ABSOLUTE AIR HUMIDITY VARIABILITY: A TOPOCLIMATIC ANALYSIS IN THE APARADO DA SERRA NATIONAL PARK, RIO GRANDE DO SUL

Abstract

This research concerned in to calculate the absolute humidity of the air (AH) using temperature and humidity data and to understand the variability of the absolute air humidity in the topoclimatic profile at Aparados da Serra National Park. The AH values were calculated from hourly data of air temperature and relative humidity collected at six locations with different altitudes between July 13, 2017, and Novembrer 30, 2018. Correlation and regression coefficients were used to understand and validate the influence of surface elevation over the variation of absolute air humidity. Cokriging was used to estimate absolute air humidity as a function of altitude. Results prove the inverse relationship between absolute air humidity and altitude. The points with the highest altitude recorded the lowest average AH values, as opposed to the lowest altitudes. Altitude expressed a greater relationship with minimum absolute air humidity (r=0.90). The correlation values show a strong relationship between altitude and humidity. Spatialization analysis identified that AH idoes not present variability due to the fact that the area is naturally humid, stemming from the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean and the presence of frequent sea breezes in the region.