Most substances can exist in three phases or states of matter — solid, liquid, and gaseous — and changes from one state to another can occur. In terms of atmospheric sciences, such phase changes are most significant in relation to water, whose phases include ice (solid phase), water (liquid phase), and vapor (gaseous phase).
Table P5provides a listing of the reversible changes of the phases of water. Under normal conditions ice melts at a temperature of 0°C, its melting point. Below this temperature ice is the stable phase of water. Above 0°C the stable phase is water. Although ice cannot normally exist above 0°C, water can exist in the liquid phase at temperatures below 0°C and even to a temperature of −40°C. In such a state the water is said to be supercooled. This is a metastable phase, meaning that, although the supercooled water is stable, it is not the most stable phase and has a tendency to change to ice. The presence of supercooled water in the atmosphere is highly...
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Condensation
Evaporation
Evapotranspiration
Latent Heat
Precipitation
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Oliver, J.E. (2005). Phase Changes. In: Oliver, J.E. (eds) Encyclopedia of World Climatology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht . https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3266-8_160
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