1 PHU5302 Atmospheric Physics Unit 1 2019

PHU 5302
Session 1
EARTH AND ITS ATMOSPHERE
Contents
Introduction
1.1 The Earth
1.2 Earth's atmosphere
1.3 Various theories proposed for the origin of gases.
1.4 Nature of the atmosphere
1.5 Composition of the Atmosphere
1.6 Vertical structure of the atmosphere
1.7 Vertical change of composition
1.8 Vertical changes in air properties
Summary
Objectives
Self-Assessment Questions
Answers to the Self-Assessment Questions
Introduction
The atmosphere is our common environment. It is an ocean of fluid covering the entire
surface of the Earth. We live at the bottom of this ocean and breathe this fluid. Because
it is a fluid system, the atmosphere is capable of supporting a wide spectrum of motions.
These range from turbulent eddies of a few meters to circulations with dimensions of
the Earth itself. This section presents a brief overview of Earth and its atmosphere.
1.1 The Earth

Earth, the third planet from the Sun, is our home planet. Its surface is mostly water
(about 70 %) and it has a moderately dense nitrogen-and-oxygen atmosphere that
supports life—the only known life in the universe.
1. Earth orbits the Sun at a distance of about 150,000,000 km, taking 365.25 days
to complete one elliptical (oval-shaped) revolution.
2. The planet rotates once about its axis almost every 24 hours. It is not truly
spherical, but bulges slightly at its equator.
Copyright ©, The Open University of Sri Lanka 1

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3. Earth's diameter at the equator is roughly 12,760 km, while its diameter at the
poles is 12,720 km. The circumference of Earth at its equator is about 40,000
km.
4. Earth's only natural satellite, the Moon, orbits the planet at an average distance
of about 385,000 km.
Earth’s rotation rate (Ω) = 7.27 × 10−5s−1

Surface gravity (g) =9.81 ms−2
Earth’s mean radius (a) = 6.37 × 106 m
Surface area of Earth (4πa2) = 5.09 × 1014 m2
Area of Earth’s disc (πa2) = 1.27 × 1014 m2
1.2 Earth's atmosphere
The atmosphere
 Separates the Earth from the cold emptiness of space.
 Its heat trapping ability helps to keep the Earth warm enough for life
 It protects the Earth from harmful shortwave solar radiation and
cosmic rays
The atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the Earth that is retained by Earth's
gravitational pull. Extending from the earth's surface, it becomes thinner and thinner
with increasing altitude, with no definite boundary between the atmosphere and outer
space. The Earth's atmosphere is roughly 480 km thick.
Earth's atmosphere is the only planetary atmosphere in the solar system capable of
sustaining life. It is made of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and a 1% mixture of gases
dominated by argon.
Ninety-nine percent of the atmosphere's mass is contained in the first 65 to 80 km above
Earth's surface. This relatively thin atmosphere insulates the planet by allowing the
Sun's visible light to pass through the atmosphere and warm the surface. The resulting
heat (infrared radiation) is reradiated from the surface, but is prevented from totally
escaping back into space by carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor in the
atmosphere. These so-called greenhouse gases act as atmospheric thermal insulators.
absorbing most of this solar energy and re-emit back to the surface, keeping the planet
at relatively stable, warm temperatures. The average surface temperature is 15°C
(59°F). These greenhouse gases include CO2, O3, CH4, N2O, and halogen containing
compounds.
without greenhouse gases, the earth would be 33°C (59 °F)

colder than present
- a frozen and lifeless world-without greenhouse gases

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While keeping in necessary heat radiation, components in the atmosphere block

dangerous forms of radiation from reaching the surface. These include X rays and
ultraviolet radiation, which is absorbed by the ozone layer located at about 24 km above
Earth's surface.
Without the atmosphere, the Earth would be like a bigger version

of the moon
– cold and lifeless.
1.3 Various theories proposed for the origin of gases

One theory states that when Earth was formed, the gases were trapped in layers of rock
beneath the surface. They eventually escaped, primarily through volcanic eruptions, to
form the atmosphere. Water vapor was the most plentiful substance spewed out and
condensed (change from a gas to a liquid) to form the oceans. Carbon dioxide was
second in terms of quantity, but most of it dissolved in the ocean waters or was altered
chemically through reactions with other substances in the rocks. Nitrogen came out in
smaller amounts, but always remained in its present form because it never underwent
reactions or condensation. It is believed that for that reason, nitrogen is the most
abundant gas in the atmosphere today.
Another more recent theory regarding the development of Earth's atmosphere states that
the elements found in it were deposited there by comets. Remains from comets have
been shown to have carbon and nitrogen in roughly the same proportion as the
atmosphere. During its early development, Earth was the site of repeated comet
collisions.
Oxygen only became a part of Earth's atmosphere when green plants

came into being. Through the process called photosynthesis, green plants
convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. Oxygen is also removed from the
atmosphere when green plants, as well as animals, die. As they decay,
they oxidize, a process that uses up oxygen.
1.4 Nature of the atmosphere

The atmosphere has large circulation patterns, same as oceans. Massive streams of
warm and cold air flow through atmosphere. Circulation patterns in the atmosphere are
driven by temperature differences between adjacent areas and by the rotation of Earth,
which leads circular flows.
The atmosphere is a dynamic body and it can be witnessed everyday as it transfers solar
heat from the equator toward the poles creating regular wind patterns such as the trade
winds. Locally, we experience this mass movement of air as a gentle breeze or the rare
extreme of a tornado. The atmosphere in motion also transfers water evaporated from

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the oceans to the continents, providing precipitation critical to sustain terrestrial

ecosystems.
1.5 Composition of the Atmosphere

The thin envelope of air that surrounds our planet is a mixture of gases, each with its
own physical properties. Additionally, Earth’s atmosphere contains aerosol particles.
The mixture is far from evenly divided. Two elements, nitrogen and oxygen, make up
99% of the volume of air. The other 1% is composed of "trace" gases, the most prevalent
of which is the inert gaseous element argon. The rest of the trace gases, although present
in only minute amounts, are very important to life on earth. Two in particular, carbon
dioxide and ozone, can have a large impact on atmospheric processes.
Another gas, water vapor, also exists in small amounts. It varies in concentration from
being almost non-existent over desert regions to about 4% over the oceans. Water vapor
is important to weather production since it exists in gaseous, liquid, and solid phases
and absorbs radiant energy from the earth.
Atmospheric gases are generally classified by their amount and residence time. (Table
1.1). The residence time or lifetime is an average amount of time that a particle or
substance spends in the atmospheric system. The residence time can be defined as the
amount of the compound in the atmosphere divided by the rate at which this compound
removed from the atmosphere. Based on the quantity, major components and trace
gases, while according to residence time, constant and variable gases can be
distinguished.
Table 1.1 Classification of atmospheric gases according to Amount and Residence time
Classification of atmospheric Amount
gases
Main Components Trace gases
Constant gases nitrogen, oxygen and other noble gases
argon
(major components of the
atmosphere)
Residence
Variable gases carbon dioxide other short-lived
time
tracers
Highly variable carbon dioxide other short-lived
gases tracers
The amount of atmospheric gases can be expressed by different measures. Most

common measures are the concentration (kg m–3), the volume ratio (m3 gas per m3 air).
For trace gases, this mixing ratio are commonly given in units of parts per million
volume (ppmv or simply ppm), parts per billion volume (ppbv or ppb), or parts per
trillion volume (pptv or ppt);
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The abundances of constant gases have remained the same over geological timescales,
while residence time generally means years in case of variable gases and days in case
of highly variable gases
The main constituents of the dry atmosphere are nitrogen (78.084% by volume), oxygen
(20.946% by volume) and argon (0.934% by volume), but much lower concentrations
other noble gases can also be found (Table 1.2). Concentrations of these gases do not
vary substantially in time and space (in the lower 80 km layer of the atmosphere) and
therefore they are called permanent gases.
Table 1. 2 Fractional concentrations by volume of the major gaseous constituents of the
Earth’s atmosphere up to an altitude of 105 km, with respect to dry air (Adapted from
Atmospheric Science by John M. Wallace and Peter V. Hobbs)
The noble gases (Inert gases)

A group of chemical elements with similar properties; under standard conditions,
they are odorless, colorless, monatomic gases with very low chemical reactivity.
The 6 noble gases that occur naturally are helium (He), neon (Ne), argon (Ar),
krypton (Kr), xenon (Xe), and the radioactive radon (Rn).
Trace gases
A trace gas is a gas which makes up less than 1% by volume of the Earth's
atmosphere.

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Humankind is changing atmospheric composition of Earth by

 emissions of particulates (20% of total)
 burning of fossil fuels which has a direct impact on CO2 concentrations
(1000 years of photolysis undone per year)
 emissions of trace species that alter atmospheric chemistry in many ways
 emission of trace species that alter the radiative properties of the
atmosphere directly or indirectly (cloud formation or change)
 direct or indirect changes of temperature
1.6. Vertical structure of the atmosphere

The atmosphere’s fluid is a highly compressible gas (density changes with pressure)
rather than a relatively incompressible liquid like seawater. Therefore, the upper
boundary of the atmosphere is indefinite unlike the ocean.
Gravity is the most important factor influencing the atmospheric behavior. Even though
the atmosphere has no upper boundary, the atmosphere is bounded to the Earth by the
gravitational Field. The atmosphere flows horizontally under the influence of gravity
to maintain a nearly uniform distribution of mass, as measured above any fixed altitude
above sea level. Therefore, atmospheric mass and constituents are stratified vertically:
Although it is impossible to define an absolute depth of the atmosphere, most of the
atmosphere is confined to a narrow shell, in the lowest 10 km around the planet. Fifty
percent of the mass of the atmosphere is within 5.5 kilometers of sea level while 90 %
is within about 16 kilometers of sea level, and 99.9 % is below 49 kilometers. Since the
mean radius of the Earth is 6,370 kilometers, the atmosphere is a very thin coating (less
than 1% of the Earth’s radius) around the planet.
Because of the uneven addition and subtraction of heat energy to and from the
atmosphere, the atmosphere remains in a continuous state of both horizontal and
vertical motion. Although the atmosphere is constantly changing, some aspects, the
composition and gross vertical structure are observed to be relatively constant. This
vertical distribution of temperature, pressure, density, and composition of the
atmosphere constitutes atmospheric structure. These quantities vary with season and
location in latitude and longitude, as well as from night to day.
The average vertical structure of temperature, density, and pressure in Earth's
atmosphere is often called as the "static structure" and it does not consider large scale
movements of air like wind currents.

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1.7 Vertical change of composition

According to the homogeneity of atmospheric composition, two layers can be defined
in the atmosphere. The lower layer, up to an altitude of about 80 km above sea level is
the homosphere,
where due to the continuous turbulent mixing the composition of the atmosphere is
relatively constant for chemical species which have long mean residence times. This
region is closed by a thin transition layer, called turbopause. Above the turbopause, in
the heterosphere, the molecular diffusion dominates and the chemical composition of
the atmosphere becomes stratified and varies according to the molecular mass of
chemical species (Figure 1.1). The lower heterosphere are dominated by nitrogen and
oxygen molecules and the lighter gases being concentrated in the higher layers. Oxygen
atoms are concentrated up to 1,000 km and the helium and hydrogen species dominates
afterwards.
Figure 1.1 Vertical structure of the atmosphere according to chemical composition
1.8 Vertical changes in air properties

Air consists of molecules in constant motion, colliding with each other and with
adjacent surfaces: about 1010 collisions per molecule per second at 10o C near sea level.
The mass of moving molecules can be expressed in terms of three interrelated
properties: pressure, density, and temperature.

