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Atmospheric Convection
Atmospheric convection is the result of a parcel-environment instability, or temperature difference layer in the atmosphere. Different lapse rates within dry and moist air masses lead to instability. Mixing of air during the day which expands the height of the planetary boundary layer leads to increased winds, cumulus cloud development, and decreased surface dew points. Moist convection leads to thunderstorm development, which is often responsible for severe weather throughout the world. Special threats from thunderstorms include hail, downbursts, and tornadoes. Overview There are a few general archetypes of atmospheric instability that are used to explain convection (or lack thereof). A necessary (but not sufficient) condition for convection is that the environmental lapse rate (the rate of decrease of temperature with height) is steeper than the lapse rate experienced by a rising parcel of air. When this condition is met, upward-displaced air parcels can become buoyant and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Air Parcel
In fluid dynamics, within the framework of continuum mechanics, a fluid parcel is a very small amount of fluid, identifiable throughout its dynamic history while moving with the fluid flow. As it moves, the mass of a fluid parcel remains constant, while—in a compressible flow—its volume may change. And its shape changes due to the distortion by the flow. In an incompressible flow the volume of the fluid parcel is also a constant ( isochoric flow). This mathematical concept is closely related to the description of fluid motion—its kinematics and dynamics—in a Lagrangian frame of reference. In this reference frame, fluid parcels are labelled and followed through space and time. But also in the Eulerian frame of reference the notion of fluid parcels can be advantageous, for instance in defining the material derivative, streamlines, streaklines, and pathlines; or for determining the Stokes drift. The fluid parcels, as used in continuum mechanics, are to be distinguished fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kinetic Energy
In physics, the kinetic energy of an object is the energy that it possesses due to its motion. It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its acceleration, the body maintains this kinetic energy unless its speed changes. The same amount of work is done by the body when decelerating from its current speed to a state of rest. Formally, a kinetic energy is any term in a system's Lagrangian which includes a derivative with respect to time. In classical mechanics, the kinetic energy of a non-rotating object of mass ''m'' traveling at a speed ''v'' is \fracmv^2. In relativistic mechanics, this is a good approximation only when ''v'' is much less than the speed of light. The standard unit of kinetic energy is the joule, while the English unit of kinetic energy is the foot-pound. History and etymology The adjective ''kinetic'' has its roots in the Greek word κίνησις ''ki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syukuro Manabe
is a Japanese-American meteorologist and climatologist who pioneered the use of computers to simulate global climate change and natural climate variations. He was awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Klaus Hasselmann and Giorgio Parisi, for his contributions to the physical modeling of earth's climate, quantifying its variability, and predictions of climate change. Early life and education Born in 1931 in Shinritsu Village, Uma District, Ehime Prefecture, Japan. Both his grandfather and his father were physicians, who operated the only clinic in the village. Easier to access at ahoo mirror site https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/04e7a8f6d96a5694121d438ec1d19c86a3ec6eeb A classmate recalled that, even in elementary school, he was already "interested in the weather, making comments such as 'If Japan didn't have typhoons, we wouldn't have so much rain.'" Manabe attended Ehime Prefectural Mishima High School. When he was accepted into the University of To ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tucson, Arizona
, "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Tucson , image_map1 = File:Pima County Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Tucson highlighted.svg , mapsize1 = 250px , map_caption1 = Location within Pima County , pushpin_label = Tucson , pushpin_map = USA Arizona#USA , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Arizona##Location within the United States , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_type2 = County , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_name1 = Arizona , subdivision_name2 = Pima , established_title = Founded , established_date = August 20, 1775 , established_title1 = Incorporated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thermal Low
Thermal lows, or heat lows, are non- frontal low-pressure areas that occur over the continents in the subtropics during the warm season, as the result of intense heating when compared to their surrounding environments.Glossary of Meteorology (2009)Thermal Low. American Meteorological Society. Retrieved on 2009-03-02. Thermal lows occur near the Sonoran Desert, on the Mexican plateau, in California's Great Central Valley, in the Sahara, over north-west Argentina in South America, over the Kimberley region of north-west Australia, over the Iberian peninsula, and over the Tibetan plateau. On land, intense, rapid solar heating of the earth's surface causes the heating of the lowest layers of the atmosphere, via re-radiated energy in the infrared spectrum. The hotter air is less dense than surrounding cooler air and rises, leading to the formation of a low pressure area. Elevated areas can enhance the strength of the thermal low because they warm more quickly than the atmosphere wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thermal Column
A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example of convection, specifically atmospheric convection. Thermals on Earth The Sun warms the ground, which in turn warms the air directly above. The warm air near the surface expands, becoming less dense than the surrounding air. The lighter air rises and cools due to its expansion in the lower pressure at higher altitudes. It stops rising when it has cooled to the same temperature, thus density, as the surrounding air. Associated with a thermal is a downward flow surrounding the thermal column. The downward-moving exterior is caused by colder air being displaced at the top of the thermal. The size and strength of thermals are influenced by the properties of the lower atmosphere (the ''troposphere''). When the air is cold, bubbles of wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hadley Circulation
