Saturated Water Vapor Pressure Research Articles

Complete Prevention of Bubbles in a PDMS-Based Digital PCR Chip with a Multifunction Cavity.

In a chamber-based digital PCR (dPCR) chip fabricated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), bubble generation in the chambers at high temperatures is a critical issue. Here, we found that the main reason for bubble formation in PDMS chips is the too-high saturated vapor pressure of water at an elevated temperature. The bubbles should be completely prevented by reducing the initial pressure of the system to under 13.6 kPa to eliminate the effects of increased-pressure water vapor. Then, a cavity was designed and fabricated above the PCR reaction layer, and Parylene C was used as a shell covering the chip. The cavity was used for the negative generator in sample loading, PDMS degassing, PCR solution degassing in the digitization process and water storage in the thermal reaction process. The analysis was confirmed and finally achieved a desirable bubble-free, fast-digitization, valve-free and no-tubing connection dPCR.

Arid AREAS Water-Piled Photovoltaic Prevents Evaporation Effects Research

(1) Background: In arid and semi-arid reservoirs, water surface evaporation is the main method of water dissipation in order to inhibit the evaporation of water and enhance economic efficiency. The evaporation inhibition rate of water-piled PV at different times of the year is derived from the anti-evaporation test of water-piled PV, and a new idea is proposed for water conservation in plains reservoirs in arid areas. (2) Methods: The test was conducted by dividing the area into groups A and B, with and without PV panel shading. In situ observation and numerical calculation were used to measure the atmosphere’s temperatures, test group, and PV module. The saturated water vapor pressure difference was then calculated according to Dalton’s principle to analyze the economic benefits of water saving. (3) Results: Based on the test results, it was found that the shading of PV panels had a cooling effect on the water body, the PV module, and the atmosphere. Group A showed a 44.2% decrease in the saturation water vapor pressure difference compared to Group B. The maximum evaporation suppression rate of 40.2% was observed in July, while the minimum rate of 12.2% was observed in January. The average evaporation suppression rate for the entire year was 29.2%. By utilizing the annual water savings for agricultural irrigation, it is possible to cover 38 hm2 of land and generate a revenue of 39,000 CNY. (4) Conclusions: The photovoltaic water cover can effectively reduce water evaporation and generate economic benefits.

Sap flow of two typical woody halophyte species responding to the meteorological and irrigation water conditions in Taklimakan Desert

Understanding plant water consumption is crucial for artificial afforestation under drought environments and water stress in desert regions. However, the water consumption characteristics of desert species responding to the irrigation regimes are often neglected. By conducting a field test in the Taklimakan Desert Highway shelterbelt, this study examines the sap flow traits of two typical woody halophyte species (Calligonum mongolicum and Haloxylon ammodendron) and how they react to weather conditions and watering practices. Under the same irrigation treatment, the stem flux of C. mongolicum on sunny days was 1.5–5.3 times that on dusty days, while the stem flux of H. ammodendron on sunny days was 3.5–5.5 times that on dusty days. Both species demonstrated some sap flow during the night, representing 14.3%–24.9% and 7.3%–10.4% of the total sap flow for C. mongolicum and H. ammodendron, respectively. H. ammodendron maintained a higher stem flow during daytime and was more drought resistant than C. mongolicum. The daily sap flow patterns of these two species varied, showing both ‘single’ and ‘double peak’ curves depending on the watering conditions. A delay was also observed between the sap flow of these two species and the environmental factors. The factors influencing plant sap flow were found to be in the order of solar radiation, temperature, relative humidity, and saturated water vapor pressure difference. A BP-neural network proved highly effective for accurately simulating the sap flow of these two species. This research provides insights into how two common desert tree species adapt their water use in response to drought conditions, which is vital for artificial forest creation in desert areas.