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Figure 1.2 Vertical profile of pressure and density in the atmosphere.
Density is the mass of air molecules per unit volume. At sea level, the value of air
density is around 1.2 kgm-3. Air density decreases with increasing altitude.
Pressure is the cumulative effect of the push exerted by each molecular collision on its
surroundings. Pressure is defined as force per unit area. The unit of Pressure is N m -2,
or Pascal. Atmospheric pressure is often measured in millibars (mb).
1 millibar = 1mb= 100 Pa
100 Pa = 1 hecta-Pascal (or hPa).
Mean pressure at sea-level is 1013 mb. This pressure is exerted in all directions: up,
down, and to all sides. For equilibrium, the pressure exerted by an air parcel is exactly
balanced by the downward force exerted by the overlying air pulled by gravity. This
balance is known as hydrostatic equilibrium.
Atmospheric Pressure decreases with height in a similar manner as density. The
decrease in density is due to the gravity. Air molecules are in constant motion. Gravity
pulls all of them towards the Earth so that on average most molecules are at close to the
earth surface. Pressure decreases exponentially with altitude. At 80 km altitude the
atmospheric pressure is down to 0.01 mb (0.01 hPa), meaning that 99.999% of the
atmosphere is below that altitude. The higher the elevation, the fewer the atmospheric
molecules pressing down from above; the lower the elevation, the more molecules
pressing down. Standard Pressure at sea level is 1013.2 mb.

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Figure 1.3 Global-mean pressure as functions of altitude.
A pressure of 1000 mbar (100 kPa) results from the weight exerted by 10,000 kg of air
overlying one square metre of surface, accelerated by gravity (g= 10 m s-2). The huge
pressure does not crush us because it is exactly balanced by outward pressure from the
inside of our bodies. Ears popping due to change in altitude are the result of the pressure
difference between the inside of our heads and the surrounding air.
Pressure P and density  decrease nearly exponentially with height, i.e.,
−𝑧⁄
𝑝 = 𝑝0 𝑒 𝐻 (1.1)
where
H, the e-folding depth, is referred to as the scale height
p0 is the pressure at some reference level, (usually taken as sea level (z=0).
In the lowest 100 km of the atmosphere, the scale height ranges roughly from 7 to 8
km.
Dividing Eq. (1.1) by P0 and taking the natural logarithms yields,
𝑃 𝑧
𝑙𝑛 =− (1.2)
𝑃0 𝐻

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This relationship is useful for estimating the height of various pressure levels in the
Earth’s atmosphere.
Some key features of the atmosphere’s vertical structure:

 Pressure decreases smoothly with height. Surface pressure is
about 1013 hPa.
 Density decreases with height, mirroring the pressure. The
surface value is roughly 1.2 kg/m3.
Summary
 The atmosphere makes Earth livable. It blocks some of the Sun's dangerous rays
from reaching Earth. It traps heat, making Earth a comfortable temperature. It
contains oxygen which is essential for life
 The atmosphere is a mixture of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), and other gases
(1%) that surrounds Earth.
 Air pressure decreases exponentially with increasing altitude.
 Air density decreases with altitude, mirroring the pressure
Objectives
After reading this session you should be able to
 Explain the composition of Earth atmosphere
 Explain the vertical structure of the Earth’s atmosphere according to pressure
and density.

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1. Globally averaged surface pressure is 28 hPa lower than globally averaged
sealevel pressure (1013 hPa). Explain the statement.
2. Why doesn't the Moon have an atmosphere? Assume M = mass of moon

7.34767 x 10 22 kg, G = Gravitational Constant = 6.67384 x 10 -11 r = distance
between centers of mass = 1737400 m (radius of the Moon)
3. At approximately what height above sea level does half the mass of the
atmosphere lie above and the other half lie below? Assume an exponential
pressure dependence with 7.5 km scale height.

1.
The global mean pressure at the surface of the Earth is 984 hPa. It is slightly less than
the mean sea-level pressure because of the elevation of land.
2.
Moon isn't massive large enough to have a gravitational field sufficient to keep an
atmosphere over the long term.
The escape velocity is the exact amount of energy need to escape the gravitational
power of an object with mass. All objects have mas and thus measurable gravitational
strength. Escape velocity is the velocity at which an object can overpower that gravity.
The speed at which the kinetic energy of an object is equal to its gravitational potential
energy is the escape velocity
1 GMm
m 𝑉2 =
2 𝑅
2𝐺𝑀
𝑉=√
𝑅
G = Newton's universal constant of gravity = 6.67 x 10-11 N-m2/kg3

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M = the mass of the 'attracting object' (eg. the planet) [for moon 7.3476710 22 kg]
m = the mass of the object trying to escape (eg, mass of gas molecule) [ kg]
R = the distance between the centers of objects M and m (radius of the Moon 1737400
m)
v = the velocity of object m [ m/sec]
The escape velocity depends only on the mass and size of the object from which
something is trying to escape. Any velocity in excess of that velocity will be sufficient
for escape. If the values for the moon is applied, the escape velocity becomes: v =
2375.2 m/s, while it is 11.2 km/s for Earth. Any gas molecule, which is flying upwards
at greater that 2375.2 m/s velocity will escape the moon and not return. The speed of
molecules changes as they gain or lose energy from thermal influences or collisions.
Therefore, some molecules are slow and some are faster. With a considerable time
period, any gas molecules on the moon can leave it.
3.
Let Pm is the mean pressure level of half the mass of the atmosphere. The pressure at
the Earth’s surface is equal to the weight (per unit area) of the overlying column of air.
The same is true of the pressure at any level in the atmosphere.
𝑃0⁄
Hence, 𝑃𝑚 = 2
Where P0 is the global-mean sea-level pressure.
From Eq. (1.2)
𝑧𝑚 = −𝐻 𝑙𝑛0.5 = 𝐻 ln 2
Substituting H = 7.5 km,
𝑧𝑚 = −7.5 𝑘𝑚 × 𝑙𝑛0.5
= −7.5 𝑘𝑚 × ln 2
= −7.5 𝑘𝑚 × 0.693
= ~5.2 km

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Session 2
VERTICAL CHANGE OF TEMPERATURE
Content
Introduction
2.1 Vertical structure of the Atmosphere according to Temperature
2.2 Troposphere
2.3 Tropopause
2.4 Stratosphere
2.5 Stratopause
2.6 Mesosphere
2.7 Mesopause
2.8 Thermosphere
2.9 Exosphere
2.10 Ionosphere
Summary
Objectives
2.1 Introduction
The amount of gas present in the atmosphere, the temperature of the gas, and gravity
determine the structure of the Earth’s atmosphere. Temperature is proportional to the
average kinetic energy of an air molecule and varies greatly both vertically and
horizontally throughout the atmosphere (as well as temporally). However, despite
horizontal variations, the vertical structure of temperature is qualitatively similar
everywhere. In this chapter the observed vertical distribution of temperature is
discussed.

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2.1 Vertical structure of the Atmosphere according to

Temperature
Atmospheric structure is largely governed by temperature and divides into several
distinct spherical layers, or strata, separated by narrow transition zones. The
temperature structure of the atmosphere of the planet behaves in a manner dependent
upon the balance between heating from the sun's incoming radiation, heating from the
surface below, and properties inherent to the gases of the atmosphere itself. Each
atmospheric layer is characterized by differences in chemical composition that produce
variations in temperature. The upper boundary at which gases disperse into space
extends to several hundred kilometers above sea level. Being compressible, the air is
denser near the surface of the earth than at higher altitudes.
The atmosphere is divided into five layers. It is thickest near the surface and thins out
with height until it eventually merges with space.
1) Troposphere -The troposphere is the first layer above the surface and contains half
of the Earth's atmosphere. Weather occurs in this layer.
2) Stratosphere - Many jet aircrafts fly in the stratosphere because it is very stable. Also,
the ozone layer absorbs harmful rays from the Sun.
3) Mesosphere - Meteors or rock fragments burn up in the mesosphere.
4) Thermosphere - The thermosphere is a layer with auroras. It is also where the space
shuttle orbits.
5) Exosphere - The atmosphere merges into space in the extremely thin exosphere. This
is the upper limit of our atmosphere.
There are narrow transition zones in-between above layers, tropopause, stratopause and
Mesopause.
Figure 2.1 Atmospheric structure according to the temperature

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2.2 Troposphere
The troposphere is the atmospheric layer closest to the planet and contains the largest
percentage of mass of the total atmosphere. It is characterized by the density of its air
and an average vertical temperature change of approximately 6.5°C/km. In this layer,
temperature and water vapor composition decrease rapidly with altitude. Water vapor
is important in regulating air temperature because it absorbs solar energy and thermal
radiation from the planet's surface. The troposphere contains 99% of the water vapor
in the Earth's atmosphere. Water vapor concentrations vary with latitudinal position.
The concentrations are greatest above the tropics and decrease toward the Polar
Regions.
The upper boundary of the troposphere ranges in height from 8 km in high latitudes, to
18 km above the equator. Its height also varies with seasonal changes; it is highest in
the summer and lowest in the winter.
Temperatures in the troposphere decrease from a sea level average of 15°C at the
equator to about -55°C. There the troposphere layer is thickest, up to 20 km thick and
the air at the top of the troposphere can reach -75°C. At the poles, where the troposphere
layer is thinner, only 7 km thick, the minimum temperature reaches -45°C. It is also
indistinct in the winter when surface temperatures can be as cold as the air 7 km up.
This diagram shows this variation in the height of the troposphere:
Figure 2.2 Variation of the troposphere height with latitude. H and L denotes high and
low pressure areas
The troposphere is highest at the equator, where the giant Hadley cell circulates air from
the warm surface high up into the atmosphere. The cells are global convective wind
currents. Exceptionally tall towering thunderclouds tend to create around the equator
fueled by strong moisture-rich Hadley cell updrafts, in a band called the intertropical
convergence zone. The air coming back down at around 30° latitude has little moisture
left, and it this is the latitude where most of Earth's deserts exist.

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The troposphere is named after the Greek word "tropos" meaning "turning or mixing,"
which describes the turbulent activity within the layer. In general, weather is a
tropospheric phenomenon. Clouds frequently are found up to elevations of 9 km, and
rarely reach 13 km.
Why does air get colder with altitude?

Most of the Sun's energy is absorbed at the Earth's surface, the lowest level of the
atmosphere and heat is concentrated there.
When a parcel of air rises, it expands because the pressure it is under decreases.
When it expands, it pushes on the air around it, doing work. It doesn't gain heat as
its thermal conductivity is very low. Since the parcel of air does work but does not
gain heat, it loses net energy and so this is why its temperature decreases. Air
temperature decreases at a rate of about 6.5°C for every km in altitude, on average.
The thermal conductivity is much higher for soil, water etc., than for air and this is
why most of the Sun's energy goes right through the atmosphere and heats the
surface.
Weather
All weather is driven by density (which depends on temperature and moisture)

differences between different pockets of air. Therefore all of Earth's weather is
almost entirely confined inside the troposphere.
Many of these density differences are caused by differences in the incident angle
of sunlight striking different areas of Earth, so that some latitudes receive more
energy input than others. The strong contrast in air temperature between the poles
and the equator gives rise to a powerful global wind system called the jet stream.
The polar jet and the subtropical jet are the two main jet streams in Earth's
atmosphere.
In the tropics, weather systems are caused by a variety of different processes,
such as seasonal wind reversal in the case of South Asian monsoons. Local
differences in air temperature, and therefore air density, can be caused by
differences in cloud cover and surfaces with different reflectivity or moisture
content. These small disparities can merge to produce larger more complex
systems, such as violent thunderstorms.
2.3 Tropopause
A narrow zone called the tropopause separates the troposphere from the next highest
layer called the stratosphere. Air temperature within the tropopause remains constant
with increasing altitude. The height of the tropopause depends on the average
temperature of the entire air mass beneath it so it is highest at the equator and lowest at
the poles. Generally, the tropopause is higher in summer and lower in winter at all
latitudes. In some regions, the tropopause "breaks" and is difficult to locate mixing with

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stratospheric air. These breaks also indicate the position of jet streams which contain
high winds (often exceed 100 knots), that meander in a narrow channel.
2.4 Stratosphere
The stratosphere is the second major layer of air in the atmosphere. It resides between
10 and 50 km above the planet's surface. Stratosphere gets its name from the Greek
meaning "stratified layer." This layer of atmosphere is stratified into layers of different
temperatures. The layer is stratified with the denser, cooler air below the warmer,
lighter air. Coldest layers are closest to Earth and warmer layers are farther up.
The air temperature in the stratosphere remains constant up to an altitude of 25 km. It
then increases with altitude and very little air mixing occurs, as there is no mechanism
to drive convection. Since the stratosphere isn't turbulent this is where most planes like
to fly.
The temperature increases with height until it reaches about 10°C at an altitude of 48
km. The stratosphere ranges from temperatures typically around -60°C at its lowest
altitude to about -3°C near the top.
The primary reason that there is a temperature increase with altitude is that most of the
ozone is contained in the stratosphere. Ultraviolet light interacting with the ozone
causes the temperature increase. Solar energy is converted to kinetic energy when
ozone molecules absorb ultraviolet radiation in heating the stratosphere.
Even at stratosphere, rare and beautiful clouds, called nacreous clouds, can form. They
are mostly visible within two hours after sunset or before dawn, when they blaze with
unbelievably bright and slowly shifting shining colours.
Figure 2.3 Atmospheric Layers and clouds

