10. Water in the Atmosphere II

The Atmosphere, the Ocean and Environmental Change (GG 140)

Air is able to hold a limited amount of water vapor, and that amount depends on the temperature of the air. When this saturation vapor pressure is exceeded, liquid water begins to condense and clouds form. There are several different types of clouds, some which rain and others which do not, and each with characteristics specific to it. Vortices are a particular type of cloud phenomenon in which there is a low pressure anomaly in the center of the cloud with rotating air around it, forming funnel clouds as seen in tornados. The low pressure allows liquid water to condense and form the funnel shaped cloud. Haze is another specific type of cloud in which liquid water condenses onto pollution particles in the air.

00:00 - Chapter 1. Saturation Vapor Pressure
06:29 - Chapter 2. Effect of Exceeding the Saturation Vapor Pressure
12:34 - Chapter 3. Cloud Types
32:23 - Chapter 4. Vortices
40:37 - Chapter 5. Haze and Pollution
42:18 - Chapter 6. Views of Clouds from Space
44:51 - Chapter 7. Cloud Liquid and Ice

Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu

This course was recorded in Fall 2011.