saturation-adiabatic process

saturation-adiabatic process

[‚sach·ə′rā·shən ¦ad·ē·ə¦bad·ik ′prä·səs]

(meteorology)

An adiabatic process in which the air is maintained at saturation by the evaporation or condensation of water substance, the latent heat being supplied by or to the air respectively; the ascent of cloudy air, for example, is often assumed to be such a process.