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Stratospheric Ozone
Figure 2.4 Levels of ozone at various altitudes and blocking of different bands of
ultraviolet radiation.
Levels of ozone (light green) at various altitudes and blocking of different bands
of ultraviolet radiation. DU (Dobson unit) is the unit of amount of Ozone in a
vertical column through the Earth's atmosphere.
The stratification of temperature in the stratosphere comes from the absorption of
the Sun's energy by ozone gas. In the upper layers, ozone (O3) absorbs UVB and
UVC rays (two types of ultraviolet radiation) and splits into molecular (O2) and
atomic (O) oxygen gas. This takes place through a reaction called
photodissociation. Energy (in the form of UV radiation) is absorbed when ozone
bonds are broken to create oxygen ions. Oxygen ions are very reactive and quickly
combine with other atoms in the stratosphere. Although these reactions involve
both the breaking and making of chemical bonds, they are overall exothermic,
which means they release energy. That is why the upper layer, where the majority
of these reactions take place, is warmest. The mid layers have less UV radiation
passing through them, and less energy is released because fewer of these reactions
are taking place. Some heat is released, however, because O2 and O are able to
recombine here, an exothermic reaction, and this where most ozone is produced.
The lowest layers are coldest because much less photochemical activity takes place
there. There is no evidence yet of ozone depletion affecting stratospheric
temperatures.
The band of UV closest to visible light, UV-A (315–400 nm), is hardly affected by
ozone, and most of it reaches the ground. UVA does not cause skin reddening, but
there is evidence that it causes long-term skin damage

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Nacreous clouds
These clouds form well above tropospheric clouds, usually during the winter at
northern latitudes. They are so high up that they are fully lit by sunlight while
the rest of the sky is becoming dark. The stratosphere generally has no water
vapour so clouds cannot form. Occasionally, however, very powerful winds in
the troposphere can drive ice crystals far up into this layer. When these crystals
come into contact with temperatures of at least -85°C, unusually cold even for
the lower stratosphere, these brilliant clouds can form. Deep tropical convective
systems can occasionally break through the tropopause as well.
The stratified layers of gases in the stratosphere are quite stable because no convective
activity occurs here. Horizontal stratospheric circulation does occur, transporting ozone
and other gases. Almost all air enters the stratosphere over the tropics, and most of it
moves fairly rapidly east to west around the equator and west to east towards the poles.
2.5 Stratopause
The boundary between the stratosphere and mesosphere is called the stratopause. It is
the level that marks the maximum height of the stratosphere, at around 50 to 55 km. In
the stratopause, the temperature reaches a peak because of the heating generated by the
absorption of ultraviolet radiation by ozone molecules in the stratospheric ozone layer.
Above the stratopause, the temperature starts again to decrease with height as a result
of the reduced solar heating of ozone.
2.6 Mesosphere
The mesosphere extends from the stratopause to about 85 km above the earth
(approximately 50 km to 80 km). It is characterized by decreasing temperatures. The
gases, including the oxygen molecules, continue to become thinner and thinner with
height. As such, the effect of the warming by ultraviolet radiation also becomes less
and less decreasing the temperature with height. On average, temperature decreases
from about -15°C to as low as 120°C at the mesopause. However, the gases in the
mesosphere are thick enough to slow down meteorites entering into the atmosphere.
In the mesosphere, special clouds, called noctilucent clouds, can form. Other
mysterious phenomena, such as red sprites and blue jets, occur in the mesosphere as
well.

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Noctilucent clouds
The formation of noctilucent clouds requires a temperature of -90°C or lower at an
altitude of around 85 km (the mesosphere). Like stratospheric nacreous clouds, these
clouds are best observed at high latitudes, between 50 and 65°. But unlike nacreous
clouds, these are more likely to develop on summer nights. They tend to be bluish-
white and rich with undulations. In this photograph, these bright, sharp and eerie
clouds glow well after sunset:
They are made of tiny crystals of water ice and dust. The dust might come from
micrometeors or from volcanic eruptions. The water could be formed from the
reaction of methane with hydroxyl radicals in the stratosphere, or even the exhaust
from the space shuttles. These clouds are rare because water is so rare at this altitude,
and what little there is tends to be broken down by UV radiation from the Sun. The
mesosphere contains about 1 hundred millionth that of the air moisture in the Sahara
desert. These clouds were first known to be observed in 1885, two years after
Krakatoa erupted. It is not known if this was a coincidence or not, but more and more
of these clouds have been observed since then. Their relatively recent appearance may
be linked to climate change, but again, the link is not clear. It is difficult to study this
layer of the atmosphere because it is above the maximum altitude for almost all
aircraft and below the minimum altitude for orbital spacecraft.
Red sprites
Red sprites, which look like bright reddish-orange flashes, are large-scale electrical
discharges that occur high above thunderstorm clouds. They are often associated with
bluish white tendrils hanging below and arcing branches above. Despite often being
categorized as such, sprites are not lightning. They are cold plasma phenomena, a bit
like a fluorescent tube discharge, that are triggered by lightning in the troposphere
below. The physical mechanism responsible for sprite production is still unknown
but they seem to be linked to Earth's electrical field system and they may be part of
every medium to large thunderstorm.
Meteors
Millions of meteors enter Earth's atmosphere every day, with most of them melting
or vaporizing altogether as they collide with gas molecules and atoms in the
mesosphere. The vast majority of meteors are the size of a pebble or smaller, and
their glow as they collapse is not even visible from the ground. All these meteor
collisions add up to about 50 metric tons of material striking the atmosphere every
day, almost all of which evaporates, leaving sparse metal layers such as sodium
and potassium in the mesosphere as well as iron oxides and silica-rich nano size
particles. These particles, studied using radar data and rocket-borne in situ
techniques, are believed to be at extremely low densities in the mesosphere but
they may be what nucleates the rare noctilucent clouds that form in this layer.

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Blue Jets
Whereas sprites tend to form well above the tops of thunderstorm clouds, blue jets
tend to project directly upward from them, usually as a narrow cone. These
phenomena tend to form, as a result, lower in the atmosphere, often straddling the
stratosphere/mesosphere boundary, as shown in this image which compares them
with red sprites and lightning:
Figure 2.5 Upper atmospheric optical phenomena associated with thunderstorms,

Red sprites, blue jets and elves.
While sprites seem to be triggered by lightning strikes, blue jets appear to be more
strongly associated with intense hail activity. Blue jets are believed to be the result
of blue emission lines from neutral or ionized molecular (N2) nitrogen gas. Blue jets
are much rarer than red sprites.
2.7 Mesopause
The boundary between the mesosphere and the thermosphere is called the mesopause.
The mesosphere is the coldest region on Earth with temperatures as low as -80 to -100
°C. The mesopause is liable to be marked by noctilucent cloud composed of ice crystals.
Noctilucent clouds can see at 80-85 km high (at mesosphere) a few km below the
mesopause.

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2.8 Thermosphere
The Thermosphere is named according to a Greek word for heat and it extends from the
mesopause to 690 km above the earth. This layer is known as the upper atmosphere.
The gases of the thermosphere are increasingly thinner than in the mesosphere.
The temperature in thermosphere is hot and may be as high as thousands of degrees as
the few molecules that are present in the thermosphere receive extraordinary large
amounts of energy from the Sun. It is the hottest layer in the atmosphere. In the
thermosphere, molecules of oxygen and nitrogen are bombarded by radiation (UV and
X-ray) and energetic particles from the Sun, causing the molecules to split into their
component atoms and creating heat. Because of this absorption, the temperature
increases with height and can reach as high as 2000°C (3,600°F) during the daytime,
near the top of the layer when solar activity is at a maximum. However, the
thermosphere would actually feel very cold to us because of the probability that these
few molecules will hit our skin and transfer enough energy to cause appreciable heat is
extremely low. The total amount of energy from the very few molecules in this layer is
not sufficient enough to heat our skin.
The thermosphere is the thickest of all the atmospheric layers, beginning between 80
and 100 km above Earth and extending to between 500 and 1000 km. Its thickness
depends on solar activity.
This layer of atmosphere, the area of meteors, auroras and satellites, is where solar
radiation makes its first contact with Earth. When solar activity is high, UV radiation
from the Sun warms the thermosphere, causing it to "puff up like a marshmallow held
over a campfire." The opposite happens during low solar activity.
Below the thermosphere, all the atmospheric gases mentioned in the preceding article
are mixed together by turbulence, even in the stratosphere and mesosphere where some
stratification becomes evident. In this layer, however, different gases tend to form
separate layers (with little or no interaction between them) based on their atomic
weights. This layer, as a whole, contains mostly molecular oxygen, molecular nitrogen,
atomic oxygen, atomic nitrogen and helium gases.
Much of the most energetic, and therefore deadly, radiation from the Sun, such as
extreme and far UV radiation, as well as some X-ray radiation, is absorbed and blocked
out by the thermosphere (See Figure 2.6).
Although the gases in this layer are stratified, they circulate due to diurnal heating and
cooling, creating waves and tides, not unlike ocean tides. Gas ions as well as free
electrons and protons, all products of the splitting of gas molecules and atoms by
extreme radiation, move along in these tides and collide with neutral gases to produce
powerful electrical currents in some parts of the thermosphere. Auroras also occur in
the thermosphere.

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Figure 2.6 Thermosphere and radiation blocking
Aurora
Aurora (the Northern and Southern Lights) primarily occur in the thermosphere.
Charged particles (electrons, protons, and other ions) which originate in the
magnetosphere and solar wind collide with atoms and molecules in the
thermosphere at high latitudes, exciting them into higher energy states. Those
atoms and molecules shed this excess energy by emitting photons of light, which
we see as colorful auroral displays. Excitation energy is lost by emitting light at
specific wavelengths, depending on the atom or molecule that's energized.
Excited oxygen emits Green or brownish-red, depending on the amount of
energy absorbed. Excited nitrogen emits blue or red; blue if the atom regains an
electron after it has been ionized, red if returning to ground state from an excited
state. The most common colour for aurora is green, which comes from excited
oxygen atoms.
2.9 Exosphere
This is the uppermost layer of Earth's atmosphere. Its lower boundary is exobase
(thermopause) or critical level, which is highly variable, depending on how expanded
the thermosphere is beneath it. The lower boundary has sometimes been estimated to
be 500 to 1,000 km above the Earth's surface. The exosphere is a transitional zone
between earth's atmosphere and interplanetary space. The upper boundary of the
exosphere extends half the way to the Moon, about 190,000 km. It is defined as the

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distance where the influence of solar radiation on average atomic hydrogen velocity
overcomes the gravitational pull by the Earth.
The exosphere consists almost entirely of neutral hydrogen atoms, the lightest of all the
atmospheric gases. Here there are basically no atomic collisions, because atoms are so
far apart from each other. Collisions dominate the motion of gas atoms and molecules
beneath this boundary, but above it atoms are governed by ballistic motion, and with
sufficient velocity they can and do escape Earth's gravity. It all depends on the velocity
and trajectory. Other atoms, with the right trajectory and velocity, orbit Earth a long
time, as satellite gases.
The exosphere plays an important role in the plasma budget of Earth's magnetosphere.
It acts as a sink for charged particles, and there is a great influx of them during
geomagnetic storms. These charged particles can exchange energy with exospheric
neutral hydrogen, allowing them to return to their ground states, removing plasma and
restoring the exosphere to its pre-storm state.
Earth's magnetic field protects our atmosphere from being stripped away by solar
wind. It acts like an energy collector that interacts with the solar wind material and
draws energy out of it. However, Earth's magnetic field also funnels that energy and
guides it into the upper atmosphere (this occurs at the poles) and allowing atoms
and molecules to escape through the same funnels. There is no cause for alarm,
though, because the rate of atmospheric loss through both gravitational escape and
escape through the magnetic field is so low, it would take until the Sun becomes a
red giant, billions of years from now, to lose appreciable atmosphere.
2.10 Ionosphere
The ionosphere is a part of the upper atmosphere, from about 85 km to 600 km altitude,
comprising portions of the mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere, distinguished
because it is ionized by solar radiation. So technically, the ionosphere is not another
atmospheric layer. The ionosphere represents less than 0.1% of the total mass of the
Earth's atmosphere. Even though it is such a small part, it is extremely important. It
plays a significant part in atmospheric electricity and forms the inner edge of the
magnetosphere.
The ionosphere is the part of the atmosphere that is kept partially ionized by ultraviolet
light and X-rays from the Sun. It is divided into three main layers, D, E, and F, on the
basis of radio wave propagation properties.