THE ROLE OF SCANDIUM CHLORIDE AND HYDROXIDE COMPLEXES IN THE FORMATION OF SCANDIUM DEPOSITS: INSIGHTS FROM EXPERIMENTS AND MODELING

Abstract Although scandium is commonly concentrated to economic levels by magmatic processes, hydrothermal fluids also play an important role in its concentration. Indeed, the most important source of scandium is currently the Bayan Obo deposit in China, where scandium is extracted from hydrothermally produced aegirine. To know how and why scandium is concentrated by hydrothermal fluids, it is necessary to understand the speciation of scandium in hydrothermal fluids. In a recently published study, we showed that scandium forms stable species with fluoride ions and proposed that such species may have been responsible for the hydrothermal transport of scandium in deposits like Bayan Obo. Chloride ions, which have been shown to form stable complexes with the other rare earth elements (REEs), however, are much more abundant in most hydrothermal fluids than fluoride ions, as are hydroxide ions, particularly at high pH. We, therefore, conducted solubility experiments designed to investigate the stability of scandium chloride and hydroxide complexes in hydrothermal fluids. The experiments investigating the role of chloride species considered the solubility of Sc2O3(s) in the H2O-NaCl-HCl system at 100°, 150°, 300°, and 350°C and saturated water vapor pressure. These experiments showed that scandium concentration is independent of chloride concentration over the range of chlorinity investigated, i.e., up to 3.6 mol Cl– and that scandium, therefore, does not form stable complexes with chloride ions. To evaluate the role of hydroxide species in scandium transport and avoid the effect of chloride ions in the complexation, a second set of experiments was conducted that determined the solubility of Sc2O3(s) in H2O-NaClO4-HClO4 solutions at 100°, 150°, 200°, and 250°C, and saturated water vapor pressure. The results of these experiments showed that the solubility of Sc2O3(s) depends on pH and temperature. Based on the former dependence, two scandium hydroxide complexes, Sc(OH)2+ and Sc(OH)3°, were identified at low and higher pH, respectively. The formation constant (log β) determined for Sc(OH)2+ is 10.29 ± 0.07, 10.32 ± 0.07, 10.35 ± 0.19, and 10.91 ± 0.20 at 100°, 150°, 200°, and 250°C, respectively. That of Sc(OH)3° is 27.22 ± 0.68, 26.66 ± 1.35, 27.04 ± 0.13, and 28.02 ± 0.14 at the same temperatures, respectively. These results demonstrate that, unlike the case for the other rare earth elements, chloride plays a negligible role in transporting scandium in hydrothermal fluids. Instead, they show that scandium hydroxide complexes can be important in the transport of scandium and could have contributed significantly to the formation of deposits like those at Bayan Obo.

A dataset of carbon and water fluxes in the Changling alkali-saline paddy rice fields in the Songnen Plain, China (2018 –2020)

Compared with other terrestrial natural ecosystems, the land-atmosphere interaction in managed farmland ecosystem is more complex and changeable, due to the effect of crop types, cropping pattern, management practices, etc. As one of the most effective measures against the process of land alkalization and salinization in the Songnen Plain of Northeast China, paddy rice planting after desalination highly representative model for studying climate mitigation, water use and carbon balance. To support this approach effectively, it requires comprehensive field monitoring data. The eddy covariance method, grounded in micrometeorological theory, is widely recognized as the primary and direct approach for measuring CO2 and H2O exchanges in farmland ecosystems. This dataset comprises field measurements of Changling alkali-saline paddy rice during 2018–2020 subjected to rigorous quality control and gap filling in accordance with the ChinaFLUX data processing criteria. The dataset specifically includes half-hourly, daily, monthly and yearly scales of air temperature (Ta), air relative humidity (RH), water vapor pressure (e), saturated water vapor pressure (es), soil temperature (Ts), soil water content (SWC), net radiation (Rn) with four components, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), rainfall (P), wind speed (Ws), wind direction (Wd), sensible heat flux (Hs), latent heat flux (LE), evapotranspiration (ET), net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE), ecosystem respiration (Re), gross ecosystem exchange (GEE), etc. The establishment and sharing of this dataset can offer valuable data support and a solid theoretical foundation for regional farmland ecosystem assessment and management.

