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NAME: _______________________________________________________ QUIZ SECTION: _________ Atmospheric Sciences 101 Spring 2007 Homework #5 (Due Wednesday, 9 May 2007) 1. For the following table, fill in the missing values. T(parcel) refers to the temperature of a single parcel being lifted from 0 – 5 km, whereas T(environment) represents the environmental lapse rate. The figure illustrating the relationship between saturation vapour pressure and temperature is found on page 91 of the textbook (AHRENS, 8th edition). The dry adiabatic lapse rate is 10°C/km and you can assume that the moist adiabatic lapse rate is constant and 6°C/km. In the last column of the table, describe the stability of the parcel as stable (S), unstable (U), or neutral (N). [6] HEIGHT T(environment) T(parcel) e (parcel) es (parcel) R.H. STABILITY 0.0 km 20.0°C 20.0°C 6.0 mb 24.0 mb N 1.0 km 12.0°C 10.0°C 50% 2.0 km 4.0°C 6.0 mb 3.0 km -4.0°C 3.0 mb 4.0 km -12.0°C -12.0°C 2.5 mb 5.0 km -20.0°C 1.5 mb 100% 2. Answer the following questions, referring to the above scenario if necessary. a. The lifting condensation level (LCL) is the height in the atmosphere where water first condenses. This represents the approximate level of the cloud base. For the above scenario, at what level (in km) is the LCL? [1] b. The level of free convection (LFC) is the height in the atmosphere above which the parcels no longer require lifting and will continue to rise (positively buoyant). For the above scenario, at what level (in km) is the LFC? [1] c. What is the environmental lapse rate for the above scenario? HINT: note that the environmental lapse rate is constant throughout the entire 0-5 km layer. [1] d. In the space provided below, carefully draw: (i) the dry (unsaturated) adiabatic lapse rate; (ii) the moist (saturated) adiabatic lapse rate; and (iii) the environmental lapse rate. [2] e. What would be the term that best describes the stability throughout the layer? [1] 3. Cloud Types and Formation. a. There are two basic forms of clouds: stratiform (stratus, altostratus and cirrostratus) and cumuliform (cumulus, altocumulus, and cirrocumulus). Which basic cloud form would be associated with a stable lapse rate? Why? [1] b. On the coast of Northern California during the summer, fog banks often “roll” in from over the Pacific Ocean. What type of fog are you likely observing and briefly outline its formation. [2] c. Why does radiation fog often form in low lying areas (valleys)? [1] d. On a sunny day in Eastern Washington, small vertically developed clouds appear in the late afternoon. What type of clouds might these be and why do these clouds develop later in the day? [2] 4. Cloud Identification and Precipitation. The images for this question are located on the homework web-page: http://www.atmos.washington.edu/~hakim/101/101.cgi a. Identify the cloud-type shown in Figure01. [1] b. Identify the cloud-type shown in Figure02. [1] c. Identify the cloud-type shown in Figure03. [1] d. Identify the cloud-type shown in Figure04. [1] e. From which cloud-type would you expect the largest precipitation particle size? Briefly explain. [2] .

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Basic Features on a Skew-T Chart
Skew-T Analysis and Stability Indices to Diagnose Severe Thunderstorm Potential Mteor 417 – Iowa State University – Week 6 Bill Gallus Basic features on a skew-T chart Moist adiabat isotherm Mixing ratio line isobar Dry adiabat Parameters that can be determined on a skew-T chart • Mixing ratio (w)– read from dew point curve • Saturation mixing ratio (ws) – read from Temp curve • Rel. Humidity = w/ws More parameters • Vapor pressure (e) – go from dew point up an isotherm to 622mb and read off the mixing ratio (but treat it as mb instead of g/kg) • Saturation vapor pressure (es)– same as above but start at temperature instead of dew point • Wet Bulb Temperature (Tw)– lift air to saturation (take temperature up dry adiabat and dew point up mixing ratio line until they meet). Then go down a moist adiabat to the starting level • Wet Bulb Potential Temperature (θw) – same as Wet Bulb Temperature but keep descending moist adiabat to 1000 mb More parameters • Potential Temperature (θ) – go down dry adiabat from temperature to 1000 mb • Equivalent Temperature (TE) – lift air to saturation and keep lifting to upper troposphere where dry adiabats and moist adiabats become parallel. Then descend a dry adiabat to the starting level. • Equivalent Potential Temperature (θE) – same as above but descend to 1000 mb. Meaning of some parameters • Wet bulb temperature is the temperature air would be cooled to if if water was evaporated into it. Can be useful for forecasting rain/snow changeover if air is dry when precipitation starts as rain. Can also give
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ESCI 241 – Meteorology Lesson 8 - Thermodynamic Diagrams Dr