The Hadley cell, named after George Hadley, is a global-scale tropical atmospheric circulation that features air rising near the equator, flowing poleward at a height of 10 to 15 kilometers above the earth's surface, descending in the subtropics, and then returning equatorward near the surface. This circulation creates the trade winds, tropical rain-belts and hurricanes, subtropical deserts and the jet streams. A Hadley cell's relatively low-altitude overturning circulation has air sinking at roughly 30 degrees latitude after traveling from near the equator. Mechanism The driving force of atmospheric circulation is the uneven distribution of solar heating across the earth, which is greatest near the equator and least at the poles. The atmospheric circulation transports energy polewards, thus reducing the equator-to-pole temperature gradient. The mechanisms by which this is accomplished differ in tropical and extratropical latitudes. Hadley cells exist on either side of the equat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tropics
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to as the tropical zone and the torrid zone (see geographical zone). In terms of climate, the tropics receive sunlight that is more direct than the rest of Earth and are generally hotter and wetter as they aren't affected as much by the solar seasons. The word "tropical" sometimes refers to this sort of climate in the zone rather than to the geographical zone itself. The tropical zone includes deserts and snow-capped mountains, which are not tropical in the climatic sense. The tropics are distinguished from the other climatic and biomatic regions of Earth, which are the middle latitudes and the polar regions on either side of the equatorial zone. The tropics constitute 40% of Earth's surface area and contain 36% of Earth's landm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tropopause
The tropopause is the atmospheric boundary that demarcates the troposphere from the stratosphere; which are two of the five layers of the atmosphere of Earth. The tropopause is a thermodynamic gradient-stratification layer, that marks the end of the troposphere, and lies approximately above the equatorial regions, and approximately above the polar regions. Definition Rising from the planetary surface of the Earth, the tropopause is the atmospheric level where the air ceases to become cool with increased altitude, and becomes dry, devoid of water vapor. The tropopause is the boundary that demarcates the troposphere from the stratosphere, and is the part of the atmosphere where there occurs an abrupt change in the environmental lapse rate (ELR), from a positive rate in the troposphere to a negative rate in the stratosphere. The ELR indicates the lowest level at which the lapse rate decreases to 2°C/km or less, provided that the average lapse-rate, between that level and all oth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buoyancy
Buoyancy (), or upthrust, is an upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of a partially or fully immersed object. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus the pressure at the bottom of a column of fluid is greater than at the top of the column. Similarly, the pressure at the bottom of an object submerged in a fluid is greater than at the top of the object. The pressure difference results in a net upward force on the object. The magnitude of the force is proportional to the pressure difference, and (as explained by Archimedes' principle) is equivalent to the weight of the fluid that would otherwise occupy the submerged volume of the object, i.e. the displaced fluid. For this reason, an object whose average density is greater than that of the fluid in which it is submerged tends to sink. If the object is less dense than the liquid, the force can keep the object afloat. This can occur only in a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Convective Available Potential Energy
In meteorology, convective available potential energy (commonly abbreviated as CAPE), is the integrated amount of work that the upward (positive) buoyancy force would perform on a given mass of air (called an air parcel) if it rose vertically through the entire atmosphere. Positive CAPE will cause the air parcel to rise, while negative CAPE will cause the air parcel to sink. Nonzero CAPE is an indicator of atmospheric instability in any given atmospheric sounding, a necessary condition for the development of cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds with attendant severe weather hazards. Mechanics CAPE exists within the conditionally unstable layer of the troposphere, the free convective layer (FCL), where an ascending air parcel is warmer than the ambient air. CAPE is measured in joules per kilogram of air (J/kg). Any value greater than 0 J/kg indicates instability and an increasing possibility of thunderstorms and hail. Generic CAPE is calculated by integrating vertically the l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Entrainment (meteorology)
Entrainment is a phenomenon of the atmosphere which occurs when a turbulent flow captures a non-turbulent flow. It is typically used to refer to the capture of a wind flow of high moisture content, or in the case of tropical cyclones, the capture of drier air. Detrainment is the opposite effect, when the air from a convective cloud, usually at its top, is injected in the environment. Theory Entrainment is the mixing of environmental air into a preexisting air current or cloud so that the environmental air becomes part of the current or cloud. The ''entrainment coefficient'' in clouds is one of the most sensitive variables causing uncertainty in climate models. Homogeneous mixing is a model that assumes that the timescale for the mixing within a cloud was short compared to the evaporation timescale. This would imply that the dry, unsaturated, environmental air would be entrained throughout the cloud before it would start to evaporate the cloud droplets. The entrainment mixing t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