Spatial variations and mechanisms for the stability of water use efficiency in China.

A clearer understanding of the stability of water use efficiency (WUE) and its driving factors contributes to improving water use efficiency and strengthening water resource management. However, the stability of WUE is unclear. Based on the EEMD method, this study analyses the spatial variations and mechanisms for the stability of WUE in China, especially in the National Forest Protection Project (NFPP) areas. It is found that the stable WUE was dominated by non-significant trends and increasing trends in China, accounting for 33.59% and 34.19%, respectively. The non-significant trend of stable WUE was mainly located in the Three-North shelterbelt program area, and the increasing trend of stable WUE was in Huaihe and Taihu, Taihang Mountains, and Pearl River shelterbelt program areas. Precipitation and soil moisture promoted the stable WUE in these project areas. The unstable WUE was dominated by positive reversals or negative reversals of WUE trends. The positive reversals of unstable WUE were mainly located in the Yellow River shelterbelt program areas, which was promoted by temperature and radiation, while the negative reversals of unstable WUE were mainly distributed in the Yangtze River and Liaohe shelterbelt program areas, which were mainly induced by saturation water vapor pressure difference (VPD). Our results highlight that some ecological restoration programs need to be improved to cope with the negative climate impact on the stability of WUE.

Significant Increases in Water Vapor Pressure Correspond with Climate Warming Globally

Global warming has become indisputable in recent years; however, the mechanisms by which water vapor, radiation, and greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide contribute to driving global warming remain unclear, and it is becoming increasingly important to clarify their respective effects on temperature warming. In this study, we used the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) datasets and National Oceanic and the Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) data to investigate the spatiotemporal variation characteristics of global warming and its driving mechanisms. The effects of water vapor, radiation (net longwave radiation), and CO2 on temperature rise are quantified from the perspective of the coupled land–atmosphere system, and water vapor is characterized in terms of the vapor pressure deficit (difference between saturated and actual water vapor pressures) to explicitly characterize its impact on the global water–heat cycle. The results show the following: (1) Under significant global warming, the vapor pressure deficit (VPD) exhibits an increasing trend, which is attributed to the rate of increase in actual water vapor being relatively slower than saturated water vapor. (2) Compared with the significant positive contribution of water vapor to global warming, CO2 is not, as generally expected, the most critical greenhouse gas causing global warming. (3) Water vapor and net longwave radiation (NLR) have significant mutual feedbacks on global warming. (4) A remarkable complementary mechanism of global warming that involves water vapor and NLR was identified, whereby the increased saturated water vapor induced by the rising temperature dominates the decrease in NLR. The results from this study have important theoretical value by enabling a more complete understanding of the contribution of VPD to global climate change and shedding light on the large-scale water vapor–climate change mutual feedback mechanism through research.

Carbon Deposition Mechanisms on Ni-Based Anode for SOFC: A Comparison Between Non-Discharge and Discharge Modes

