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Chapter 8: Problem 3

Explain why it is necessary for an air mass to be lifted if there is to be saturation, condensation, and precipitation.

Short Answer

Expert verified
The lifting of an air mass leads to its cooling and increased relative humidity. Once the air mass reaches saturation point, the excess water vapor condenses to form water droplets. When these droplets become heavy enough, they fall as precipitation. Therefore, lifting an air mass initiates the necessary conditions for saturation, condensation, and precipitation to occur.

Step by step solution

01

Understand the Patterns of Atmospheric Moisture

An air mass contains a certain amount of moisture. The amount of water vapor that air can hold depends on the temperature, with warmer air being able to hold more water vapor. When the air cannot hold any more water vapor, we describe the air as being saturated.
02

Discuss How Rising Air Affects Saturation

When air rises, it expands and cools. This cooling process reduces the amount of water vapor the air can hold and increases the relative humidity. If the air continues to rise and cool, it will become saturated at the point where it can no longer hold all the water vapor.
03

Discuss the Process of Condensation

Once the air is saturated and if there is enough dust particles, condensation can occur which results in the formation of tiny water droplets. This happens because when the temperature cools further below the saturation point, the water vapor starts to condense around small particles suspended in the air.
04

Explain the Onset of Precipitation

When millions of these tiny water droplets come together and are heavy enough, they will fall from the sky as precipitation. This process is intensified in clouds, where air typically ascends and cools, leading to the formation of larger droplets that fall as rain.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Lightning and thunder are powerful phenomena in nature. Briefly describe how they develop.

What are the four principal lifting mechanisms that cause air masses to ascend, cool, condense, form clouds, and perhaps produce precipitation? Briefly describe each.

Differentiate between a cold front and a warm front as types of frontal lifting, and describe what you would experience with each one.

What is your principal source of weather data, information, and forecasts? Where does your source obtain its data? Have you used the Internet and World Wide Web to obtain weather information? What benefits do you see?

When an air mass passes across a mountain range, many things happen to it. Describe each aspect of a moist air mass crossing a mountain. What is the pattern of precipitation that results?
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