Potential Temperature
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Potential Temperature
The potential temperature of a parcel of fluid at pressure P is the temperature that the parcel would attain if adiabatically brought to a standard reference pressure P_, usually . The potential temperature is denoted \theta and, for a gas well-approximated as ideal, is given by : \theta = T \left(\frac\right)^, where T is the current absolute temperature (in K) of the parcel, R is the gas constant of air, and c_p is the specific heat capacity at a constant pressure. R/c_p = 0.286 for air (meteorology). The reference point for potential temperature in the ocean is usually at the ocean's surface which has a water pressure of 0 dbar. The potential temperature in the ocean doesn't account for the varying heat capacities of seawater, therefore it is not a conservative measure of heat content. Graphical representation of potential temperature will always be less than the actual temperature line in a temperature vs depth graph. Contexts The concept of potential temperature applies ...
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Equivalent Potential Temperature
Equivalent potential temperature, commonly referred to as theta-e \left( \theta_e \right), is a quantity that is conserved during changes to an air parcel's pressure (that is, during vertical motions in the atmosphere), even if water vapor condenses during that pressure change. It is therefore more conserved than the ordinary potential temperature, which remains constant only for unsaturated vertical motions (pressure changes). \theta_e is the temperature a parcel of air would reach if all the water vapor in the parcel were to condense, releasing its latent heat, and the parcel was brought adiabatically to a standard reference pressure, usually 1000 hPa (1000 mbar) which is roughly equal to atmospheric pressure at sea level. Its use in estimating atmospheric stability Stability of incompressible fluid Like a ball balanced on top of a hill, denser fluid lying above less dense fluid would be dynamically unstable: overturning motions (convection) can lower the center of gravity, ...
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Wet-bulb Potential Temperature
Wet-bulb potential temperature, sometimes referred to as pseudo wet-bulb potential temperature, is the temperature that a parcel of air at any level would have if, starting at the wet-bulb temperature, it were brought at the saturated adiabatic lapse rate to the standard pressure of 1,000 mbar. This temperature is conservative with respect to reversible adiabatic changes. See also * Wet-bulb temperature * Potential temperature * Atmospheric thermodynamics * Equivalent temperature * Equivalent potential temperature Equivalent potential temperature, commonly referred to as theta-e \left( \theta_e \right), is a quantity that is conserved during changes to an air parcel's pressure (that is, during vertical motions in the Earth's atmosphere, atmosphere), even if w ... External links AMS Glossary Oxford Index Atmospheric thermodynamics {{climate-stub ...
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Equivalent Potential Temperature
Equivalent potential temperature, commonly referred to as theta-e \left( \theta_e \right), is a quantity that is conserved during changes to an air parcel's pressure (that is, during vertical motions in the atmosphere), even if water vapor condenses during that pressure change. It is therefore more conserved than the ordinary potential temperature, which remains constant only for unsaturated vertical motions (pressure changes). \theta_e is the temperature a parcel of air would reach if all the water vapor in the parcel were to condense, releasing its latent heat, and the parcel was brought adiabatically to a standard reference pressure, usually 1000 hPa (1000 mbar) which is roughly equal to atmospheric pressure at sea level. Its use in estimating atmospheric stability Stability of incompressible fluid Like a ball balanced on top of a hill, denser fluid lying above less dense fluid would be dynamically unstable: overturning motions (convection) can lower the center of gravity, ...
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Isentropic Analysis
Isentropic analysis in meteorology is a technique to find the vertical and horizontal motion of airmasses during an adiabatic process above the planetary boundary layer. The change of state of air parcels following isentropic surfaces does not involve exchange of heat with the environment. Such an analysis can also evaluate the airmass stability in the vertical dimension and whether an air parcel crossing such a surface will result in convective or stratiform clouds. It is based on the study of weather maps or vertical cross-sections of the potential temperature values in the troposphere. On a synoptic scale, isentropic analysis is associated with weather fronts: warm fronts are found where the wind crosses lines of a chosen potential temperature from lower heights to higher ones, while cold fronts are where the wind crosses descending heights. Synoptic clouds and precipitations can thus be better found with these areas of advection than with conventional isobaric Isobar may refe ...
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Conservative Temperature
Conservative temperature (\Theta) is a thermodynamic property of seawater. It is derived from the potential enthalpy and is recommended under the TEOS-10 standard (Thermodynamic Equation of Seawater - 2010) as a replacement for potential temperature as it more accurately represents the heat content in the ocean. Motivation Conservative temperature was initially proposed by Trevor McDougall in 2003. The motivation was to find an oceanic variable representing the heat content that is conserved during both pressure changes and turbulent mixing. In-situ temperature T is not sufficient for this purpose, as the compression of a water parcel with depth causes an increase of the temperature despite the absence of any external heating. Potential temperature \theta can be used to combat this issue, as it is referenced to a specific pressure and so ignores these compressive effects. In fact, potential temperature is a conservative variable in the atmosphere for air parcels in dry adiabat ...