The nickel/yttria-stabilized zirconia (Ni/YSZ) and nickel/scandia-stabilized zirconia (Ni/ScSZ) have widely used as an anode for solid fuel cells (SOFCs). When hydrocarbon gas is supplied to the Ni-based fuel electrode of SOFCs, carbon is deposited on the anode, and it causes anode destruction. Therefore, carbon deposition control is required.The purpose of this study is to clarify carbon deposition mechanisms to understand how the carbon resistance appears on the Ni-based electrode in non-discharge and discharge modes. NiO/8XSZ powder with a binder was uniaxially pressed to form 0.7mm thick pellet (Ni : XSZ=50:50 vol%, X(dopant)=Y, Sc) which were subsequently sintered. After a reduction in H2 atmosphere, Ni/8XSZ sintered cells were heated in CH4/Ar (S/C ratio (Steam to Carbon) =0, CH4/Ar=0.25) and CH4/H2O/Ar atmosphere (S/C ratio=0.15, CH4/Ar=0.25) using a thermobalance, and the carbon deposition rates were measured from the weight change of the cell at 1173 K and 973 K. In this experiment, the S/C ratio was adjusted by bubbling CH4/Ar gas to set the saturated water vapor pressure at a given temperature. In addition, a power generation experiment of SOFC was conducted at 1073 K to investigate the effect of electrochemical reactions on the carbon deposition. The SOFC cells were prepared as follows. YSZ suspension was spin-coated on the NiO/8YSZ substrate. The electrolyte/electrode bilayer was co-sintered at 1673K. Then, a paste of LSM/YSZ was coated on electrolyte and sintered at 1473K. The cell was sealed to the alumina tube in the electric furnace. The anode side was fed with CH4/Ar/H2O (S/C ratio = 0.15) and the cathode side was exposed to O2. Current density was set to 126mA/cm2 for 30 min. After discharge, the anode surface was observed using SEM/EDS.As a result, the carbon deposition rate of Ni/ScSZ was lower than that of Ni/YSZ by 34 % at 1173 K and S/C=0 under non-discharge mode. This result indicated that the Ni/ScSZ exhibited superior carbon deposition tolerance than the Ni/YSZ at 1173 K. Steam reforming reaction was also different between the Ni/YSZ and Ni/ScSZ. Previous studies showed that carbon deposition tended to progress easily at the metal/solid electrolyte interface. The difference in carbon deposition behavior between Ni/YSZ and Ni/ScSZ was caused by the difference in the interface structure. On the other hand, the carbon deposition rate of Ni/ScSZ was higher than that of Ni/YSZ at 973 K which was opposite to that at 1173 K. Moreover, the rate of carbon reforming reaction (C+H2O→CO+H2) of Ni/YSZ was higher than that of Ni/ScSZ. In fact, the Ni/YSZ anode showed superior carbon tolerance than the Ni/ScSZ at lower temperature. XRD (X-ray Diffraction) analysis showed that the ScSZ with cubic structure was partially changed to the rhombohedral structure after the carbon deposition at high temperature while YSZ cubic structure was unchanged. This implied that the rhombohedral structure at the interface inhibited the carbon deposition reaction, suggesting that the electrolyte structure influenced the carbon deposition and steam reforming reactions. Therefore, it was shown that the electrolyte structure can control the carbon deposition while the same Ni was used. These findings give an useful hint to design the carbon tolerance electrode.Meanwhile, carbon deposition was not found on the Ni/YSZ surface after discharge at 1073 K. This indicated O2- ion improved the carbon tolerance during discharge. Comparison of carbon deposition between Ni/YSZ and Ni/ScSZ will be discussed using DFT (Density Functional Calculation).

The effect of time scales on the distribution of evapotranspiration and driving factors in desert grasslands

Promoting the reasonable allocation of evaporation (E) and transpiration (T) at a certain time scale is important for controlling the grassland desertification. Nevertheless, evapotranspiration (ET) and its components on a single time scale often cannot guarantee the dynamic and reasonable distribution of E and T. This study quantified ET and its component distribution in different time scales of the plant-growing season in desert grassland ecosystems to address this contradiction. Further the main driving factors of ET and its components at different time scales were clarified under multi-factor coupling. Results indicated that E was the leading component of ET in the ecosystem, with an average T/ET of 39.64%. The dominant factors of T/ET on different time scales were air temperature (Ta) and surface temperature (Ts), which showed significant negative correlations (p < 0.05). ET and its components showed obvious unimodal changes at the hourly scale. The peaks occurred at 12:00–14:00, and they all increased with increasing radiation (Ra), Ts, Ta, and saturated water vapor pressure difference (VPD). Ta was the dominant factor with a correlation coefficient of 0.76, followed by VPD> Ra>Ts. At the daily scale, ET and its components showed clear seasonal changes, ET was 1.94 mm d-1and T was 0.77 mm d-1. The dominant factors were soil moisture content (SWC) of the 0–10 cm soil layer and Ts. The dominant factors affecting ET and its components in the early, middle, and late stages of growth were relative humidity (RH), SWC, and Ts. At the monthly scale, the cumulative values of ET and its components were the largest in August and the lowest in October, mainly regulated by precipitation (P), whereas, T/ET had no significant correlation with P. The results from this study can provide a scientific basis for vegetation restoration and environmental protection in desert grassland ecological function areas.