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Figure 2.7 Ionospheric layers in the atmosphere. The right hand scale is kilometers and left
hand scale is in miles
Figure 2.8 Variations in the ionosphere during the day
The D layer, below about 80 km altitude, mainly absorbs radio waves. So-called sudden
ionospheric disturbances are due to enhancements of the daytime D layer caused by

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solar flares. Net ionization in the D layer is quite low in the daytime and disappears
altogether at night.
The E layer, between about 80 and 120 km, is reflective to short-wave radio and so can
be used to bounce signals between distant stations on the ground; however, day-night
variations in electron density result in marked variations in reflectivity.
The F layer, upward of 120 km altitude, is also reflective and divides during the day
into the F1 and F2 regions. The F2 region has the greater electron density, which peaks
at midday at an altitude of 250 to 300 km. The F1 region has a smaller peak in electron
density, which forms at around 170 km in the daytime.
Above the F region is a region of exponentially decreasing density known as the topside
ionosphere that extends to an altitude of a few thousand kilometers and, at mid-
latitudes, feeds into the plasmasphere.
Figure 2.9 Region of the Ionosphere in upper atmosphere, according to

temperature and electron density
This is the layer of atmosphere that is ionized by solar radiation and forms the inner
edge of the magnetosphere.

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Magnetosphere
The Earth and its abundant life are sheltered from the outbursts of the Sun by its
protective cocoon, the Magnetosphere. Without the protective shells of the
magnetosphere and the atmosphere, the Earth would be blasted by cosmic rays, very
energetic particles that come both from the Sun and from the galaxy. Cosmic rays from
a solar outburst can kill an unprotected person in space in just a few hours.
Along with the unseen benefits of the magnetosphere there are also risks. One effect is
magnetic storms. These occur when the Sun ejects more charged particles than normal.
When these strong solar winds collide with the magnetosphere they can wreak havoc
on electrical circuits that can cause blackouts and short out satellites.
Magnetosphere is formed when the stream of charged particles, in the solar wind,
interacts with and is deflected by the magnetic field of the planet Earth. The complex
interactions of the Earth's magnetic field with the solar wind give rise to a large number
of electric current systems. The action of the solar wind on the magnetosphere
compresses the magnetic field on the dayside and drags it into a long comet-like
magnetic tail, typically thousands of earth radii in length, on the nightside.
The auroral light is produced when energetic particles traveling along Earth's magnetic
field hit the ionosphere, exciting atoms of oxygen and nitrogen at altitudes of around
100 km. Aurora occur in a ring around Earth's north and south poles called the auroral
oval.
Summary
 Earth’s atmospheric can separate into layers according to differences in
temperature
 Layers from bottom to top: Troposphere, Tropopause, Stratosphere,
Stratopause, Mesosphere, Mesopause, Thermosphere
 The exosphere is a transitional zone between earth's atmosphere and
interplanetary space.
 The Ionosphere is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere which extends
throughout mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere.

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Objectives
 Describe the layers of the atmosphere.
 Differentiate the layers of the atmosphere based on variation of temperature.
 explain the significance of the layers and the boundaries between them
 Identify the types of weather and climate in each layer of the atmosphere
1. What is the basis for dividing the atmosphere into four layers?
2. Does the temperature increase or decrease with altitude in the troposphere?
Stratosphere? Mesosphere? Thermosphere?
3. What causes the temperature to increase with height through the stratosphere,
and decrease with height through the mesosphere?
4. What causes the temperature to decrease with height in the troposphere?
5. What is a temperature inversion and which layers of the atmosphere experience
it?
1- 4 . Refer the course material
5. When the temperature increases with altitude due to the layers contents that
absorb radiation –stratosphere (ozone) and thermosphere (molecular O2. ions)

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Session 3
ATMOSPHERIC BOUNDRY LAYER
Introduction
3.1 Atmospheric boundary layer characteristics
3.2 The importance of boundary layer
3.3 Boundary Layer forcing mechanisms
3.4 The wind and flow in the boundary layer
3.4.1 Mean Wind component in ABL
3.4.2 Waves in ABL
3.4.3 Turbulence in ABL
3.5 Boundary layer and free atmosphere characteristics
3.6 The Structure of the turbulent boundary layer
3.7.1 Boundary layer Structure over Ocean
3.7.2 Boundary layer Structure over land
Summary
Objectives
Introduction
The earth surface is a boundary on the domain of the atmosphere. Atmospheric

transport processes in this boundary modify the lowest 100 to 3000m (3 km) of the
atmosphere creating an atmospheric boundary layer. The remainder of the air in the
troposphere is known as “free atmosphere”. This chapter considers the physics of this
lowest portion of the atmosphere, boundary layer in which we live and breathe. It is
also where all our gaseous emissions are discharged. This part of the atmosphere is
highly turbulent and the physics affecting it form an essential element of environmental
fluid mechanics. The central processes are wind stirring (mechanical turbulence) and
diurnal convection (thermal turbulence). The session discusses the facts and physical
mechanisms of boundary layer.

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3.1 Atmospheric boundary layer characteristics

This lower portion is known as atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) or planetary
boundary layer (PBL) or just the boundary layer. ABL is defined as the “lowest part of
the atmosphere that is in direct interaction with the Earth's surface and responds to
surface forcings with a time scale of about an hour or less”.
The atmospheric boundary layer is typically 1 km deep during the day and ~100 m deep
during the night. Above the boundary layer is the free atmosphere (Figure 3.1).
Boundary layer depth is variable, typically between 100-3000 m
Figure 3.1 Vertical Structure of the lower atmosphere,

Adapted from Stull (1988), An Intro. To Boundary Layer Meteorology
3.2 The importance of boundary layer
 Most life is in the boundary layer.

 Pollution is trapped in the boundary layer (eg: smog)
 Weather is changed and maintained in the boundary layer (Daily weather
forecasts of temperature dew, fog, frost are actually boundary layer forecasts).
 Almost all water vapor that reaches the free atmosphere is transported through
the boundary layer by turbulence and advection.
 Cloud condensation nuclei are transported up from the surface by boundary
layer processes.
 Fog occurs in the boundary layer
 The primary energy source for the atmosphere is solar radiation, which is
generally absorbed by the surface. Boundary layer processes act to transmit
this energy to the rest of the atmosphere.
 Approximately 90% of the net radiation absorbed by oceans causes
evaporation. The latent heat stored in water vapor accounts for near 80% of
the fuel that drives atmospheric motions.
 Turbulent transport and advection move water and oxygen to and from plants.
 Crops are grown in the boundary layer, where pollen is distributed within.

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 Thunderstorm and cyclone evolution is connected to the inflow of moist

boundary layer air.
 Wind turbines extract energy from boundary layer flows.
 Wind stress on the ocean surface is the primary energy source for ocean
currents.
3.3 Boundary Layer forcing mechanisms

There are number of physical processes which modify boundary layer characteristics?
1. Heat transfer to and from the ground
2. Frictional drag
- The drag caused by the friction of a fluid against the surface of an
object that is moving through it.
3. Evaporation and transpiration
i. -Evaporation can be defined as the process where liquid water
is transformed into a gaseous state.
- Transpiration process is the release of water from plants through the
tiny openings in their leaves (stomata).
4. Terrain-induced flow modification

5. Pollution emission
3.4 The wind and flow in the boundary layer
Air flow (wind) can be divided into three broad categories, mean wind, waves and
turbulence (figure 3.2). All three can coexist and sum is the total wind. Horizontal
transport (advection) in the boundary layer is dominated by the mean wind while
vertical transport by the turbulence.
Figure 3.2 Wind components in the boundary layer

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3.4.1 Mean Wind component in ABL
Mean Wind component is mainly responsible for horizontal transport advection, the
horizontal transport of quantities such as moisture, heat, momentum, and pollutants.
These velocities are on the order of 2 to 10 m s-1. Though, vertical mean winds are much
smaller, on the order of cm s-1or mm s-1. Friction slows the winds near the surface, the
wind velocity is zero right at the surface.
3.4.2 Waves in ABL
Waves usually present in the night-time (nocturnal) boundary layer. Waves are
effective at transporting energy and momentum but not effective at transporting
humidity and pollution.
These waves can be generated by shear, mean flow over obstacles, thunderstorms,
explosions etc.
3.4.3 Turbulence in ABL
Turbulent flows are characterized by fluctuating dynamical quantities in space and time
in a “disordered” manner. Turbulence dominates the vertical transport of moisture, heat,
momentum, and pollutants in the lower atmosphere and makes the boundary layer
different from the rest of the atmosphere. Turbulence allows the boundary layer to
respond to changes in surface forcing (e.g.: daytime heating).
Turbulence occur due to
 Solar heating: heating air generates thermals, which are large and intense
eddies in the boundary layer.
 Frictional drag: Causes wind shear that causes eddies of different sizes. This
allows the boundary layer to respond to surface forcing at shorter timescales.
 Obstacles: Deflected flow around obstacles such as trees and buildings, create
turbulent wakes downstream of the obstacle.
Turbulence can be visualized as irregular swirls of motion called eddies as in figure

3.2. Turbulence consists of superimposed eddies of different sizes. The strengths of
these eddies define the turbulence spectrum.
The figure 3.3 shows difference between laminar and turbulent flow, considering the
atmosphere as a fluid system. The stream lines are shown in a case of tracer transport.
The straight, parallel thick lines are streamlines, which are everywhere parallel to the
mean flow. In laminar flow the fluid particles follow the streamlines exactly, as shown
by the linear dye trace in the laminar region. In turbulent flow eddies of many sizes are
superimposed onto the mean flow.

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Figure 3.3 laminar and turbulent flow

Adapted from MIT’s Velocity Profiles and Turbulence Open Courseware, 2002
3.5 Boundary layer and free atmosphere characteristics
A comparison of atmospheric characteristics, temperature, turbulence, vertical motion

and associated frictional drag of boundary layer and free atmosphere is shown in table
3.1.
Table 3.1 Comparison of boundary layer and free atmosphere characteristics.