ESCI 241 – Meteorology Lesson 8 - Thermodynamic Diagrams Dr. DeCaria References: The Use of the Skew T, Log P Diagram in Analysis And Forecasting, AWS/TR-79/006, U.S. Air Force, Revised 1979 An Introduction to Theoretical Meteorology, Hess GENERAL Thermodynamic diagrams are used to display lines representing the major processes that air can undergo (adiabatic, isobaric, isothermal, pseudo- adiabatic). The simplest thermodynamic diagram would be to use pressure as the y-axis and temperature as the x-axis. The ideal thermodynamic diagram has three important properties The area enclosed by a cyclic process on the diagram is proportional to the work done in that process As many of the process lines as possible be straight (or nearly straight) A large angle (90 ideally) between adiabats and isotherms There are several different types of thermodynamic diagrams, all meeting the above criteria to a greater or lesser extent. They are the Stuve diagram, the emagram, the tephigram, and the skew-T/log p diagram The most commonly used diagram in the U.S. is the Skew-T/log p diagram. The Skew-T diagram is the diagram of choice among the National Weather Service and the military. The Stuve diagram is also sometimes used, though area on a Stuve diagram is not proportional to work. SKEW-T/LOG P DIAGRAM Uses natural log of pressure as the vertical coordinate Since pressure decreases exponentially with height, this means that the vertical coordinate roughly represents altitude. Isotherms, instead of being vertical, are slanted upward to the right. Adiabats are lines that are semi-straight, and slope upward to the left.
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Appendix a Gempak Parameters
GEMPAK Parameters APPENDIX A GEMPAK PARAMETERS This appendix contains a list of the GEMPAK parameters. Algorithms used in computing these parameters are also included. The following constants are used in the computations: KAPPA = Poisson's constant = 2 / 7 G = Gravitational constant = 9.80616 m/sec/sec GAMUSD = Standard atmospheric lapse rate = 6.5 K/km RDGAS = Gas constant for dry air = 287.04 J/K/kg PI = Circumference / diameter = 3.14159265 References for some of the algorithms: Bolton, D., 1980: The computation of equivalent potential temperature., Monthly Weather Review, 108, pp 1046-1053. Miller, R.C., 1972: Notes on Severe Storm Forecasting Procedures of the Air Force Global Weather Central, AWS Tech. Report 200. Wallace, J.M., P.V. Hobbs, 1977: Atmospheric Science, Academic Press, 467 pp. TEMPERATURE PARAMETERS TMPC - Temperature in Celsius TMPF - Temperature in Fahrenheit TMPK - Temperature in Kelvin STHA - Surface potential temperature in Kelvin STHK - Surface potential temperature in Kelvin N-AWIPS 5.6.L User’s Guide A-1 October 2003 GEMPAK Parameters STHC - Surface potential temperature in Celsius STHE - Surface equivalent potential temperature in Kelvin STHS - Surface saturation equivalent pot. temperature in Kelvin THTA - Potential temperature in Kelvin THTK - Potential temperature in Kelvin THTC - Potential temperature in Celsius THTE - Equivalent potential temperature in Kelvin THTS - Saturation equivalent pot. temperature in Kelvin TVRK - Virtual temperature in Kelvin TVRC - Virtual temperature in Celsius TVRF - Virtual
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Temperature, Pressure, Force Balance
TUESDAY: stability/buoyancy, convection, clouds Temperature, Pressure, Force Balance ● Molecules in a Box – Ideal Gas Law ● Hydrostatic Force Balance ● Adiabatic Expansion / Compression 1 Molecular View of a Gas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Translational_motion.gif 2 Also: https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/gas-properties What is Atmospheric Pressure? ➔ Atmospheric pressure is force per unit area of a column of air above you (extending all the way to the top of the atmosphere) ➔ It arises from gravity acting on a column of air ➔ p = F / A = m*g / A (g – acceleration due to gravity) ➔ That is, pressure is the weight of the column of air above you – a measure of how hard this column of air is pushing down 3 Question How much do you carry on your “shoulders”? or What's the approximate mass of the column of air above you (~ 0.1 m2)? A) ~ 9 kg B) ~ 90 kg C) ~ 900 kg D) ~ 9,000 kg 4 Vertical Structure ● the atmosphere is very thin! ● 99% of mass within ~30 km of the surface ● Gravity holds most of the air close to ground ● The weight of the overlying air is the pressure at any point 5 Vertical Structure ● In Pavullo, ~10% of the mass of the total atmosphere is below our feet ● At the top of Monte Cimone, you are above 25% of the total atmosphere's mass ● You are closer to outer space than to Florence! ● Commercial aircraft max out at about 12 km (~ 250 hPa) → 75% of mass of atmosphere is below them (cabins are pressurized to about 750 hPa) 6 Equation of State a.k.a.