Saturation Vapor Pressure of Water over Sodium Borohydride Dihydrate

Saturation Vapor Pressure of Water over Sodium Borohydride Dihydrate

Comprehensive Effects of Atmosphere and Soil Drying on Stomatal Behavior of Different Plant Types

The soil water supply and atmospheric humidity conditions are crucial in controlling plants’ stomatal behavior and water use efficiency. When there is water stress caused by an increase in saturated water vapor pressure (VPD) and a decrease in soil water content (SWC), plants tend to close stomata to reduce water loss. This affects the gross primary productivity (GPP) and evapotranspiration (ET), subsequently leading to changes in water use efficiency (WUE) and carbon use efficiency (CUE) in plants. However, land–atmosphere interactions mean that water vapor in the atmosphere and soil moisture content causing water stress for plants are closely related. This study aims to compare and estimate the effects of VPD and SWC on the carbon cycle and water cycle for different plant functional types. Based on the fluxnet2015 dataset from around the world, the WUE and CUE of five plant functional types (PFTs) were estimated under varying levels of VPD and SWC. The results showed that high VPD and low SWC limit the stomatal conductance (Gs) and gross primary productivity (GPP) of plants. However, certain types of vegetation (crops, broad-leaved forests) could partially offset the negative effects of high VPD with higher SWC. Notably, higher SWC could even alleviate limitations and partially promote the increase in GPP and net primary production (NPP) with increasing VPD. WUE and CUE were directly affected by Gs and productivity. In general, the increase in VPD in the five PFTs was the dominant factor in changing WUE and CUE. The impact of SWC limitations on CUE was minimal, with an overall impact of only −0.05μmol/μmol on the four PFTs. However, the CUE of savanna plants changed differently from the other four PFTs. The rise in VPD dominated the changes in CUE, and there was an upward trend as SWC declined, indicating that the increase in VPD and decrease in SWC promote the increase in the CUE of savanna plants to some extent.

All-in-One Configured Flexible Supercapacitor for Wide-Temperature Operation and Integrated Application

The advantages of stretchable supercapacitors (SCs), such as fast charging and discharging speed, high power density, and long cycle life, have attracted the research interest of many researchers. However, conventional SCs have limited applications in energy storage devices due to their unsatisfactory environmental tolerance, easy detachment of electrodes and electrolytes, and poor stretchability. In this work, a poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)–(acrylic acid) (AA) double-network hydrogel electrolyte was prepared by a one-pot method, followed by in situ polymerization of aniline (PANI) to fabricate all-in-one polyaniline SCs (PANI-SCs) devices. Multiple hydrogen bonds and in situ polymerization of PANI and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) endow the PANI-SCs integrated, flexible SCs with good mechanical properties and electrochemical performance in a wide temperature range. The PANI-SCs device exhibits an excellent tensile elongation strain of 413.7% and a mechanical strength of 137.1 kPa. At room temperature, the areal capacitance of the PANI-SCs device is 48.1 mF cm–2. PANI-SCs contains a DMSO component; DMSO lowers the saturated vapor pressure of water to lower its freezing point and suppress the formation of ice crystallites and exhibits normal electrochemical performance over a wide temperature range of −80 to 100 °C. PANI-SCs drive LED lights and integrate with sensors for human health monitoring applications. Potential applications extend the development of flexible SCs in wearable electronics.