(Adapted from Stull, 1988)
Property Boundary Layer Free Atmosphere
Temperature ABL responds to changes in Free atmosphere responds to

ground temperatures over a changes in ground
period of less than an hour temperatures over longer
period
Turbulence Nearly continuously turbulent Mostly Laminar. Turbulence
over its whole depth exist in some systems like
convective clouds
Vertical Transport Turbulence dominates Mean wind dominates (slow
vertical transport)
Friction Strong drag against the earth's Small viscous dissipation.

surface. Large energy
dissipation

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3.6 The Structure of the turbulent boundary layer
3.6.1. Boundary layer Structure over Ocean
The boundary layer depth varies slowly over ocean in space and time. There is less
diurnal change of sea surface temperature due to the mixing and high heat capacity of
water. Thus, slowly varying sea surface temperature means a slowly varying forcing
in to the boundary layer.
High heat capacity of water

high heat capacity of water means the water can
absorb large amount of heat from the sun with
relatively less temperature changes.
Over both land and oceans, the general nature of the boundary layer is to be thinner in
high-pressure regions than in low-pressure regions (Figure 3.4)
Figure 3.4 Schematic of synoptic - scale variation of boundary layer depth between
centers of surface high (H) and low (L) pressure. The dashed line shows the
maximum height reached by surface modified air during a one-hour period. (Adapted
from Stull, 1988)
In low pressure regions the upward motions carry boundary-layer air away from the
surface to large altitudes throughout the troposphere. There, it is difficult to define a
boundary-layer top and often use cloud base as an arbitrary cut-off for boundary layer

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studies in in such a situation. Therefore, in the low-pressure region, ABL tend to be

deeper, due to ascending motion.
ABL is usually shallower in the high-pressure regions due to descending motion above
(subsidence - sinking of air), pushing the ABL top down. ABL horizontal divergence
also decreases the height. Shallower depths of ABL are often associated with cloud-
free regions.
Subsidence
Subsidence or sinking of air in the Earth's atmosphere, is often caused by low
temperature. As the air cools, the air becomes denser and moves towards the
ground.
Convergence and divergence in atmosphere

Convergence and divergence in atmosphere is the accumulation or drawing
apart of air. Usually convergence and divergence denote horizontal inflow and
outflow of air. The convergence of horizontal winds causes air to rise, whereas
the divergence of horizontal winds causes downward motion of the air.
3.6.2. Boundary layer Structure over land
Over land, the boundary layer has a well-defined structure because it is closely tied to
surface variability. During a clear day, (i.e.fair-weather -without strong convection or
vertical lifting), the boundary layer over land surfaces has a well-defined structure that
evolves with the diurnal cycle (Fig 3.5 and 3.6). There are three major components in
this structure. Those are the mixed layer, the residual layer, and the stable boundary
layer. When clouds are present in the mixed layer, the mixed layer is further subdivided
into a cloud layer 'and a sub-cloud layer.
At and shortly after sunrise, surface heating generates thermals - turbulent eddies to
develop, producing a mixed layer whose depth grows to a maximum depth in late
morning.
At the sunset, the deep surface cooling creates a stable (nocturnal) boundary layer,
above which is a residual layer, basically the leftover part of the daytime mixed layer.
Stability
The tendency of air masses to move up or down is termed its stability.
Unstable air masses are prone to vertical movements, while stable air resists
vertical motion.

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At all time, near the surface, at 20 to 100 m of the ABL (about 0.1 of the ABL height),
intense small scale turbulence generated by surface roughness and convection. It is also
called surface layer or constant-flux layer. It is the layer in which human beings,
animal and vegetation live.
Free atmosphere air is entrained into the mixed layer: less turbulent air is entrained into
turbulent air. This is entrainment zone (EZ). Mixed-layer depth is the distance between
the ground and the middle of the EZ.
Entrainment
Entrainment is a phenomenon of the atmosphere which occurs when a
turbulent flow captures a non-turbulent flow.
At night, turbulence in the EZ ceases, leaving a non-turbulent layer called the capping
inversion (CI). At the top of the mixed layer, there is usually a stable layer to stop the
turbulent eddies from rising further. It is an extension of the daytime entrainment zone.
When the layer is very stable (so that the temperature increases with height instead of
usual decreasing with height in the troposphere), it is usually called capping inversion.
Cloud formation from the lower layer is "capped" by this inversion layer. If the capping
inversion layer or "cap" is too strong (too close to the surface), it will prevent
thunderstorms from developing. A strong cap can result in foggy conditions.
Figure 3.5 Components of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) during fair weather
over land. (Adapted from Stull, 1988)

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Inversion
An inversion occurs when the normal temperature (warm air below,
cold air above) profile is reversed, creating a stable configuration of
dense, cold air sitting below lighter, warm air.
Figure 3.6 Variation of temperature in the atmospheric boundary layer with height
during day and night (from Jacobson, 1999)
Layers in the ABL from bottom to up:

• Surface layer: strong gradient, very vigorous turbulence
• Mixed layer : well-mixed, vigorous turbulence
• Entrainment layer: inversion, intermittent turbulence
Summary
 The troposphere is divided into the boundary layer and the free
troposphere.
 The planetary boundary layer (PBL) or atmospheric boundary layer
(ABL) is the lower part of the atmosphere in which the flow is strongly
influenced by interactions with the earth's surface. Above the PBL is the
free atmosphere
 Air flow in the boundary layer can be divided into mean wind, waves and
turbulence
 Over both land and oceans, the general nature of the boundary layer is to
be thinner in high-pressure regions than in low-pressure regions.

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 Daytime: boundary layer is thick (up to 1km), dominated by convective

plumes rising from hot ground (turbulent).
 Night-time: boundary layer collapses to a few hundred meters (stably
stratified).
Objectives
 Explain the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) and its characteristics
 Identify the difference between boundary layer and free atmosphere.
 Explain the boundary layer structure over ocean an dland
 Explain the vertical structure of the ABL and its diurnal variation.
1. How does the ABL evolve during the day time?
2. Explain the main 2 changes happening in the ABL at sunset.
3. Explain and interpret the following:
a. Air pollution is often trapped within the boundary layer.
b. Boundary layers over deserts are often much deeper than over vegetated
terrain.
c. Birds soar during daytime over land, not usually at night.

1. Refer the course material
2. Explain the main 2 changes happening in the ABL at sunset.
I. Around sunset, long wave radiation cools the ground to

temperatures less than the overlying air temperature, and two
things happen

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II. Thermals cease, allowing turbulence to decay in the former

mixed layer. This former mixed layer is now called the residual
layer because it contains the residual moisture, heat, and
pollutants.
III. The cold surface cools the air near the ground, transforming the
bottom of the residual layer into a gradually deepening,
nocturnal stable boundary layer
3. Explain and interpret the following:
a. Air pollution is often trapped within the boundary layer.
The air is very well mixed within boundary layer due to the amount of
turbulence that exists. At the top of the boundary layer, there exists an
inversion (i.e. a very stable layer) which effectively creates a barrier.
There is very little mixing between the air in the boundary layer and the
air in the free atmosphere above this stable layer, so air pollution that
exists in the boundary layer is therefore trapped there. The depth of the
boundary layer is usually between 1 and 2 kilometres. It can vary
considerably over even quite a short period of time. Clearly, the deeper
the boundary layer, the more space the pollutants have to ‘mix’ in,
therefore meaning lower pollution levels at ground. Exceedingly high
concentrations are most probably caused by an extremely shallow
boundary layer, causing all the pollutants to be trapped closer to the
ground.
b. Boundary layers over deserts are often much deeper than over
vegetated terrain.
The thickness of the PBL depends on the intensity of this surface heating
and the amount of water evaporated into the air from the biosphere. In
general, the greater the heating of the surface, the deeper the PBL. Over
deserts, the PBL may extend up to 4,000 or 5,000 metres in altitude. In
contrast, the PBL is less than 1,000 metres thick over ocean areas, since
little surface heating takes place there because of the vertical mixing of
water.
c. Birds soar during daytime over land, not usually at night.
Thermals are ascending currents during the daytime that typically

extend from the ground up to the base of the clouds in the boundary
layer. Birds and gliders use these thermals to fly with a reduced
expenditure of energy. They cannot do this at night with the absence of
thermals during night.

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Session 4
WIND
Contents
Introduction
4.1 Horizontal Pressure Distribution
4.2 Pressure Gradient Force (PGF)
4.3 Coriolis force
4.4 Centrifugal force (Ce)
4.5 Frictional force (Fr)
Summary
Objectives
Introduction
Wind can be defined simply as air in motion. Wind results from a horizontal difference
in air pressure. The sun heats different parts of the Earth differently, causing pressure
differences, the driving force for most winds. Air pressure is unevenly distributed. Air
attempts to balance the uneven distribution of pressure. Hence, it moves from high
pressure areas to low pressure areas. Horizontal movement of air in response to
difference in pressure is termed as wind while vertical or nearly vertical moving air is
called air current. Both winds and air currents form the system of circulation in the
atmosphere. In most cases the horizontal component of wind flow greatly exceeds the
flow that occurs vertically.
4.1 Horizontal Pressure Distribution

Wind develops as a result of spatial differences in atmospheric pressure that occur due
to uneven absorption of solar radiation at the Earth's surface (Figure 4.1).

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Figure. 4.1 Formation of wind as a result of localized temperature differences.

Generally, the horizontal distribution of atmospheric pressure is not uniform in the
world. It varies from time to time at a given place. It also varies from place to place
over short distances. This horizontal difference in atmospheric pressure cause air to
move and, hence, the wind to blow.
The distribution of atmospheric pressure over the globe is known as horizontal
distribution of pressure. It is shown on maps using isobars, the lines connecting points
that have equal values of pressure. Isobars are analogous to the contour lines on a
topographic map. The spacing of isobars expresses the rate and direction of change in
air pressure. This change in air pressure is referred to pressure gradient. Pressure
gradient is the ratio between pressure difference and the actual horizontal distance
between two points. Close spacing of isobars expresses steep pressure gradient while
wide spacing indicates gentle pressure gradient (figure 4.2).
The greater the difference in air pressure between the two points means steeper the
pressure gradient and higher the wind speed. Conversely, the gentler the pressure
gradient means lower the wind speed.
Figure 4.2 Relationship between Pressure Gradient and Winds

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Winds are driven by forces acting on air. But these forces can be altered by heat and
moisture carried by the air. There is more than one force may act upon an object in the
atmosphere. Newton’s second law can use to estimate net effect, or total force. An
object will always accelerate in the direction of the total force acting on it. These forces
include
1. Pressure Gradient Force (Pg) - causes horizontal pressure differences and
winds
2. Coriolis Force (Co) - A force exerted on any moving object due to the rotation
of the earth causes deflection of the object to the right of its direction of travel
(i.e., clockwise) in the Northern Hemisphere, or to the left (anticlockwise) in
the Southern Hemisphere.
3. Friction (Fr) - very little effect on air high in the atmosphere, but significant
near surface.
4. Centrifugal Force (Ce) - An object traveling in a circle behaves as if it is
experiencing an outward force.
In addition gravity (G) also causes vertical pressure differences and winds. Because the
earth is rotating, the effective gravity (g) in atmosphere is the vectorial sum of the true
gravitational attraction (g* ) that draws all elements of mass toward Earth’s centre of
mass and centrifugal force (Ce). Here RA is the distance from the axis of rotation.
g = g* + 2RA.
The wind is a result of all these forces, the net force acting on an atmospheric mass.
Figure 4.3 The relationship between gravitational and gravity forces.
4.2 Pressure Gradient Force (PGF)

Pressure varies with height and creat vertical pressure gradient force. But this balances
by the weight of the air in a volume. When there is pressure gradient force due to
horizontal pressure variation, it initates movemnet of atmospheric mass, creating winds.

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Pressure Gradient Force is expressed as force per unit mass, directed from high to low
pressure.
Figure 4.4 The direction of pressure gradient force (represent in arrow) in a contour
map.
On a contour map of pressure at a given altitude above sea level, PGF is acting from
high to low pressure (Figure 4.4) and PGF is largest where contours are closest.
Generally, only small pressure gradients exist across large spatial scales such as
1mb/100km. But in smaller scale weather features, such as hurricanes and tornadoes,
larger pressure gradients can observe across small areas (1mb/6km).
When there is a difference in horizontal air pressure, there is net force acting on the
air. This force is called as Pressure gradient force (PGF)
Difference in pressure
Preasure Gradient 
Distance
Figure4.5 Pressure forces acting on a air parcel (a box of air) in x-direction

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Consider a volume of air 𝑑𝑣 = 𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑧 .

The mass of the air in this Volume 𝑚 = 𝜌 . 𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑧
Consider the pressure exerted on this volume of air in only the x - direction
If there are equal and opposite pressure exerting on the two sides (in left (l) and Right
(r) ) of the volume the pressure difference (dP) is Zero.
The force exerted on the left (l) side = 𝑃 . 𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑧

Force exerted on the right (r) side = (𝑃 + 𝑑𝑃) . 𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑧
If dP  0, there is an imbalance between the forces in left and the right side of the
volume. Then air would move from right to the left. If dP is negative  dP  the air
would move left to the right.
Force due to pressure difference dP in positive x – direction, considering left to right
as positive x direction.
𝐹 = −𝑑𝑃 . 𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑧
Substitute Newton’s second law F  ma here is the acceleration resulting from the
pressure gradient. In x – direction.
`𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝜌 𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑧 𝑎𝑥
− 𝑑𝑃. 𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑧 = 𝜌 𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑧 𝑎𝑥
1 𝑑𝑃
𝑎𝑥 = −
𝜌 𝑑𝑥
The effects of the pressure gradients are usually expressed in terms of acceleration,
instead of force. As acceleration is force per unit mass, in terms of force,
force 1 dP
ax   , (Assuming the pressure difference only in the x – direction)
mass  dx
By analogy, the gradient in the y direction is

1 dP
ay  
 dy
1 dP 1 dP
ax   and a y   are horizontal components of pressure gradient force.
 dx  dy

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dP
Making use of hydrostatic equation,   g
dz
Components of horizontal pressure gradient force can be expressed as
1 𝑑𝑃 1 𝑑𝑧 𝑑𝑧
𝑎𝑥 = − = − 𝜌𝑔 = −𝑔 ( )
𝜌 𝑑𝑥 𝜌 𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥
and
𝑑𝑧
𝑎𝑦 = −𝑔 ( )
𝑑𝑦
On weather maps, pressure-gradient force is at right angles to the height contours
(isobars), directly from high heights (high pressures) to low (Figure 4.5). Greater
gradients (on weather maps closely packed contours with smaller spacing Δd) cause
greater pressure-gradient force (Fig. 4. 6). Pressure-gradient force is independent of
wind speed, and thus can act on winds of any speed (including calm) and direction.
Figure4.6 weather map of isobars (pressure contour map). The dark arrow shows the
direction of pressure-gradient force FPg from high pressure (H) to low (L) pressure.
This force is perpendicular to the isobars (solid curved lines). Adapted from Practical
meteorology, Stull, 2015.
Considering to the map, the horizontal components of pressure-gradient force are
(𝐹𝑃𝑔 ) ∆𝑧
𝑥
= −|𝑔|
𝑚 ∆𝑥
𝑦
= −|𝑔|
𝑚 ∆𝑦
Extending this analogy of slope, the magnitude of pressure-gradient force is
𝐹𝑃𝑔 1 ∆𝑃 ∆𝑧
| | = | . | = |𝑔. |
𝑚 𝜌 ∆𝑑 ∆𝑑
Where, Δd is distance between height contours.

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4.3 Coriolis force
Coriolis force describes an apparent force that is due to the rotation of the earth. It is
zero at the equator. Coriolis force is one of the major factors that determine weather
patterns.
The Earth rotates at an angular velocity () in counter-clockwise direction as viewed
from the North Pole. If an object starts at the North Pole and moves toward the equator
in a straight-line path, the object will appear to deflect to the right of its intended path,
because of the earth’s rotation while it moves. This deflection is called the Coriolis
Effect. If the earth did not rotate, an object would continue on a straight-line path
without any deflection. The amount of deflection varies with latitude, the speed of the
object and the rotation of the earth. The deflection is greatest at the poles and decreases
to zero at the equator.
The Coriolis Effect can be seen in action in the general circulation of the atmosphere.
The air deflects toward the right in the Northern Hemisphere and toward the left in the
Southern Hemisphere, resulting in curved paths. (Figure. 4.7) The Coriolis Effect does
not impact the wind speed, only the wind direction. The Coriolis Effect impacts objects
on a large scale and does not generally have a big influence on small scale objects at
the earth’s surface. However, hurricanes are small scale compared to the overall globe,
hurricanes need the Coriolis Effect to help develop the circular motion of their
circulations. Tornadoes are not impacted by the Coriolis Effect because they are so
small in scale and short in duration. The direction water goes down the drain is also not
impacted by the Coriolis Effect.
The magnitude of Coriolis force (Figure 4.8) depends on
1. The rotation of the Earth
2. The speed of the moving object
3. Its latitudinal location.
• The stronger the speed (such as wind speed), the stronger the
Coriolis force.
• The higher the latitude, the stronger the Coriolis force.

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Figure 4.7 The directions of Coriolis force in Northern and Southern hemispheres.
The angular velocity of rotation of the Earth (Ω ) is

2𝜋 𝑟𝑎𝑑 2𝜋 𝑟𝑎𝑑
Ω= = ~7.3 × 10−5 𝑟𝑎𝑑 𝑠 −1
1 𝑑𝑎𝑦 24 × 3600 𝑠
Figure4.8 The horizontal components of Coriolis force

The Coriolis acceleration (or force per unit mass) acting on a object viewed in a rotating
frame of reference is equal to twice the product of the angular velocity and the speed of
the object. The direction of the force and acceleration is perpendicular to the motion.

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The Coriolis acceleration (aco) and force (Fco) experienced by an object of mass m that
moving with velocity c in the plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation are as below.
𝑎𝐶𝑜 = −2 Ω × 𝑐
𝐹𝐶𝑜 = −2𝑚 Ω × 𝑐
Only the horizontal component of the Coriolis force is relevant in the atmosphere
because,
 the vertical component is small compared to the gravitational force
 vertical speeds are small compared to horizontal speeds
 the vertical extension of the atmosphere, in particular the troposphere is
small
When the forces and the motions are represented in a spherical coordinate system, the
horizontal component of the Coriolis force 𝐹𝐶𝑜 arising from the horizontal motion with
wind speed U can
𝐹𝐶𝑜
= −𝑓(𝐤 × 𝐔)
𝑚
Where coefficient f the Coriolis parameter is

𝑓 = 2 Ω sin 𝜆
Here, 𝜆 is latitude and k is the local vertical unit vector k =(0, 0, 1), defined as positive
upward. Where U is the horizontal velocity vector with (x, y, z) components as U = (u,
v, 0). Then the horizontal components of Coriolis force are
(𝐹𝐶𝑜 )𝑦
= −𝑓𝑢 = −2Ω𝑢 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜆
𝑚
(𝐹𝐶𝑜 )𝑥
= 𝑓𝑣 = 2Ω𝑣 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜆
𝑚
The Coriolis parameter; f is positive in the northern hemisphere, negative in the
southern hemisphere, and zero at the equator. The Coriolis force is directed toward the
right of the horizontal velocity vector in the northern hemisphere and to the left of it in
the southern hemisphere.

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 The Coriolis force is directed toward the right in the Northern Hemisphere
and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.
 The Coriolis force is largest at the poles and 0 at the equator.
 At the pole, the Coriolis acceleration is of the order of 2ΩU=10-3 m s-2
(Assuming U = 5 m/s wind speed) which is small compared to g but
significant for large movements.
 Since − (𝐤 × 𝐔) is a vector rotated 90° to the right of U, it shows that the
Coriolis force deflects and changes only the direction of motion, not the
speed.
 The magnitude of the Coriolis acceleration is linear in speed, and is given
as
|𝑎𝐶𝑜 | = 𝑓|𝑈|
Where |𝑈| is the magnitude of the velocity (speed).
4.4 Centrifugal force (Ce)

Centrifugal force (Latin for "center fleeing") describes the tendency of an object
following a curved path to fly outwards, away from the center of the curve. It's not
really a force; it results from inertia (the tendency of an object to resist any change in
its state of rest or motion). Centripetal force is a real force that counteracts the
centrifugal force and prevents the object from "flying out," keeping it moving instead
with a uniform speed along a circular path.
In a rotating reference frame (as planet Earth), all objects, irrespective of their state of
motion, appear to be under the influence of a radially (from the axis of rotation) outward
force that is proportional to their mass, to the distance from the axis of rotation of the
frame (Earth’s North-South axis), and to the square of the angular velocity of the frame
(Figure 4.9). This is defined as the centrifugal force.
Figure 4.9 Centripetal force and Centrifugal force in rotating plane. Here the radius of
curvature is denoted in r and mass of the object in m.

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If r is the distance from the axis of rotation and V= (u, v) is the horizontal wind velocity
of the object, the magnitude of the centrifugal force, 𝐶𝑒 is,
𝑚 𝑉2
|𝐹𝐶𝑒 | = 𝑚 𝛺 2 𝑟 =
𝑟
𝐹𝐶𝑒 2
𝑉2
| |= 𝛺 𝑟=
𝑚 𝑟
Where, wind speed, V is the net magnitude of the horizontal wind components u and v
according to
𝑉 = √𝑢2 + 𝑣 2
Due to the rotation of Earth, the centrifugal force act on every object in the Earth and it
is always directed away from the axis of rotation. Therefore, the centrifugal force act
opposite to the earth’s gravitational force, reducing the weight of an object (Figure
4.10). Thus, the weight of an object over equator is slightly lower than poles.
Figure 4.10 The slight reduction of weight due to centrifugal force at different
latitudes
• The Coriolis force is an apparent force that occurs when a body moves on a
rotating frame.
• The centrifugal force is an apparent force when an object is on a rotation frame.
Based on these definitions, the difference between two forces are
• The centrifugal force can occur when an object is at rest on a rotating frame;
•The Coriolis force occurs only when an object is moving relative to the rotating
frame.

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Greater centrifugal force at the equator causes an equatorial bulge, a difference between
the equatorial and polar diameters of the Earth. The Earth has an equatorial bulge of
42.77 km (Figure 4.11). Therefore, the Earth shape tends to form an oblate spheroid
rather than a sphere.
Figure 4.11 The slight reduction of Sea level and Earth surface at the equator than at
poles.
4.5 Frictional force (Fr)

Friction force is a drag force acting in a direction opposite the motion of the air and,
hence, reduces wind speed. The drag on the air occur by the features of earth's surface
(e.g., plants, trees, buildings, mountains, etc.). Its greatest effect is near the earth's
surface and rapidly decreases with height (within lowest 1 km). Frictional forces are
small over frozen lakes and large in forests. Frictional force occur due to the mixing of
air parcels moving at different speeds. This mixing is referred to as turbulence.
There are three sources which generate turbulence (Figure 4.12) eddies to give rise to
the frictional force.
1. Mechanical turbulence: occurs when air encounters surface roughness
(obstructions on the surface). Mechanical turbulence is larger over a rough
surface than over a smooth surface.
2. Thermal turbulence: occurs when air near Earth’s surface get heated and
rises mixing the air above. Thermal turbulence is most common during the
day.
3. Shear induced turbulence: occurs when the wind speed changes rapidly over
a short distance. Shear induced turbulence is largest when the wind shear is
large.

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Figure 4.12 The sources that generate turbulence eddies causing frictional force
The shear stress is produced when layers of fluid are slipping relative to each other.
Then the frictional force (per unit mass) is given by the equation
1 𝜕𝜏
𝐹=
𝜌 𝜕𝑧
Where 𝜏 represents the vertical component of the shear stress in units of N m-2 due
to the presence of smaller, unresolved scales of motion (Figure 4.13).
𝜕𝑽
𝜏=𝝁
𝜕𝑧
Here μ, is known as the dynamic viscosity coefficient of the fluid
Figure 4.13 The shear stress on a surface element aligned in a plane of constant z
The fluid is flowing in the X-direction over a plane wall (z=0), with velocity V.
The rate of vertical mixing that is occurring at any particular level and time depends
on the strength of the vertical wind shear 𝜕𝑉/𝜕𝑧 and on the intensity of the
unresolved motions.
The frictional force represents the collective effects of all scales of motion in the
equations of motion. Throughout most of the atmosphere friction is so small that it
can be safely neglected. However, motions in the planetary boundary layer
(generally < 1 km in altitude) experience a frictional drag force that is comparable
in magnitude to other terms in the equations of motion. So it must be included.

