount (MJ)
Energy flow (MJ/day, MJ/month)
Energy flux (MJ/m
2
-day, MJ/m
2
-month)
Internal Energy of Water
0
1
2
3
4
-40 -20 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Temperature (Deg. C)
I
n
t
e
r
n
a
l

E
n
e
r
g
y

(
M
J
)
Heat Capacity (J/kg-K) Latent Heat (MJ/kg)
Ice 2220 0.33
Water 4190 2.5
Ice
Water
Water vapor
Water may evaporate at any temperature in range 0 100C
Latent heat of vaporization consumes 7.6 times the latent heat of fusion (melting)
2.5/0.33 = 7.6
Latent heat flux
Water flux
Evaporation rate, E
(mm/day)
Energy flux
Latent heat flux
(W/m
2
), H
l
Area = 1 m
2
E l H
v l
=
= 1000 kg/m
3
l
v
= 2.5 MJ/kg

) / )( 1000 / 1 ( * ) / )( 86400 / 1 ( * / 1 ) / ( 10 5 . 2 ) / ( 1000 /
6 3 2
m mm s day day mm kg J m kg m W - - - =
28.94 W/m
2
= 1 mm/day
Radiation
Two basic laws
Stefan-Boltzman Law
R = emitted radiation
(W/m2)
c = emissivity (0-1)
o = 5.67x10
-8
W/m2-K
4
T = absolute
temperature (K)
Wiens Law
= wavelength of
emitted radiation (m)
4
T R co =
T
3
10 * 90 . 2

=
Hot bodies (sun) emit short wave radiation
Cool bodies (earth) emit long wave radiation
All bodies emit radiation
Net Radiation, R
n

R
i
Incoming Radiation

R
o
=oR
i
Reflected radiation

o= albedo (0 1)

R
n
Net Radiation

R
e
e i n
R R R = ) 1 ( o
Average value of R
n
over the earth and
over the year is 105 W/m
2
Net Radiation, R
n

R
n
Net Radiation

G LE H R
n
+ + =
Average value of R
n
over the earth and
over the year is 105 W/m
2
G Ground Heat Flux
LE Evaporation H Sensible Heat
http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/energy/radiation_balance.html
Energy Balance of Earth
6
4
100
70
51
21
26
38
6
20
15
Sensible heat flux 7
Latent heat flux 23
19
Energy balance at earths surface
Downward short-wave radiation, Jan 2003
600Z
Energy balance at earths surface
Downward short-wave radiation, Jan 2003
900Z
Energy balance at earths surface
Downward short-wave radiation, Jan 2003
1200Z
Energy balance at earths surface
Downward short-wave radiation, Jan 2003
1500Z
Energy balance at earths surface
Downward short-wave radiation, Jan 2003
1800Z
Energy balance at earths surface
Downward short-wave radiation, Jan 2003
2100Z
Latent heat flux, Jan 2003, 1500z
Questions for today
(1) How is net radiation to the earths surface partitioned
into latent heat, sensible heat and ground heat flux and
how does this partitioning vary with location on the
earth?
(2) What are the factors that govern the patterns of
atmospheric circulation over the earth?
(3) What are the key variables that describe atmospheric
water vapor and how are they connected?
(4) What causes precipitation to form and what are the
factors that govern the rate of precipitation?
(5) How is precipitation measured and described?
(Some slides in this presentation were prepared by Venkatesh Merwade)
Heating of earth surface
Heating of earth
surface is uneven
Solar radiation strikes
perpendicularly near
the equator (270 W/m
2
)
Solar radiation strikes
at an oblique angle
near the poles (90
W/m
2
)
Emitted radiation is
more uniform than
incoming radiation

