Psychrometric Research of the Atmosphere Douglas Lightfoot and Gerald Ratzer December 31, 2023 Introduction We constructed the following material to help you in your efforts to bring a rational discussion to the study of climate. There is a need for more people to critically analyze climate policy and news, much of which is misinformation. We hope this document helps you tell fact from fiction. We searched the Internet and found that we are the only researchers, at present, applying the psychrometric model to the role of CO2 in the atmosphere. This is surprising considering the importance of the model based on the Ideal Gas Laws. All gases in the atmosphere act as ideal gases if they are above their boiling point. Thus, we added Appendix 1 about the psychrometric model of moist air to this document. We encourage anyone with a science or technical background to read Appendix 1 and then try the following assignment that follows in Appendix 3 to see that the psychrometric chart is easy to use and a very effective tool for atmospheric research. In 2014, a paper titled Back radiation versus CO2 as the cause of climate change was published. The ratio of water vapor molecules to CO2 molecules is up to 97:1 in the Tropics and down to 1:1 at the Poles, as in the figure below. This results from our first use of the Humidair psychrometric mathematical model of the Earth's atmosphere. We have more than ten years of experience with using the psychrometric model. In April 2023, we wrote a paper titled Laws of Physics Define the Insignificant Warming of Earth by CO2. With the latest technology, a smartphone with AccuWeather, we generated a 240-point data set. This data set was much larger than previous data sets. It showed the ratio of water molecules to CO2 molecules ranged from 0.3 to 107.4, as in the figure below. Water vapor molecules always outnumber those of CO2 except in some conditions at the Poles. We have more than six years of experience with AccuWeather on a smartphone.
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Psychrometric Research of the Atmosphere
We also showed that on April 21, 2021, the difference in temperature between McMurdo Station in Antarctica and Mogadishu on the Equator was 69oC. The warming contribution of CO2 to this difference was 0.005oC. This amount of temperature is too small to measure. The starting point for the 240-point dataset is temperature and relative humidity measurements at 20 weather stations around the Earth and CO2 at Mauna Loa. For reference, the warming by methane is 128 times less than that of CO2, and nitrous oxide is 1247 times less than CO2. In November 2023, we wrote a paper, The Sun and the Troposphere Control the Earth's Temperature. It was a follow-up to the April 2023 paper. It showed conclusively that the warming effect of CO 2, although too small to measure, is a straight line when plotted against temperature. This result contrasts with the curved relationship shown in IPCC section 6.3.5 of TAR, ΔRF = 5.35LN(C/Co). The basis for the IPCC formula is the separation of the warming effects of water vapor and CO2 by using radiation profiles. This procedure does not work because the radiation profiles overlap. There is no method of determining whether radiation at a wavelength of 15µm came from water vapor or CO2. Appendix 2 has more details on this paper. Conclusion: Water vapor is the essential greenhouse gas that keeps the Earth at a temperature suitable for life to flourish. The current message promoted by some politicians, scientists, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) management that ©Lightfoot and Ratzer 2023
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Psychrometric Research of the Atmosphere increasing CO2 in the atmosphere is dangerous has no scientific basis. The reality is that CO2 is the "gas of life"; plants use it to provide all our food and oxygen. CO2 is not a pollutant. Commercial greenhouses raise their CO2 levels to 1,200 ppm for optimum yields. See the Story of CO2 for a set of slides on the benefits of this vital gas.