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Stability Analysis, Page 1 Synoptic Meteorology I
Synoptic Meteorology I: Stability Analysis For Further Reading Most information contained within these lecture notes is drawn from Chapters 4 and 5 of “The Use of the Skew T, Log P Diagram in Analysis and Forecasting” by the Air Force Weather Agency, a PDF copy of which is available from the course website. Chapter 5 of Weather Analysis by D. Djurić provides further details about how stability may be assessed utilizing skew-T/ln-p diagrams. Why Do We Care About Stability? Simply put, we care about stability because it exerts a strong control on vertical motion – namely, ascent – and thus cloud and precipitation formation on the synoptic-scale or otherwise. We care about stability because rarely is the atmosphere ever absolutely stable or absolutely unstable, and thus we need to understand under what conditions the atmosphere is stable or unstable. We care about stability because the purpose of instability is to restore stability; atmospheric processes such as latent heat release act to consume the energy provided in the presence of instability. Before we can assess stability, however, we must first introduce a few additional concepts that we will later find beneficial, particularly when evaluating stability using skew-T diagrams. Stability-Related Concepts Convection Condensation Level The convection condensation level, or CCL, is the height or isobaric level to which an air parcel, if sufficiently heated from below, will rise adiabatically until it becomes saturated. The attribute “if sufficiently heated from below” gives rise to the convection portion of the CCL. Sufficiently strong heating of the Earth’s surface results in dry convection, which generates localized thermals that act to vertically transport energy.
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Chapter 4 ATMOSPHERIC STABILITY
Chapter 4 ATMOSPHERIC STABILITY Wildfires are greatly affected by atmospheric motion and the properties of the atmosphere that affect its motion. Most commonly considered in evaluating fire danger are surface winds with their attendant temperatures and humidities, as experienced in everyday living. Less obvious, but equally important, are vertical motions that influence wildfire in many ways. Atmospheric stability may either encourage or suppress vertical air motion. The heat of fire itself generates vertical motion, at least near the surface, but the convective circulation thus established is affected directly by the stability of the air. In turn, the indraft into the fire at low levels is affected, and this has a marked effect on fire intensity. Also, in many indirect ways, atmospheric stability will affect fire behavior. For example, winds tend to be turbulent and gusty when the atmosphere is unstable, and this type of airflow causes fires to behave erratically. Thunderstorms with strong updrafts and downdrafts develop when the atmosphere is unstable and contains sufficient moisture. Their lightning may set wildfires, and their distinctive winds can have adverse effects on fire behavior. Subsidence occurs in larger scale vertical circulation as air from high-pressure areas replaces that carried aloft in adjacent low-pressure systems. This often brings very dry air from high altitudes to low levels. If this reaches the surface, going wildfires tend to burn briskly, often as briskly at night as during the day. From these few examples, we can see that atmospheric stability is closely related to fire behavior, and that a general understanding of stability and its effects is necessary to the successful interpretation of fire-behavior phenomena.
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Atmospheric Stability
General Meteorology Laboratory #7 Name ___________________________ Date _______________ Partners _________________________ Section _____________ Atmospheric Stability Purpose: Use vertical soundings to determine the stability of the atmosphere. Equipment: Station Thermometer Min./Max. Thermometer Anemometer Barometer Psychrometer Rain Gauge Psychometric Tables Barometric Correction Tables I. Surface observation. Begin the first 1/2 hour of lab performing a surface observation. Make sure you include pressure (station, sea level, and altimeter setting), temperature, dew point temperature, wind (direction, speed, and characteristics), precipitation, and sky conditions (cloud cover, cloud height, & visibility). From your observation generate a METAR and a station model. A. Generate a METAR for today's observation B. Generate a station model for today's observation. II. Plot the sounding On the skew T-ln p plot the CHS sounding. Locate the lifting condensation level (LCL), the level of free convection (LFC), and the equilibrium level (EL). 1. The LCL is found by following the dry adiabat from the surface temperature and the saturation mixing ratio from the dew point temperature. Where there two paths intersect, we would have condensation taking place. This is the LCL and represents the base of the cloud. 2. The LFC is found by following a moist adiabat from the LCL until it intersects the temperature sounding. Beyond this level a surface parcel will become warmer than the environment and will freely rise. 3. The EL is found by following a moist adiabat from the LFC until it intersects the temperature sounding again. At this point the surface parcel will be cooler than the environment and will no longer rise on its own accord.