Amount of energy transferred from
equator to the poles is approximately
4 x 10
9
MW
Hadley circulation
Warm air rises, cool air descends creating two huge convective cells.
Coriolis Force
Cone is moving southward towards the pole
Camera fixed in the outer space
(cone appears moving straight)
Camera fixed on to the globe
(looking southward, cone
appears deflecting to the right)
the force that deflects the path of the wind on account of earth
rotation is called Coriolis force. The path of the wind is deflected
to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and the to left in the
Southern Hemisphere.
Atmospheric circulation
1. Tropical Easterlies/Trades
2. Westerlies
3. Polar easterlies
1. Intertropical convergence
zone (ITCZ)/Doldrums
2. Horse latitudes
3. Subpolar low
4. Polar high
Ferrel Cell
Polar Cell
1. Hadley cell
2. Ferrel Cell
3. Polar cell
Latitudes
Winds
Circulation cells
Effect of land mass distribution
A) Idealized winds generated by pressure gradient and Coriolis Force. B) Actual
wind patterns owing to land mass distribution
Uneven distribution of land and ocean, coupled with different thermal properties
creates spatial variation in atmospheric circulation
Shifting in Intertropical
Convergence Zone (ITCZ)
Owing to the tilt of the Earth's axis
in orbit, the ITCZ shifts north and
south.
Southward shift in January
Northward shift in July
Creates wet Summers (Monsoons)
and dry winters, especially in India
and SE Asia
ITCZ movement
http://iri.ldeo.columbia.edu/%7Ebgordon/ITCZ.html
Questions for today
(1) How is net radiation to the earths surface partitioned
into latent heat, sensible heat and ground heat flux and
how does this partitioning vary with location on the
earth?
(2) What are the factors that govern the patterns of
atmospheric circulation over the earth?
(3) What are the key variables that describe atmospheric
water vapor and how are they connected?
(4) What causes precipitation to form and what are the
factors that govern the rate of precipitation?
(5) How is precipitation measured and described?
(Some slides in this presentation were prepared by Venkatesh Merwade)
Structure of atmosphere
Atmospheric water
Atmospheric water exists
Mostly as gas or water vapor
Liquid in rainfall and water droplets in clouds
Solid in snowfall and in hail storms
Accounts for less than 1/100,000 part of
total water, but plays a major role in the
hydrologic cycle
Water vapor
Suppose we have an elementary volume of atmosphere dV and
we want quantify how much water vapor it contains
Atmospheric gases:
Nitrogen 78.1%
Oxygen 20.9%
Other gases ~ 1%

http://www.bambooweb.com/articles/e/a/Earth's_atmosphere.html
dV
m
a
= mass of moist air
m
v
= mass of water vapor
dV
m
v
v
= Water vapor density
dV
m
a
a
= Air density
Specific Humidity, q
v
Specific humidity
measures the mass of
water vapor per unit
mass of moist air
It is dimensionless
a
v
v
q

=
Vapor pressure, e
Vapor pressure, e, is the
pressure that water vapor
exerts on a surface
Air pressure, p, is the
total pressure that air
makes on a surface
Ideal gas law relates
pressure to absolute
temperature T, R
v
is the
gas constant for water
vapor
0.622 is ratio of mol. wt.
of water vapor to avg mol.
wt. of dry air
T R e
v v
=
p
e
q
v
622 . 0 =
Daltons Law of Partial Pressures
John Dalton studied the effect of gases in a
mixture. He observed that the Total Pressure of
a gas mixture was the sum of the Partial
Pressure of each gas.