Consistency of Water Vapour Pressure and Specific Heat Capacity Values for Modelling Clay-Based Engineered Barriers

The aim of this study is to assess the consistency in the modelling of thermo-hydraulic problems in clay-based engineered barriers. This study focuses on two aspects: the modelling of vapour pressure as a function of temperature, and the specific heat capacities of liquid water and water vapour in relation to the enthalpy of vaporisation and the internal energy of liquid water and water vapour. Regarding the first aspect, several formulations of the saturated vapour pressure have been inspected, evaluating their accuracy and information provided in the temperature range from 0 to 150 °C. Regarding the second aspect, the enthalpy of vaporisation and the internal energy of water were used to assess the consistency of pairs of specific heat capacity values in the same temperature range. Values from the literature were also inspected. An accurate and simple enough expression for the saturated water vapour pressure with temperature has been identified as the optimal option for modelling. Recommendations on specific heat capacity constant values for liquid water and vapour are suggested to maximise consistency in the studied temperature range. However, the loss of accuracy in the enthalpy or internal energy of vaporisation associated with the inspected specific heat capacity pairs is limited.

NaHCO3 as a carrier of CO2 and its enhancement effect on mineralization during hydrothermal alteration of basalt

Reaction of carbon dioxide (CO2) with minerals to generate stable carbonates, also known as CO2 mineralization, has been regarded as one of the most promising methods for safe and permanent carbon storage. As a promising feedstock, basaltic rock has gained special interest, and elevating basalt carbonation efficiency with the reduction of negative environmental impact is the main challenge for CO2 mineralization system development. Considering multiple potential positive effects of the CO2 carrier, NaHCO3, we conducted this study to experimentally evaluate the CO2 storage efficiency during water-basalt-NaHCO3 interactions under hydrothermal conditions at 200–300°C. The inclusion of NaHCO3 was confirmed to drastically promote the alteration of basalt, especially at higher temperatures. As revealed by experiments conducted at the saturated vapor pressure of water, the carbon storage efficiency at 300°C reached 75 g/kg of basalt in 5 days, which was 12 times higher than that at 200°C. In such hydrothermal systems, basalt was carbonated to generate calcite (CaCO3), where the Ca was mainly from plagioclase; Mg and Fe were incorporated into smectite, and Na in the saline system participated in the formation of Na silicates (i.e., analcime in the case of basalt). Due to the presence of additional Na in solution, all the released elements were consumed quickly with generation of secondary minerals in turn promoted basalt dissolution to release more Ca for CO2 storage. This study illuminated the role of NaHCO3 in basalt carbonation and provided technical backup to the design of advanced CO2 mineralization systems.

Experimental study of apatite-fluid interaction and partitioning of rare earth elements at 150 and 250 °C

Abstract Apatite is a common accessory phase in igneous and metamorphic rocks. Its stability in magmatichydrothermal and hydrothermal systems is known to be a key control on the mobility of rare earth elements (REE). To better constrain how apatite is altered during fluid-rock interaction at comparably low temperatures, batch-type apatite dissolution experiments were conducted at 150 and 250 °C at saturated water vapor pressure in acidic to mildly acidic (pH of 2–4) aqueous fluids having variable salinities (0, 0.5, and 5 wt% NaCl). The study reveals the dominance of apatite dissolution textures with the formation of micrometer-scale etch pits and dissolution channels developing prominently along the c-axis of the apatite crystals. Backscattered electron imaging shows an increase in apatite dissolution with increasing temperature and upon reacting the crystals with more acidic and higher salinity starting fluids. This study also demonstrates an increase in dissolved REE in the experimental fluids corroborating with the observed apatite dissolution behavior. Backscattered electron imaging of secondary minerals formed during apatite dissolution and scanning electron microscopy-based energy dispersive spectrometry peaks for Ca, P, and REE support the formation of monazite-(Ce) and minor secondary apatite as deduced from fluid chemistry (i.e., dissolved P and REE concentrations). The studied apatite reaction textures and chemistry of the reacted fluids both indicate that the mobility of REE is controlled by the dissolution of apatite coupled with precipitation of monazite-(Ce), which are enhanced by the addition of NaCl in the starting fluids. This coupled process can be traced by comparing the REE to P ratios in the reacted fluids with the stoichiometry of the unreacted apatite crystals. Apatite metasomatized at temperatures &amp;lt;300 °C is therefore controlled by dissolution rather than dissolution-reprecipitation reactions commonly observed in previous experiments conducted above 300 °C. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that the presence of NaCl plays a crucial role in increasing the solubility of apatite, which controls the availability of REE to form secondary phosphates even in mildly acidic aqueous fluids. This implies that both the effects of acidity/alkalinity of the fluids and the role of dissolved alkalis (NaCl and KCl), need to be considered for understanding the controls on REE in magmatic-hydrothermal systems. Lastly, the experiments of this study expand the known conditions at which apatite is susceptible to be overprinted by hydrothermal alteration from 900 °C down to 150 °C and highlights the necessity of appropriately screening apatite grains using backscattered electron and cathodoluminescence imaging for signs of hydrothermal alteration textures in igneous apatite.

