Moisture-continuity equation

From Glossary of Meteorology



moisture-continuity equation[edit | edit source]

The water vapor storage equation as applied to the atmosphere.

The general form of the equation is written
ams2001glos-Me18
where I is the atmospheric moisture inflow, E the evapotranspiration from the ground, O the atmospheric moisture outflow, P precipitation, and dS/dt the time rate of change of moisture storage in the portion of the atmosphere under consideration. In practice the equation is more commonly applied to a finite interval of time and the various terms become mean values in this interval.


  1. A gaseous envelope gravitationally bound to a celestial body (e.g., a planet, its satellite, or a star).
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