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The shear stress 𝝉𝒔 at the Earth’s surface is in the opposing direction to the surface
wind vector𝑽𝒔 . (i.e., it is a “drag” on the surface wind) and can be approximated
by the experiential relationship
𝜏𝑠 = −𝝆𝑪𝑫 𝑽𝒔 𝒗𝒔
where 𝝆 is the density of the air, 𝑪𝑫 is a dimensionless drag coefficient, the
magnitude of which varies with the roughness of the underlying surface and the
static stability, 𝑽𝒔 is the surface wind vector, and 𝒗𝒔 is the (scalar) surface wind
speed.
Friction is especially important in mountainous regions and in urban areas.
Summary
 Wind is caused by pressure differences in the atmosphere, which set the air in
motion.
 The forces that act on the air are
1. Pressure Gradient Force (PGF) –Force caused by the difference in air
pressure on opposite sides of the air parcel. The pressure gradient force
initiates movement of atmospheric mass, wind, from areas of higher to
areas of lower pressure
2. Coriolis force (CF) – This force due to the rotation of Earth. It is

proportional to speed, and always acts to the right of the motion in the
Northern Hemisphere (and to the left of the motion in the Southern
Hemisphere).
3. Centrifugal force (Ce) -the apparent force that is felt by an object

moving in a curved path that acts outwardly away from the center of
rotation
4. Friction (Fr) – Friction always acts to slow the air down, so it is always
acting opposite to the direction of motion.
Objectives

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 Explain the pressure gradient force

 Identify the forces which drives wind
 Describe the impact of pressure, friction, and rotational motion on winds.
1. Calculate the (a) Coriolis parameter (b) horizontal components of Coriolis
force at a place with latitude 48.874°N and wind (North) of 15 m s-1.
2. As in figure below, there is a high-pressure system. The wind is 5 m s–1 from

500 km east of the high-pressure center. Assuming North Hemisphere, what is
the centrifugal force?
3. If the height of the 50 kPa pressure surface decreases by 10 m northward

across a distance of 500 km, what is the pressure-gradient force?
1. Calculate the (a) Coriolis parameter (b) horizontal components of Coriolis

force at a place with latitude 48.874°N and wind (North) of 15 m s–1.
(a) 𝑓 = 2· sin (λ)

= 2 x (0.729 211 6 x 10–4 s–1) x sin(48.874°) = 1.1x10–4 s–1.
(b) Given: v = –15 m s–1 and assume u = 0 because given information is only
about north wind. Thus,
𝐹
Using 𝐶𝑜 = −𝑓(𝐤 × 𝐔)
𝑚

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(𝐹𝐶𝑜 )𝑦
= −𝑓𝑢 = −2Ω𝑢 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜆 =0
𝑚
(𝐹𝐶𝑜 )𝑥
= 𝑓𝑣 = 2Ω𝑣 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜆 = (1.1x10– 4 s–1 ) x (–15 m s –1 ) = –1.65x10–3ms–2
𝑚
2. As in figure below, there is a high-pressure system. The wind is 5 m s–1 from 500
km east of the high-pressure center. Assuming North Hemisphere, what is the
centrifugal force?
u = 0, and v = – 5 m s–1 therefore |𝑉| = 5 m s–1

r =5x105 m
𝐹 𝑉2 52 𝑚2 𝑠−2
Apply eq. | 𝑚𝐶𝑒 | = = = 5 x10–5 m·s–2.
𝑟 5 ×105 𝑚
3. If the height of the 50 kPa pressure surface decreases by 10 m northward across

a distance of 500 km, what is the pressure-gradient force?
Given: Δz = –10 m, Δy = 500 km, |g|= 9.8 m·s–2

Use eqs.
𝑥
= −|𝑔| ∆𝑥 = 0
𝑚
∆𝑧
because it is given that the pressure difference is northward only. then ∆𝑥 = 0
(𝐹𝑃𝑔 ) ∆𝑧 −10𝑚
𝑦
= −9.8 𝑚𝑠 −2 (
= −|𝑔| )
𝑚 ∆𝑦 500, 000 𝑚
−10𝑚 because pressure surface decreases by 10 m
(𝐹𝑃𝑔 )
𝑦
= 0.000196 𝑚𝑠 −2
𝑚
A northward force is in the positive y direction, which explains the positive sign
of the answer

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Session 5
HORIZONTAL WINDS
Contents
Introduction
5.1 The Horizontal Equation of Motion
5.2 Geostrophic Balance
5.3 Geostrophic Wind
5.4 Gradient Winds
Summary
Objectives
Introduction
In the atmosphere multiple forces act on the air. The sum of these forces gives the net
acceleration of the air. If we consider horizontal and vertical accelerations of the air
separately, the major forces associated with each motions are:
Vertical motion:
Acceleration = vertical PGF + gravitational force
Horizontal Motion:
For horizontal motions we will think about air within the boundary layer and air above
the boundary layer separately.
Horizontal motion above the boundary layer:
Acceleration = horizontal PGF + CF
Horizontal motion within the boundary layer:
Acceleration = horizontal PGF + CF + frictional force
Here PGF and CF denote pressure gradient force and Coriolis force respectively.
In this chapter, only the horizontal motions above the boundary layer will be discussed.
Therefore, winds that occur at least few kilometers above Earth’s surface where, the
effects of the friction are negligible, will be considered.

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5.1 The Horizontal Equation of Motion

The equation of motion for horizontal motions can be write as
𝑑𝑉
= (𝑃𝐺𝐹)𝐻𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 + 𝐶𝐹
𝑑𝑡
5.2 Geostrophic Balance

Geostrophic balance is the most fundamental horizontal force balance when the
pressure gradient force (PGF) is counter balanced by the Coriolis force (CF)
PGF + CF = 0
Figure 5.1 Geostrophic Balance: Pressure gradient force balances Coriolis force
The resulting wind is called Geostrophic wind (Figure 5.1). This balance seldom holds
accurately in nature. The proper wind nearly always differs from the geostrophic wind
due to other forces such as friction from the ground features.
The balance between pressure

gradient force and Coriolis force is
called geostrophic balance.
5.3 Geostrophic Wind

The Figure 5.1 shows how the Coriolis and pressure-gradient forces counterbalance,
resulting steady-state wind - the geostrophic wind. This explanation assumes that the
atmosphere begins in a geostrophically unbalanced state and shows how such a state
would evolve into a balanced flow.

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Figure 5.2. The balance between pressure gradient force and Coriolis force of an air
parcel moving in high and low-pressure regions. The resulting wind flow parallel to
isobars generating geostrophic wind
Air generally moves from high pressure to low pressure regions, due to pressure
gradient force (PGF). When the air is stationary, the influence from Coriolis force (CF)
is zero (Figure 5.2). Under the influence of the PGF the air begins to accelerate directly
towards low pressure area. As soon as the air starts to move, the Coriolis force
commences and deflects that pattern (Figure 5.2). The deflection is to the right in the
northern hemisphere, and to the left in the southern hemisphere. As the air moves from
the high-pressure area, its speed increases and accelerates. When the air accelerates, the
CF intensifies because the magnitude of the CF is proportional to wind speed. As CF
increases, the resulting deflection increases. This deflection increases until the two
forces, Coriolis and pressure gradient forces are exactly balance. At that point, the air
flow doesn’t flow from high to low pressure, but instead moves along an isobar
generating a geostrophic flow.
Geostrophic winds flow in relatively straight paths, parallel to the isobars, with
velocities proportional to the pressure gradient force. A steep pressure gradient creates
strong winds, and a weak pressure gradient produces light winds.
If the pressure gradient is steep (tight contours), the PGF will be stronger.
This means the Coriolis force will also have to be stronger to balance the
PGF. The only way to increase the CF is to speed up the wind. Thus,
steep pressure gradient means faster winds.
The geostrophic wind flow is a hypothetical wind that would result only from an exact
balance between the Coriolis Effect and the pressure gradient force. It is a good
approximation to winds few kilometers above earth’s surface. As it always follows the

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constant pressure lines (isobar), the flow motion can figure out by examining the
pressure distribution. Conversely, if the wind direction is known, a rough
approximation of the associated pressure distribution can be made.
Figure 5.3 The relationship between Isobars and wind pattern in wind speed and
direction
In Figure 5.3, the geostrophic wind direction can be determined by studying the
orientation of the isobars and its speed can be estimated from the spacing of the isobars.
This is useful in estimating the wind characteristics at places, where no direct wind
measurements make.
Similarly, if the geostrophic wind direction and speed is known, the orientation and
spacing of the isobars can be estimated, even there is no current weather map.
It has been observed that, much of the atmosphere outside the tropics and most
largescale and synoptic-scale weather system are in geostrophic balance. Therefore, it
is a valuable approximation for the synoptic scale instantaneous flow in the mid-
latitude, mid-troposphere.
Flow in the atmosphere is often curved. There are

 counterclockwise flow around low-pressure systems (cyclonic flow)
 clockwise flow around high-pressure systems (anticyclonic flow)
For this special condition (geostrophic balance), where the only forces acting on air
are Coriolis and pressure-gradient forces (Fig. 5.2), and when these two forces
balance each other, there is a zero-net force. Thus, there is zero acceleration and this
result steady-state wind condition.

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Caution: Steady state means no further change to the

non-zero winds. Do not assume the winds are zero.
The geostrophic balance explains why the northern hemisphere, low-pressure systems (or
cyclones) spin counterclockwise and high-pressure systems (or anticyclones) spin
clockwise, where the opposite happens in the southern hemisphere.
Figure 5. 4 Flow and pressure forces around regions of (a) low and (b) high pressures in
the Northern Hemisphere
 A region of low pressure produces a pressure force directed from the outside
towards the low. Air starting to move in response to this force is also deflected to
the right, rotating counter-clockwise.
 A region of high pressure produces a pressure force directed away from the high.
Air starting to move in response to this force is deflected to the right (in the Northern
Hemisphere), giving a clockwise circulation pattern.
Figure 5. 5 Flow and pressure forces around regions of (a) low and (b) high pressures in
the Northern Hemisphere with and without Coriolis effect

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The resulting steady-state wind - the geostrophic wind, has velocity components (𝑈𝑔 ,
𝑉𝑔 ). For this special case, the equation of motion becomes
𝑑𝑉
= (𝑃𝐺𝐹)𝐻𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 + 𝐶𝐹 = 0
𝑑𝑡
Substituting terms for PGF and CF forces,
1 ∆𝑃
0= . + 𝑓𝑣
𝜌 ∆𝑥
1 ∆𝑃
0= . − 𝑓𝑢
𝜌 ∆𝑦
Define u ≡ Ug and v ≡ Vg in the equations above, and then solve for these wind
components:
1 ∆𝑃
𝑈𝑔 = − .
𝜌𝑓 ∆𝑦
1 ∆𝑃
𝑉𝑔 = + .
𝜌𝑓 ∆𝑥
∆𝑃 ∆𝑃
Where, f is the Coriolis parameter. 𝜌 is air density, and and are the horizontal
∆𝑥 ∆𝑦
pressure gradients.
Real winds are nearly geostrophic at locations where isobars or height contours are
relatively straight, for altitudes above the atmospheric boundary layer.
The magnitude G of the geostrophic wind is:
𝐺 = √𝑈𝑔 2 + 𝑉𝑔 2
If Δd is the distance between two isobars (in the direction of greatest pressure change
and perpendicular to the isobars), then the magnitude of the geostrophic wind is:
1 ∆𝑃
𝐺=| . |
𝜌𝑓 ∆𝑑
Above sea level, weather maps are often on isobaric surfaces (constant pressure charts),
from which the geostrophic wind can be found from the height gradient (change of
height of the isobaric surface with horizontal distance):
|𝑔| ∆𝑧
𝑈𝑔 = − .
𝑓 ∆𝑦
|𝑔| ∆𝑧
𝑉𝑔 = + .
𝑓 ∆𝑥
Where, the Coriolis parameter is f , and gravitational acceleration is |g| = 9.8 m·s–2. The
corresponding magnitude of geostrophic wind on an isobaric chart is:

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𝑔 ∆𝑧
𝐺=| . |
𝑓 ∆𝑑
5.4 Gradient Winds

Geostrophic winds exist in locations where there are no frictional forces and the isobars
are straight. But such locations are quite rare. Isobars are almost always curved and are
very rarely evenly spaced. This changes the geostrophic winds and those winds are no
longer geostrophic but are instead in gradient wind balance (Figure 5.6). They still
blow parallel to the isobars, but are no longer balanced by only the pressure gradient
and Coriolis forces, and do not have the same velocity as geostrophic winds.
Figure 5.6 Gradient winds - balanced motion around a

(a) Low pressure and a (b) High pressure systems in the northern hemisphere.
In order to follow curved contours, the flow must be constantly changing direction. To
change the direction, there must be a net acceleration and a net force acting on the flow.
When the isobars are curved, the pressure gradient force and Coriolis force can’t
balance each other and the net difference between those is the centrifugal force. This