Analysis and Experimental Study on Water Vapor Partial Pressure in the Membrane Distillation Process.

In membrane distillation, the vapor pressure difference is the driving force of mass transfer. The vapor pressure is generally assumed by the saturation pressure and calculated by the Antoine equation. However, in the actual operation process, the feed solutions usually flow in a non-equilibrium state, which does not meet the theoretical and measurement conditions of the vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) state. This study tested the actual water vapor pressure of the pure water, lithium bromide (LiBr) solution, lithium chloride (LiCl) solution, and calcium chloride (CaCl2) solution under different flow conditions. The results showed that the actual water vapor pressure was lower than the saturation pressure overall, and the difference increased with temperature but decreased with the mass concentration. Therefore, in vacuum membrane distillation (VMD), air gap membrane distillation (AGMD), and sweeping gas membrane distillation (SGMD), the membrane flux calculated by water vapor saturation pressure was higher than the actual membrane flux, and the relative difference decreased and was less than 10% after 60 °C. In direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD), the water vapor pressure difference on both membrane sides was almost the same by using the saturation vapor pressure or the tested data since the pressure errors were partially offset in parallel flow or counter-flow modes.

New investigations on homogeneous ice nucleation: the effects of water activity and water saturation formulations

Abstract. Laboratory measurements at the AIDA cloud chamber and airborne in situ observations suggest that the homogeneous freezing thresholds at low temperatures are possibly higher than expected from the so-called “Koop line”. This finding is of importance, because the ice onset relative humidity affects the cirrus cloud coverage and, at the very low temperatures of the tropical tropopause layer, together with the number of ice crystals also the transport of water vapor into the stratosphere. Both the appearance of cirrus clouds and the amount of stratospheric water feed back to the radiative budget of the atmosphere. In order to explore the enhanced ice onset humidities, we re-examine the entire homogeneous ice nucleation process, ice onset, and nucleated crystal numbers, by means of a two-moment microphysics scheme embedded in the trajectory-based model (CLaMS-Ice) as follows: the well-understood and described theoretical framework of homogeneous ice nucleation includes certain formulations of the water activity of the freezing aerosol particles and the saturation vapor pressure of water with respect to liquid water. However, different formulations are available for both parameters. Here, we present extensive sensitivity simulations testing the influence of three different formulations for the water activity and four for the water saturation on homogeneous ice nucleation. We found that the number of nucleated ice crystals is almost independent of these formulations but is instead sensitive to the size distribution of the freezing aerosol particles. The ice onset humidities, also depending on the particle size, are however significantly affected by the choices of the water activity and water saturation, in particular at cold temperatures ≲205 K. From the CLaMS-Ice sensitivity simulations, we here provide combinations of water saturation and water activity formulations suitable to reproduce the new, enhanced freezing line.