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Student Study Guide Chapter 8
Adiabatic Lapse Rates 8 and Atmospheric Stability Learning Goals After studying this chapter, students should be able to: 1. describe adiabatic processes as they apply to the atmosphere (p. 174); 2. apply thermodynamic diagrams to follow the change of state in rising or sinking air parcels, and to assess atmospheric stability (pp. 179–189); and 3. distinguish between the various atmospheric stability types, and describe their causes and conse- quences (pp. 189–203). Summary 1. An adiabatic process is a thermodynamic process in which temperature changes occur without the addition or removal of heat. Adiabatic processes are very common in the atmosphere; rising Weather and Climate, Second Edition © Oxford University Press Canada, 2017 air cools because it expands, and sinking air warms because it is compressed. The rate of change of temperature in unsaturated rising or sinking air parcels is known as the dry adiabatic lapse rate (DALR). This rate is equal to 10°C/km. When rising air parcels are saturated, they cool at a slower rate because of the release of latent heat. Unlike the DALR, the saturated adiabatic lapse rate (SALR) is not constant, but we often use 6°C/km as an average value. 2. Potential temperature is the temperature an air parcel would have if it were brought to a pressure of 100 kPa. Potential temperature remains constant for vertical motions. 3. The lifting condensation level (LCL) is the height at which an air parcel wising from the surface will begin to condense. The LCL depends on the surface temperature and dew-point temperature. 4.
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Comparison of Convective Parameters Derived from ERA5 and MERRA-2 with Rawinsonde Data Over Europe and North America
15 APRIL 2021 T A S Z A R E K E T A L . 3211 Comparison of Convective Parameters Derived from ERA5 and MERRA-2 with Rawinsonde Data over Europe and North America a,b,c d e f b,g MATEUSZ TASZAREK, NATALIA PILGUJ, JOHN T. ALLEN, VICTOR GENSINI, HAROLD E. BROOKS, AND h,i PIOTR SZUSTER a Department of Meteorology and Climatology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland b National Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, Oklahoma c Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma d Department of Climatology and Atmosphere Protection, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland e Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Michigan f Department of Geographic and Atmospheric Sciences, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois g School of Meteorology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma h Department of Computer Science, Cracow University of Technology, Krakow, Poland i AGH Cracow University of Science and Technology, Krakow, Poland (Manuscript received 25 June 2020, in ﬁnal form 7 December 2020) ABSTRACT: In this study we compared 3.7 million rawinsonde observations from 232 stations over Europe and North America with proximal vertical proﬁles from ERA5 and MERRA-2 to examine how well reanalysis depicts observed convective parameters. Larger differences between soundings and reanalysis are found for thermodynamic theoretical parcel parameters, low-level lapse rates, and low-level wind shear. In contrast, reanalysis best represents temperature and moisture variables, midtropospheric lapse rates, and mean wind. Both reanalyses underestimate CAPE, low-level moisture, and wind shear, particularly when considering extreme values. Overestimation is observed for low-level lapse rates, mid- tropospheric moisture, and the level of free convection.