P total = P1 + P2 + P3 + .......Pn

The Partial Pressure is defined as the pressure
of a single gas in the mixture as if that gas
alone occupied the container. In other words,
Dalton maintained that since there was an
enormous amount of space between the gas
molecules within the mixture that the gas
molecules did not have any influence on the
motion of other gas molecules, therefore the
pressure of a gas sample would be the same
whether it was the only gas in the container or if
it were among other gases.
http://members.aol.com/profchm/dalton.html
Avogadros law
Equal volumes of gases at the same temperature and pressure contain
the same number of molecules regardless of their chemical nature and
physical properties. This number (Avogadro's number) is 6.023 X 10
23
in 22.41 L for all gases.
Dry air
Water vapor
Dry air ( z = x+y molecules) Moist air (x dry and y water vapor)

d
= (x+y) * M
d
/Volume
m
= (x* M
d
+ y*M
v
)/Volume

m
<
d
, which means moist air is lighter than dry air!
Saturation vapor pressure, e
s
Saturation vapor pressure occurs when air is holding all the water vapor
that it can at a given air temperature
|
.
|

\
|
+
=
T
T
e
s
3 . 237
27 . 17
exp 611
Vapor pressure is measured in Pascals (Pa), where 1 Pa = 1 N/m
2
1 kPa = 1000 Pa
Relative humidity, R
h
e
s
e
s
h
e
e
R =
Relative humidity measures the percent
of the saturation water content of the air
that it currently holds (0 100%)

Dewpoint Temperature, T
d
e
Dewpoint temperature is the air temperature
at which the air would be saturated with its current
vapor content

T
T
d
Water vapor in an air column
We have three equations
describing column:
Hydrostatic air pressure,
dp/dz = -
a
g
Lapse rate of temperature,
dT/dz = - o
Ideal gas law, p =
a
R
a
T
Combine them and
integrate over column to
get pressure variation
elevation
Column
Element, dz
a
R g
T
T
p p
o /
1
2
1 2
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
1
2
Precipitable Water
In an element dz, the
mass of water vapor
is dm
p
Integrate over the
whole atmospheric
column to get
precipitable water,m
p
m
p
/A gives
precipitable water per
unit area in kg/m
2
Column
Element, dz
1
2
Adz q dm
a v p
=
Area = A
Precipitable Water, Jan 2003
Precipitable Water, July 2003
January
July
Questions for today
(1) How is net radiation to the earths surface partitioned
into latent heat, sensible heat and ground heat flux and
how does this partitioning vary with location on the
earth?
(2) What are the factors that govern the patterns of
atmospheric circulation over the earth?
(3) What are the key variables that describe atmospheric
water vapor and how are they connected?
(4) What causes precipitation to form and what are the
factors that govern the rate of precipitation?
(5) How is precipitation measured and described?
(Some slides in this presentation were prepared by Venkatesh Merwade)
Precipitation
Precipitation: water falling from the
atmosphere to the earth.
Rainfall
Snowfall
Hail, sleet
Requires lifting of air mass so that it cools
and condenses.

Mechanisms for air lifting
1. Frontal lifting
2. Orographic lifting
3. Convective lifting
Definitions
Air mass : A large body of air with similar temperature
and moisture characteristics over its horizontal extent.
Front: Boundary between contrasting air masses.
Cold front: Leading edge of the cold air when it is
advancing towards warm air.
Warm front: leading edge of the warm air when
advancing towards cold air.
Frontal Lifting
Boundary between air masses with different properties is
called a front
Cold front occurs when cold air advances towards warm
air
Warm front occurs when warm air overrides cold air
Cold front (produces cumulus cloud) Cold front (produces stratus cloud)
Orographic lifting
Orographic uplift occurs when air is forced to rise because of the physical
presence of elevated land.
Convective lifting
Hot earth
surface
Convective precipitation occurs when the air near the ground is heated by the
earths warm surface. This warm air rises, cools and creates precipitation.
Condensation
Condensation is the change of water vapor into
a liquid. For condensation to occur, the air must
be at or near saturation in the presence of
condensation nuclei.
Condensation nuclei are small particles or
aerosol upon which water vapor attaches to
initiate condensation. Dust particulates, sea salt,
sulfur and nitrogen oxide aerosols serve as
common condensation nuclei.
Size of aerosols range from 10
-3
to 10 m.
Precipitation formation
Lifting cools air masses
so moisture condenses
Condensation nuclei
Aerosols
water molecules
attach
Rising & growing
0.5 cm/s sufficient to
carry 10 m droplet
Critical size (~0.1
mm)
Gravity overcomes
and drop falls
Forces acting on rain drop
F
d
F
d
F
b
F
g
D
Three forces acting on
rain drop
Gravity force due to
weight
Buoyancy force due to
displacement of air
Drag force due to friction
with surrounding air
3
6
D Volume
t
=
2
4
D Area
t
=
3
6
D g F
w g
t
=
3
6
D g F
a b
t
=
2 4 2
2
2
2
V
D C
V
A C F
a d a d d
t
= =
Terminal Velocity
Terminal velocity: velocity at which the forces acting on the raindrop
are in equilibrium.
If released from rest, the raindrop will accelerate until it reaches its
terminal velocity
3
2
2 3
6 2 4 6
0
D g
V
D C D g
W F F F
w a d a
D B vert
t