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Psychrometric Research of the Atmosphere Appendix 1: An explanation of the psychrometric model from: https://anzasca.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/ ANZAScA_2010_Horan_P_and_Luther_M_B.pdf Below is one section of this conference presentation to cover the main ideas. The full paper has more graphics and details. The original development research was done by many famous scientists (including Newton, Avogadro, Boyle, Clapeyron, Dalton, Pascal, Priestly, Celsius and Fahrenheit). The first version of the chart was published by Willis Carrier in 1904. It is used mainly for designing buildings (from barns, ice rinks, big stores to skyscrapers) by controlling the temperature and humidity for the comfort of those inside. However, the chart can be used in the air outside as well. 2.2. How is the Psychrometric Chart reproduced? The psychrometric chart is an everyday-use graph of the equation of state for moist air plotted on a sheared coordinate system (Palmatier, 1963). The independent variables are enthalpy (total heat, in joules) plotted as the xcoordinate and humidity ratio as the y-coordinate. The graph is sheared parallel to the x-axis. Therefore, lines of constant enthalpy slope downward from left to right and lines of constant humidity ratio are horizontal. An equation of state is a relationship between state variables. In thermodynamics, it is an equation describing the state of matter, in our case, moist air. Given the state, variables such as pressure, temperature, and volume follow. Indeed, the system has two degrees of freedom and any two of these variables determine the state and, thus, fix the other quantities. So, a change in one variable is balanced by a change in other variables in the absence of any external influences. The variables change such that the equation of state is satisfied. For example, the ideal gas law (PV = nRT) is the equation of state relating pressure (P), volume (V) and absolute temperature (T). If T increases, P, V, or both increase to satisfy the law. Note that specifying any two of the variables determines the third. ©Lightfoot and Ratzer 2023
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Psychrometric Research of the Atmosphere The gas we are concerned with here is moist air, a mixture of dry air and water vapour. As the thermodynamic properties of air and water vapour differ, their combined properties vary according to the humidity ratio. An extra state variable, the humidity ratio, represents this. So, for moist air, its properties are fixed by specifying three state variables, and in the case of the psychrometrics, these are chosen to be pressure, enthalpy, and humidity ratio. Enthalpy is useful in engineering applications because, at constant pressure, it represents the quantity of heat that flows into or out of a system. In our application, we are concerned with wet- and dry-bulb temperature and humidity. The Psychrometric Chart (see below) is a graph of the thermodynamic properties of moist air at constant pressure or elevation above sea level; a different chart applies at other pressures. However, although a chart is based on a given air pressure, say, standard pressure at sea level, it is common to use it at elevations from sea level up to 600m. As the pressure for a particular chart is fixed, the enthalpy and humidity ratio are chosen to fix the state. The chart is drawn using enthalpy and humidity ratio as the independent variables. Equally, one could specify wet- and dry-bulb temperatures or relative humidity and dry-bulb temperature, so fixing the other variables. However, to construct a Psychrometric Chart, we must work in the underlying coordinate system of enthalpy and humidity ratio plotted linearly on two axes. Data to construct the chart are taken from Table 6.2 (ASHRAE, 2005). The axes of the chart are linear, but they are not orthogonal. Instead, the graph is sheared horizontally as shown in the figure below, so that points further above the x-axis are displaced increasingly to the left. The horizontal shear of the chart is chosen such that the point representing 50°C dry-bulb temperature and 100% relative humidity is vertically above the point representing 50°C dry-bulb temperature and 0% relative humidity. As a result of shearing, a vertical line represents the 50°C dry-bulb line, although it deviates imperceptibly. Lines of lower dry-bulb temperature are also close to vertical but lean slightly to the left. ©Lightfoot and Ratzer 2023
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Psychrometric Research of the Atmosphere From any point on the chart, one can trace six lines: a constant humidity ratio line, an enthalpy line, dry- and wet-bulb temperature lines, a relative humidity line and a constant volume line. By extension, the chart shows the properties of moist air as families of lines of constant humidity ratio, enthalpy, dry bulb temperature, wet bulb temperature, relative humidity, and density. The chart's humidity ratio and enthalpy lines are the only straight lines. The wet- and dry bulb temperature lines are almost straight, and the relative humidity lines are distinctively curved. Tracing along a particular line, one crosses the other lines. For example, tracing along a humidity ratio line crosses lines of enthalpy, dry and wet bulb temperatures, relative humidity, and density. As the enthalpy increases, so does the dry- and wet-bulb temperature, but the relative humidity and air density decrease.