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Skew-T Diagram Dr
ESCI 341 – Meteorology Lesson 18 – Use of the Skew-T Diagram Dr. DeCaria Reference: The Use of the Skew T, Log P Diagram in Analysis And Forecasting, AWS/TR-79/006, U.S. Air Force, revised 1979 (Air Force Skew-T Manual) An Introduction to Theoretical Meteorology, Hess SKEW-T/LOG P DIAGRAM Uses Rd ln p as the vertical coordinate Since pressure decreases exponentially with height, this coordinate means that the vertical coordinate roughly represents altitude. Uses T K ln p as the horizontal coordinate (K is an arbitrary constant). This means that isotherms, instead of being vertical, are slanted upward to the right with a slope of (K). With these coordinates, adiabats are lines that are semi-straight, and slope upward to the left. K is chosen so that the adiabat-isotherm angle is near 90. Areas on a skew-T/log p diagram are proportional to energy per unit mass. Pseudo-adiabats (moist-adiabats) are curved lines that are nearly vertical at the bottom of the chart, and bend so that they become nearly parallel to the adiabats at lower pressures. Mixing ratio lines (isohumes) slope upward to the right. USE OF THE SKEW-T/LOG P DIAGRAM The skew-T diagram can be used to determine many useful pieces of information about the atmosphere. The first step to using the diagram is to plot the temperature and dew point values from the sounding onto the diagram. Temperature (T) is usually plotted in black or blue, and dew point (Td) in green. Stability Stability is readily checked on the diagram by comparing the slope of the temperature curve to the slope of the moist and dry adiabats.
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Chapter 6 Atmospheric Stability Concept of Stability  What Happens If You Push the Ball to the Left Or Right in Each of These Figures?
Chapter 6 Atmospheric Stability Concept of Stability What happens if you push the ball to the left or right in each of these figures? How might this apply in the atmosphere? Atmospheric Stability Air parcel: a distinct blob of air that we will imagine we can identify as it moves through the atmosphere Air parcels and stability Stable: if the parcel is displaced vertically, it will return to its original position Neutral: if the parcel is displaced vertically, it will remain in its new position Unstable: if the parcel is displaced vertically, it will accelerate away from its original position in the direction of the initial displacement Air parcel vertical movement How does an air parcel change as it moves in the vertical? Expand as it rises because it encounters lower pressure. Compress as it sinks because it encounters higher pressure. Adiabatic processes Adiabatic process: a process in which an air parcel does not mix with its environment or exchange energy with its environment What happens to the temperature of an air parcel as it expands (rises) or compresses (sinks)? The air parcel cools as it expands (rises) The air parcel warms as it compresses (sinks) These are examples of adiabatic processes Lapse Rates Lapse rate: The rate at which temperature changes in the vertical (slope of the temperature vertical profile) Dry adiabatic lapse rate: the rate at which an unsaturated air parcel will cool if it rises or warm as it sinks (applies to an air parcel with a relative humidity of less than 100%) Dry adiabatic lapse rate = 10°C / km Moist adiabatic lapse rate: the rate at which a saturated air parcel will cool if it rises or warm if it sinks (applies to an air parcel with a relative humidity of 100%) Moist adiabatic lapse rate = 6°C / km (on average in the troposphere) What’s happening? Why is the moist adiabatic lapse rate different? Why is it less than the dry adiabatic lapse rate? Let’s think about what happens to a saturated air parcel as it rises: 1.
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I. Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE)
Reading 4: Procedure Summary-- Calcluating CAPE, Lifted Index and Strength of Maximum Convective Updraft CAPE Calculation Lifted Index Calculation Maximum Updraft Strength Calculation I. Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) A. Background (i) The acceleration an air parcel experiences due to density differences at a given level (buoyancy accelerations) can be related to the difference in temperature of the air parcel , Tap, with respect to the temperature of the surrounding air, Te, AT A GIVEN LEVEL.: Tap − Te a = ( ) g Te Equation 1 (ii) A true measure of the potential buoyancy is a measure of the "positive" area on a Skew-T Ln P diagram. This represents the portion of the parcel ascent curve in which the parcel is warmer and, thus, less dense than the air surrounding it. The parameter is known as Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) or Positive Buoyancy (B+). 1 ⎛ EL ⎡ ⎤⎞ Tap − Te CAPE = ⎜ ⎢ ( ) g⎥ ⎟ Δ z ⎜ ∑ T ⎟ ⎝ LFC⎣⎢ e ⎦⎥⎠ Note that this equation really states that CAPE is directly proportion to the total acceleration a parcel would experience due to buoyancy from the LFC to the EL. Equation 2 The positive area represents a potential source of energy for parcels at the ground that are lifted to the elevation (LFC) above which they become warmer than their surroundings. To obtain this, one needs to algebraically add (that's what the summation sign means) this parameter at every level of the parcel's ascent until it reaches the point at which it becomes the same temperature as its surroundings again (Equilibrium Level). Equation (2) states that CAPE is a function of the difference in temperature between the rising (or sinking) air parcel (Tap) relative to the air around it at the same elevation (Te).
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