A Modified Evaporation Model Indicates That the Effects of Air Warming on Global Drying Trends Have Been Overestimated

AbstractPotential evapotranspiration (PET) is a key input to hydrologic models simulating the atmospheric water demand. Thus, uncertainties in PET would result in considerable uncertainty in model outputs. Among numerous PET algorithms, the Penman‐Monteith equation (PM equation) is most widely used because of its clear physical basis and acceptable estimation. However, PM equation has a physical limitation resulting from the linear approximation of the saturation water vapor pressure differences between the evaporation surface and the surrounding air, which can affect markedly the responses of PET to air warming. By considering a modified PM‐type evaporation model, we revisited the global drying trends based on the widely used Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI). We demonstrate that the studies, which based on the classic PM equation, often overestimate the effects of air warming on global drying trends. Particularly, the PET_PM (PET calculated using the classic PM equation) driven PDSI, overestimates global mean drought‐affected areas by 60%, drought intensity by 65%, and drought duration by 35% on average over the globe, and tends to overestimate drying trends in areas that are drying and underestimate wetting trends in areas that are becoming wetter.

Comparisons of Different Methods to Determine Starting Altitudes for Dry Air Atmosphere by GNSS-RO Data

Boundary profile evaluation (BPV) is an approach proposed in order to estimate water vapor content in the atmosphere. It exploits radio occultation (RO) observations of the signals emitted by the satellites of global navigation systems (GNSS) which are eclipsing (rising) as viewed by a low earth orbit satellite (LEO). BPV requires, as a preliminary step, the estimation of the dry background atmosphere model of refractivity (i.e., obtained from bending angle profiles) to be subtracted from the real observations in order to extract water vapor profiles. The determination of the lowest layer of the atmosphere over which the concentration of water vapor can be deemed negligible is particularly crucial for a correct application of the BPV method. In this study, we have applied three methods to set the starting altitudes for the dry air layers of the atmosphere: (1) by air temperature below some threshold values (for example, 250 K); (2) by “smooth” bending angle profiles in ROs; (3) by saturated water vapor pressure. These methods were tested with thermodynamic and bending angle profiles from 912 radiosonde excursions colocated with RO observations. For every dry air starting altitude we determined the best estimator from each of the three methods. In particular, by comparing those estimators with the quantiles and momenta of the dry air starting altitude distributions, we achieved improvements of up to 50% of the humidity profiles.

A link between surface air temperature and extreme precipitation over Russia from station and reanalysis data

Precipitation extremes are widely thought to intensify with global warming due to an exponential growth following the Clausius–Clapeyron (C–C) equation which links the atmosphere water vapor saturation pressure with air temperature. However, a number of recent studies based on station and reanalyzes data for the contemporary period showed that scaling rates between extreme precipitation and temperature strongly depend on temperature range, moisture availability, and a region of interest. Being performed for some regions, such estimates, however, lack for Northern Eurasia, where prominent temperature changes and rapid shift from large-scale to convective precipitation are observed. Here, we examine the scaling between daily precipitation extremes and surface air temperature (SAT) over Russia for 1966–2017 using meteorological station data and for 1979–2020 using ERA5 reanalysis. The precipitation-temperature relation is examined for total precipitation and, separately, for convective and large-scale precipitation types. In winter, we reveal a general increase in extreme precipitation of all precipitation types according to the C–C relationship. For the Russian Far East region, the stratiform precipitation extremes scale with SAT following even super C–C rates, about two times as fast as C–C. However, in summer we find a peak-like structure of the precipitation-temperature scaling, especially for the convective precipitation in the southern regions. Extreme precipitation reaches their peak values at the temperature range between 15 °C and 20 °C. At higher temperatures, the negative scaling prevails. Analyzed data show a pronounced decrease in relative humidity with increasing surface temperatures beyond the 15 °C–20 °C threshold. This indicates that moisture availability is the major factor for the peak-shaped relationship between extreme precipitation and temperature revealed by our analysis.