t
+ =
+ = =

3 3
2
2
6 6 2 4
D g D g
V
D C
W F F
w a
t
a d
B D
t

t
=
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
= 1
3
4
a
w
d
t
C
gD
V

Raindrops are spherical up to a diameter of 1 mm

For tiny drops up to 0.1 mm diameter, the drag force is specified by
Stokes law
F
d
F
d
F
b
F
g
D

V

Re
24
=
d
C
a
a
VD

= Re
At standard atmospheric pressure (101.3 kpa) and temperature (20
o
C),

w
= 998 kg/m3 and
a
= 1.20 kg/m3
Precipitation Variation
Influenced by
Atmospheric circulation and local factors
Higher near coastlines
Seasonal variation annual oscillations in some
places
Variables in mountainous areas
Increases in plains areas
More uniform in Eastern US than in West
Rainfall patterns in the US
Global precipitation pattern
Spatial Representation
Isohyet contour of constant rainfall
Isohyetal maps are prepared by
interpolating rainfall data at gaged points.
Austin, May 1981 Wellsboro, PA 1889
Texas Rainfall Maps
Temporal Representation
Rainfall hyetograph plot of rainfall
depth or intensity as a function of time
Cumulative rainfall hyetograph or
rainfall mass curve plot of summation
of rainfall increments as a function of time
Rainfall intensity depth of rainfall per
unit time
Rainfall Depth and Intensity
Time (min) Rainfall (in) Cumulative 30 min 1 h 2 h
Rainfall (in)
0 0
5 0.02 0.02
10 0.34 0.36
15 0.1 0.46
20 0.04 0.5
25 0.19 0.69
30 0.48 1.17 1.17
35 0.5 1.67 1.65
40 0.5 2.17 1.81
45 0.51 2.68 2.22
50 0.16 2.84 2.34
55 0.31 3.15 2.46
60 0.66 3.81 2.64 3.81
65 0.36 4.17 2.5 4.15
70 0.39 4.56 2.39 4.2
75 0.36 4.92 2.24 4.46
80 0.54 5.46 2.62 4.96
85 0.76 6.22 3.07 5.53
90 0.51 6.73 2.92 5.56
95 0.44 7.17 3 5.5
100 0.25 7.42 2.86 5.25
105 0.25 7.67 2.75 4.99
110 0.22 7.89 2.43 5.05
115 0.15 8.04 1.82 4.89
120 0.09 8.13 1.4 4.32 8.13
125 0.09 8.22 1.05 4.05 8.2
130 0.12 8.34 0.92 3.78 7.98
135 0.03 8.37 0.7 3.45 7.91
140 0.01 8.38 0.49 2.92 7.88
145 0.02 8.4 0.36 2.18 7.71
150 0.01 8.41 0.28 1.68 7.24
Max. Depth 0.76 3.07 5.56 8.2
Max. Intensity 9.12364946 6.14 5.56 4.1
Running Totals
Incremental Rainfall
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 140 145 150
Time (min)
I
n
c
r
e
m
e
n
t
a
l

