Principles and Processes Hydrology 2

Question 1

What four processes must occur to produce a hydrologically significant amount of precipitation?

Answer 1

1. cooling to dew point
2. condensation
3. droplet growth
4. importation of water vapor

Question 2

In what five ways can a parcel of air lose heat?

Answer 2

1. radiation to cooler surroundings
2. mixing with a cooler body of air
3. conduction to a cooler surface
4. adiabatic cooling by horizontal movement to a region of lower pressure
5. adiabatic cooling by vertical uplift

Question 3

Buoyancy force

Answer 3

Driving an air parcel upwards towards lower pressure and density

Question 4

Gravitational force (in relation to air parcels)

Answer 4

Driving an air parcel upwards towards higher pressure and density

Question 5

Is there an exchange of air between an air parcel and its environment?

Answer 5

No

Question 6

The ideal gas law

Answer 6

pV = nRT (within the parcel)

Question 7

If air parcels behave under the idea gas law and undergo adiabatic processes, then this implies that if pressure goes down, two things can happen. Which?

Answer 7

Temperature goes down or Volume goes up.