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The surface energy budget
Latent Heat
Did you know that the atmosphere has hidden heat? It's true!
A form of heat is stored in the water vapor in the air! We call this heat "latent heat."
How is the "hidden" heat released?
When water changes phase from gas to liquid, it takes a little work from the water molecules. As they work, they release heat. This "hidden" heat could only be released during condensation.
On the other hand, a liquid requires an input of energy to evaporate, resulting in a cooling effect on the air around it. This is why when we get out of a swimming pool, we feel cooler as the water evaporates off us.
When the air is drier than the surface, there tends to be a flux of water vapor from the surface to the air. The atmosphere now has more "stored" energy. This is an important process over the oceans, where there is almost always a flow of latent energy from the ocean to the atmosphere. When the air has more moisture than the surface, water vapor moves from the air to the surface and condenses.
Next page -> what determines sensible and latent heat fluxes?
Links and resources
Latent Heat
Did you know that the atmosphere has hidden heat? It's true!
A form of heat is stored in the water vapor in the air! We call this heat "latent heat."
How is the "hidden" heat released?When water changes phase from gas to liquid, it takes a little work from the water molecules. As they work, they release heat. This "hidden" heat could only be released during condensation.
On the other hand, a liquid requires an input of energy to evaporate, resulting in a cooling effect on the air around it. This is why when we get out of a swimming pool, we feel cooler as the water evaporates off us.
When the air is drier than the surface, there tends to be a flux of water vapor from the surface to the air. The atmosphere now has more "stored" energy. This is an important process over the oceans, where there is almost always a flow of latent energy from the ocean to the atmosphere. When the air has more moisture than the surface, water vapor moves from the air to the surface and condenses.
Next page -> what determines sensible and latent heat fluxes?
Links and resources