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Atmospheric Thermodynamics
Atmospheric thermodynamics is the study of heat-to-work transformations (and their reverse) that take place in the earth's atmosphere and manifest as weather or climate. Atmospheric thermodynamics use the laws of classical thermodynamics, to describe and explain such phenomena as the properties of moist air, the formation of clouds, atmospheric convection, boundary layer meteorology, and vertical instabilities in the atmosphere. Atmospheric thermodynamic diagrams are used as tools in the forecasting of storm development. Atmospheric thermodynamics forms a basis for cloud microphysics and convection parameterizations used in numerical weather models and is used in many climate considerations, including convective-equilibrium climate models. Overview The atmosphere is an example of a non-equilibrium system. Atmospheric thermodynamics describes the effect of buoyant forces that cause the rise of less dense (warmer) air, the descent of more dense air, and the transformation of water ...
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Brunt–Väisälä Frequency
In atmospheric dynamics, oceanography, asteroseismology and geophysics, the Brunt–Väisälä frequency, or buoyancy frequency, is a measure of the stability of a fluid to vertical displacements such as those caused by convection. More precisely it is the frequency at which a vertically displaced parcel will oscillate within a statically stable environment. It is named after David Brunt and Vilho Väisälä. It can be used as a measure of atmospheric stratification. Derivation for a general fluid Consider a parcel of water or gas that has density \rho_0. This parcel is in an environment of other water or gas particles where the density of the environment is a function of height: \rho = \rho (z). If the parcel is displaced by a small vertical increment z', ''and it maintains its original density, so that its volume does not change,'' it will be subject to an extra gravitational force against its surroundings of: :\rho_0 \frac = - g \left[\rho (z)-\rho (z+z')\right] where g is the ...
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Virtual Temperature
In atmospheric thermodynamics, the virtual temperature (T_v) of a moist air parcel is the temperature at which a theoretical dry air parcel would have a total pressure and density equal to the moist parcel of air. The virtual temperature of unsaturated moist air is always greater than the absolute air temperature, however, as the existence of suspended cloud droplets reduces the virtual temperature. Introduction Description In atmospheric thermodynamic processes, it is often useful to assume air parcels behave approximately adiabatically, and approximately ideally. The specific gas constant for the standardized mass of one kilogram of a particular gas is variable, and described mathematically as :R_x = \frac, where R^* is the molar gas constant, and M_x is the apparent molar mass of gas x in kilograms per mole. The apparent molar mass of a theoretical moist parcel in Earth's atmosphere can be defined in components of water vapor and dry air as :M_\text = \frac M_v + \frac M_d, ...
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Integral
In mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ..., an integral assigns numbers to functions in a way that describes Displacement (geometry), displacement, area, volume, and other concepts that arise by combining infinitesimal data. The process of finding integrals is called integration. Along with Derivative, differentiation, integration is a fundamental, essential operation of calculus,Integral calculus is a very well established mathematical discipline for which there are many sources. See and , for example. and serves as a tool to solve problems in mathematics and physics involving the area of an arbitrary shape, the length of a curve, and the volume of a solid, among others. The integrals enumerated here are those termed definite integrals, which can be int ...
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Equation Of State
In physics, chemistry, and thermodynamics, an equation of state is a thermodynamic equation relating state variables, which describe the state of matter under a given set of physical conditions, such as pressure, volume, temperature, or internal energy. Most modern equations of state are formulated in the Helmholtz free energy. Equations of state are useful in describing the properties of pure substances and mixtures in liquids, gases, and solid states as well as the state of matter in the interior of stars. Overview At present, there is no single equation of state that accurately predicts the properties of all substances under all conditions. An example of an equation of state correlates densities of gases and liquids to temperatures and pressures, known as the ideal gas law, which is roughly accurate for weakly polar gases at low pressures and moderate temperatures. This equation becomes increasingly inaccurate at higher pressures and lower temperatures, and fails to predict ...
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Entropy
Entropy is a scientific concept, as well as a measurable physical property, that is most commonly associated with a state of disorder, randomness, or uncertainty. The term and the concept are used in diverse fields, from classical thermodynamics, where it was first recognized, to the microscopic description of nature in statistical physics, and to the principles of information theory. It has found far-ranging applications in chemistry and physics, in biological systems and their relation to life, in cosmology, economics, sociology, weather science, climate change, and information systems including the transmission of information in telecommunication. The thermodynamic concept was referred to by Scottish scientist and engineer William Rankine in 1850 with the names ''thermodynamic function'' and ''heat-potential''. In 1865, German physicist Rudolf Clausius, one of the leading founders of the field of thermodynamics, defined it as the quotient of an infinitesimal amount of hea ...
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Thermodynamics
Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws of thermodynamics which convey a quantitative description using measurable macroscopic physical quantities, but may be explained in terms of microscopic constituents by statistical mechanics. Thermodynamics applies to a wide variety of topics in science and engineering, especially physical chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engineering and mechanical engineering, but also in other complex fields such as meteorology. Historically, thermodynamics developed out of a desire to increase the efficiency of early steam engines, particularly through the work of French physicist Sadi Carnot (1824) who believed that engine efficiency was the key that could help France win the Napoleonic Wars. Scots-Irish physicist Lord Kelvin was the first to formulate a ...
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