Example Courtesy of Flycarpet https://www.flycarpet.net/en/psyonline Note all the quantities that can be calculated from just the input temperature (25°C) and RH = Relative Humidity (50%). Also, check the correct dimensions for each computed quantity. The Flycarpet example documents the input and output values for a single location. Humidair, which we use, is a computer application that is incorporated into ©Lightfoot and Ratzer 2023
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Psychrometric Research of the Atmosphere an Excel spreadsheet and allows for greater variable ranges and sophistication. The combination of Excel and the Humidair add-in is an ideal platform for handling most atmospheric climate research topics with hundreds and thousands of data points on a laptop. See Appendix 2. Appendix 3 is a simple assignment for those who want to understand the Psychrometric chart by doing a hands-on data example. It is easy and fun to use. Once you have completed the assignment, you will wonder how it could be so powerful. The IPCC uses climate models from some 30 countries, and most run "too hot", giving spurious results. The chart above is also a model of moist air and can be accessed on a smartphone or tablet. No super-computer is needed to model the atmosphere. The Psychrometric chart has been giving accurate results on moist air for 120 years. Appendix 2: Summary of paper from November 2023 The basis for this paper, The Sun and the Troposphere Control the Earth's Temperature , is physical measurements and well-known and proven physics and chemistry. An example is shown on the next page. The description of the science can be simple for the reader's benefit. The first point to make is in Section 2. It describes that the increase in temperature per gram of water vapor per kilogram (kg) of dry air is 1,000 to 7,000 times the increase in temperature per gram of carbon dioxide (CO 2) per kg of dry air. The range is from the Poles to the Equator. The science leading to the conclusion is sound. People who wish to criticize the decision will find it very difficult to find fault with the science that leads to the conclusion. The second point in Section 3 proves the warming by CO2 is linear rather than curvilinear towards an asymptote. In other words, the warming effect of CO2 does not reach an upper limit. This fact is relatively easy to explain to anyone. It is an important finding because it shows the IPCC simplified formula in the Third Assessment Report, ΔRF = 5.35LN(C/Co), is incorrect. The overlap makes it difficult to separate the warming effects of CO 2 and water vapor using radiation profiles. If the result is a curved relationship, ©Lightfoot and Ratzer 2023
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Psychrometric Research of the Atmosphere then the radiation is from water vapor, not CO2. Nobody should have trouble understanding this fact because a NASA graph is available. The third point is in Section 4. There is so little CO 2 and water vapor in the layers above the Troposphere that energy leaving the Troposphere flows unhindered into space. The warming by CO2 at two meters above the ground level is too small to measure and is the same at the top of the atmosphere. The warming of water vapor at the top of the Troposphere is less than two meters above the surface by a factor of 0.00074. Thus, there is typically nothing to hinder energy flow to space. The fourth point is in Section 5. The significant dip at around the 15µm wavelength is where the radiation overlap occurs between CO2 and water vapor. For such a significant dip to be caused by CO2, one molecule of CO2 would have to block 15% to 20% of the radiation to space by water vapor. This action by one molecule of CO2 is likely impossible, a point anyone may understand. Section 9 is another proof of the point in Section 5. The Hunga Tonga submarine volcano, 150 meters below the ocean surface in the South Pacific, had a significant explosion in January 2022. It thrust vast quantities of water into the Stratosphere and above. This water blocks the energy flow from the Troposphere to space and causes the Earth's temperature to increase. The Earth will continue to be warmer than "normal" until the water dissipates. We know that some of what our paper discusses is not well-known. Readers can contact us with questions, and we will respond. Best Regards, H. Douglas Lightfoot (dlightfo@aei.ca) and Gerald Ratzer (Gerald.ratzer@mcgill.ca) December 3, 2023 Examples
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Psychrometric Research of the Atmosphere Below are examples of the input to and output from the Humidair psychrometric program for April 21, 2021, at Montreal time of 12:40. The CO2 measured at Mauna Lao on April 21, 2021, was 418.24 ppm. There are 12 sheets like this, one for each month from March 2012 to February 2022, to provide a data set of 240 points. The lowest temperature in this set is 37oC at McMurdo Station. Mogadishu on the Equator is 32oC, for a difference of 69oC. Recording of all temperatures and relative humidities was within the same hour. April 2021 input to Humidair:
April 2021 input to Humidair, columns H and I; output in columns R to AT below:
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In the dataset of 240 points, the separation of the warming effects of CO 2 and water vapor is precise and not subject to interpretation. The application of known and proven physics, i.e., the psychrometric mathematical model of the Earth's atmosphere and chemistry, to the dataset provides the results of our study. For a different summary of our posted work, try this link to the work of John Shanahan – an impressive website! https://www.allaboutenergy.net/component/finder/search?q=lightfoot Appendix 3: Try an assignment to understand how to use the Psychrometric Chart A simple exercise to introduce the Research Concept. 1.
Use the online interactive psychrometric chart . Click on this link.
2.
Find your local Temperature (°C) and Relative Humidity (%). Try Accuweather.com - with 3.5 million locations.
3.
Put these numbers opposite "T dry" and "Rel Humid", respectively.
4. Then click the box: "Or input data for air properties" to insert a white/blue checkmark. 5.
Scroll down to the green "Submit" button and click on it.
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Psychrometric Research of the Atmosphere 6.
The chart to the right will show a green marker for the input values.
7. The humidity ratio is on the right vertical axis and in the list to the left (third one down). See the Flycarpet chart above. 8. Multiply this number by 3.84 to get your local approximate molecular ratio of H2O to CO2. (See the Excel file example above for more calculation details.) 9. You can compare your value to the other 240 values in Figure 2 of the paper.
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