R
a
i
n
f
a
l
l

(
i
n

p
e
r

5

m
i
n
)
Rainfall Hyetograph
Cumulative Rainfall
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
0 30 60 90 120 150
Time (min.)
C
u
m
u
l
a
t
i
v
e

R
a
i
n
f
a
l
l

(
i
n
.
)
30 min
1 hr
2 hr
3.07 in
5.56 in
8.2 in
Rainfall Mass Curve
Arithmetic Mean Method
Simplest method for determining areal
average
P
1
P
2
P
3
P
1
= 10 mm
P
2
= 20 mm
P
3
= 30 mm
Gages must be uniformly distributed
Gage measurements should not vary greatly about
the mean

=
=
N
i
i
P
N
P
1
1
mm P 20
3
30 20 10
=
+ +
=
Thiessen polygon method
P
1
P
2
P
3
A
1
A
2
A
3
Any point in the watershed receives the same
amount of rainfall as that at the nearest gage
Rainfall recorded at a gage can be applied to
any point at a distance halfway to the next
station in any direction
Steps in Thiessen polygon method
1. Draw lines joining adjacent gages
2. Draw perpendicular bisectors to the lines
created in step 1
3. Extend the lines created in step 2 in both
directions to form representative areas for
gages
4. Compute representative area for each gage
5. Compute the areal average using the following
formula

=
=
N
i
i i
P A
A
P
1
1
P
1
= 10 mm, A
1
= 12 Km
2
P
2
= 20 mm, A
2
= 15 Km
2
P
3
= 30 mm, A
3
= 20 km
2
mm P 7 . 20
47
30 20 20 15 10 12
=
+ +
=
Isohyetal method
P
1
P
2
P
3
10
20
30
Steps
Construct isohyets (rainfall
contours)
Compute area between
each pair of adjacent
isohyets (A
i
)
Compute average
precipitation for each pair of
adjacent isohyets (p
i
)
Compute areal average
using the following formula

=
=
M
i
i i
p A P
1
A
1
=5 , p
1
= 5

A
2
=18 , p
2
= 15

A
3
=12 , p
3
= 25

A
4
=12 , p
3
= 35

mm P 6 . 21
47
35 12 25 12 15 18 5 5
=
+ + +
=

=
=
N
i
i i
P A
A
P
1
1
Inverse distance weighting
P
1
=10
P
2
= 20
P
3
=30
Prediction at a point is more
influenced by nearby
measurements than that by distant
measurements
The prediction at an ungaged point
is inversely proportional to the
distance to the measurement
points
Steps
Compute distance (d
i
) from
ungaged point to all measurement
points.


Compute the precipitation at the
ungaged point using the following
formula

=
=
(

|
|
.
|

\
|
=
N
i
i
N
i
i
i
d
d
P
P
1
2
1
2
1

d
1
=25
d
2
=15
d
3
=10
mm P 24 . 25
10
1
15
1
25
1
10
30
15
20
25
10

2 2 2
2 2 2
=
+ +
+ +
=
p
( ) ( )
2
2 1
2
2 1 12
y y x x d + =
Rainfall interpolation in GIS
Data are generally
available as points with
precipitation stored in
attribute table.
Rainfall maps in GIS
Nearest Neighbor Thiessen
Polygon Interpolation
Spline Interpolation
NEXRAD
NEXRAD Tower
NEXt generation RADar: is a doppler radar used for obtaining
weather information
A signal is emitted from the radar which returns after striking a
rainfall drop
Returned signals from the radar are analyzed to compute the rainfall
intensity and integrated over time to get the precipitation

Working of NEXRAD
NEXRAD data
NCDC data (JAVA viewer)
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/radar/jnx/
West Gulf River Forecast Center
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/wgrfc/
National Weather Service Animation
http://weather.noaa.gov/radar/mosaic.loop/DS.p19r0/ar.us.conus.shtml