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apparent force, pushes objects away from the center of a circle. The wind is now a result
of three forces involved, the pressure gradient, Coriolis and centrifugal forces. Such
flow around curved isobars are called gradient winds.
When the pressure gradient force exceeds the Coriolis force, the air curves
counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere (clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere)
as shown in figure 5.6 (a).
When the Coriolis force is greater than the pressure gradient force, the wind curves
clockwise (in the Northern Hemisphere). Thus, in the Northern Hemisphere, winds flow
clockwise around regions of high pressure (figure 5.6 (b)).
The gradient wind is an excellent approximation to the actual wind observed above the
Earth’s surface, especially at the middle latitudes.
The effect of friction in geostrophic approximation

The effect of friction, between the air and the land, changes the geostrophic balance
near the surface. Friction slows the wind flow, decreasing the effect of the Coriolis
force as shown in figure 5.7 (a). As a result, the pressure gradient force has a larger
effect and the air still flows from high pressure to low pressure, though with great
deflection. In this case, high-pressure system winds radiate out from the center of the
system, while low-pressure systems have winds that spiral inwards as shown in figure
5.7 (b).
Figure 5.7
(a) The effect of surface friction: Friction slows-down the wind.
(b) Friction causes near-surface wind to spiral out of high, in toward low pressure.
In higher levels, the winds blow parallel to isobars

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Summary
 Geostrophic balance – the PGF is exactly balanced by the Coriolis force
 When the Coriolis Force and Pressure Gradient Force balance one another,
winds spin around a high or low-pressure cell, parallel to the isobars. These
winds known as geostrophic winds and occur in the upper atmosphere, where
there is no friction.
 The three-way balance of horizontal pressure gradient, Coriolis force, and the
centrifugal force is call the gradient wind balance.
 Surface friction force slows down the geostrophic flow.
Objectives
 Explain the geostrophic balance and geostrophic wind in the Earth atmosphere
 Explain the gradient wind and effect of friction on geostrophic balance.
1. Find the geostrophic wind for a height increase of 50 m per 200 km of
distance toward the east. Assume, f = 0.9x10–4 s–1.
2. Calculate the geostrophic wind speed (m s-1) on an isobaric surface for a

geopotential height gradient of 100 m per 1000 km. The geopotential height is
defined as Φ = |g|·z
3. What is the difference between geostrophic wind and gradient wind?

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1. Find the geostrophic wind for a height increase of 50 m per 200 km of

distance toward the east. Assume, f = 0.9x10–4 s–1.
Given: Δx = 200 km, Δz = 50 m, f = 0.9x10–4 s–1..
No north-south height gradient, thus Ug = 0.

Apply eq
|𝑔| ∆𝑧
𝑉𝑔 = + .
𝑓 ∆𝑥
Substituting values
9.8 𝑚𝑠 −2 50 𝑚
𝑉𝑔 = + ( ) . ( ) = 27.2 𝑚𝑠 −1
0.9 x 10–4 𝑠 −1 200, 000 𝑚
2. Calculate the geostrophic wind speed (m s-1) on an isobaric surface for a

geopotential height gradient of 100 m per 1000 km. The geopotential height is
defined as Φ = |g|·z
Using the definition for geopotential height, the equations for

geostrophic wind speed becomes
|𝑔| ∆𝑧 1 ∆Φ
𝑈𝑔 = − . =− .
𝑓 ∆𝑦 𝑓 ∆𝑦
|𝑔| ∆𝑧 1 ∆Φ
𝑉𝑔 = + . =+ .
𝑓 ∆𝑥 𝑓 ∆𝑥
And
𝑔 ∆𝑧 1 ∆Φ
𝐺=| . |= .
𝑓 ∆𝑑 𝑓 ∆𝑑
Substituting values
As the direction of the measures are not specified, use the equation for
gradient winds,
𝑔 ∆𝑧 1 ∆Φ
𝐺=| . |= .
𝑓 ∆𝑑 𝑓 ∆𝑑

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9.81 𝑚𝑠 −2 ∆z 9.81 𝑚𝑠 −2 100 𝑚

𝐺= . = . = 9.81 𝑚𝑠 −2
1 × 10−4 ∆𝑑 1 × 10−4 1000 × 103
3. What is the difference between geostrophic wind and gradient wind?
Geostrophic winds blow along straight, parallel isobars and there the pressure
gradient force is exactly balanced by Coriolis force. When the isobars are
curved, centrifugal force (acting out from the center of curvature) is
introduced other than the two forces, pressure gradient and Coriolis. Such
wind is known as gradient wind and it is the geostrophic wind, modified by
centrifugal force.

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Session 6
THE ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATIONS
Contents
Introduction
6.1 Local Wind systems
6.1.1 Sea and Land Breezes
6.1.2 Mountain and valley breezes
6.1.3 Chinook (or foehn) Winds
6.1.4 Katabatic (fall) winds
6.2 Global Wind systems
6.2.1 General Circulation of the Atmosphere
6.3 Single-cell Model
6.4 The effect of Coriolis force dur to Rotating earth
6.5 Three-cell Model
6.5.1 Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ)
6.5.2 Sub-tropical high-pressure belt (horse latitude)
6.5.3 Trade winds
6.5.4 Westerlies
6.5.5 Sub-polar low-pressure belt
6.5.6 Polar high-pressure belt
Summary
Objectives
Introduction
Wind is the general term use for air in motion. However, wind circulations exist in
different sizes in the atmosphere. Atmospheric circulations can be arranged into
different scales based on their physical size and duration. This hierarchy of
atmospheric motion varies from tiny gusts to giant storms and known as the
atmospheric scales of motion.

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Atmospheric motions occur over a huge range of temporal and spatial scales (Figure
6.1). Turbulent eddies have dimensions in millimeters while trade winds extend to
few thousands of kilometers. Also, atmospheric fluctuations occur on time scales
from a fraction of a second to number of months.
1. Microscale – The smallest circulations, lasting under a few minutes, and being
less than 1 km in size.
 Wind gusts
 Dust devils
2. Mesoscale – The circulations last from minutes to hours, and range in size
from 1 to 100 km.
 Sea and Land breezes
 Mountain and valley breezes
 Chinook (or foehn) Winds
 Katabatic winds
 Thunderstorms
 Tornadoes
 mesoscale convective complexes
 squall lines
3. Macroscale – This is the largest scale, and includes two important sub-scales
Synoptic scale – These circulations last from days to weeks, and range
in size
from 100 to 5000 km
 Air masses
 Weather fronts
 The high and low-pressure systems in weather
maps
 Mid-latitude and extratropical cyclones
(cyclones that occur outside of the tropics)
 Tropical cyclones, hurricanes, typhoons.
Planetary/ Global scale – These circulations last for weeks or months, and
extend
in size
from 5000 to 40,000 km.
 Asian monsoon
 Westerilies
 Trade winds
 Semi-permanent pressure centers (the Aleutian
Low, Bermuda High, Polar Vortex)

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Figure 6.1 Scales of Atmospheric Motion in Reference to Meteorological Phenomena.
The scales are not independent. A synoptic scale circulation may have mesoscale
circulations embedded in it. For example, a hurricane (synoptic scale) contains
numerous thunderstorms (mesoscale).
The Energy and weather systems

Radiant energy from the sun is captured by the suface of Earth. This energy is
conducted to the air in contact with the surface. Then the energy is transferred via
convection, conduction and radiation and through the evaporation and subsequent
condensation of water molecules to become the driving force to weather systems at
many temporal an spatial scales.
In this session, some local winds and global scale circulations connected to tropical
weather systems will be discussed.The local wind systems are basically mesosclae
atmsopheric features.
6.1 Local Wind systems
Local winds are examples of mesoscale winds that last for few minutes to hours and
extends from one to hundreds of kilometers. Many local wind systems or mesosclae
features are the result of pressure differences that arise because of temperature
differences caused by unequal heating of Earth’s surface. Thus, most local winds are
linked to temperature and pressure differences that result from variations in topography
or in local surface conditions.

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Winds are generally named for the direction from which they blow. Most local winds,
named according to that. Thus, a sea breeze originates over sea and blows toward the
land, whereas a valley breeze blows upslope, away from the valley.
6.1.1 Sea and Land Breezes
Sea and land breeze occur because of the differences in air pressure due to differential
heating rates of land and sea. This differences in air pressure is a result of different heat
capacities of water and dry land. When land surface is warm, the air above it rises as
warm air rises and this creates a lower pressure region. When land surface is cold, the
air above it sinks, creating high pressure region. This pressure difference enables air
mass to move from high to low pressure creating sea and land breezes during the day
and night time (Figure 6.2). Not only over the ocean, large lakes can also have land and
sea breeze circulations. Sea and land breezes usually occur in low-altitude areas, usually
not over 200-300 meters, the maximum being 600 meters.
Figure 6.2 Sea and land breezes
(a) Sea breeze:

In the day time, the sun heats up the land faster than the sea water. Thus, in the
afternoon the land is hotter than the water. This causes less dense air over the

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land creating low pressure area, and results a shallow circulation from the sea
to the land in the low levels (sea breeze), and a return flow aloft (return flow).
The existence and intensity of the Sea breeze depends strongly on seasonal and
latitudinal factors as well as on the time of day. On many tropical and
subtropical coastal regions, the Sea breeze is a regular phenomenon throughout
the year, while in cooler regions the sea breeze is a common feature during
spring and summer, when the temperature difference between land and sea is at
its maximum.
Sea breeze normally starts in the morning, a few hours after sunrise, when the
solar radiation heats the boundary layer over land. In the afternoon, when the
boundary layer heating over land is at its maximum, the sea breeze is normally
at its most intense, and can sometimes penetrate up to 100 kilometers inland.
When there is a sharp contrast in air temperature across the leading edge of the
sea breeze, (sea breeze frontal boundary) the warmer, lighter air will converge
and rise. If this rising air is sufficiently moist, a line of cumulus clouds will form
along the sea breeze front, and, if the air is also unstable, thunderstorms may
form. Therefore, in humid locations during hot days these conditions can often
trigger afternoon thunderstorms. Further, if there are regions of convergence,
due to topographical feature or other reason, that convergence coupled with
daytime convection will cause cloudy conditions and showery weather over the
land.
(b) land breeze:

At night time, the air above the land cools down faster than the air above the
sea. This results that the air above the land to have high pressure region as cold
(dense) air sinks. So, the wind will blow from the high-pressure air above the
land to the low-pressure air above the sea creating land breeze. This circulation
occurs only near the coastline, within 100 km range.
Temperature contrasts between land and water are generally much smaller at
night, hence, land breezes are usually weaker than sea breeze. In regions where,
greater nighttime temperature contrasts exist, stronger land breezes occur over
the water, off the coast. They are not usually noticed much on shore, but are
frequently observed by ships in coastal waters.
6.1.2 Mountain and valley breezes
Mountain and valley winds are generated due to similar heating and cooling
mechanisms to sea-land breezes (Figure 6.3). These breezes are local winds caused by
an area’s geography and occur because of differential heating between mountain peaks
and valley. Mountain breeze and valley breeze occur one after the other on a daily cycle.

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This heating and cooling often results in closed circulation patterns, which can trap
and/or recirculate air pollution in the mountain-valley system.
Generally, these breezes occur during calm and clear weather conditions. Mountain
and valley winds are different from katabatic winds, which are larger and stronger.
Figure 6.3 Mountain and valley breezes
(a) Valley breeze – During the day the air along the mountain slopes gets heated
more than while valley remains relatively cooler. This warm air rises due to
convection and generates upward flow over the mountains as valley winds. This
wind flow is a breeze from the valley toward the mountains. If these rising
currents carry water vapor, clouds form on mountain peaks and sometimes
trigger afternoon thunderstorms over mountains on warm days. Often birds such
as eagles, hawks and vultures, float on these breezes to preserve their energy.
(b) Mountain breeze – At night the air over the mountain slopes cools much more
quickly than the air over the valley. Then the cool dense air drains down
mountain slopes, towards valley generating mountain winds. Those winds are
sometimes referred to as gravity winds (because gravity is the force that directs
these winds downhill ), or nocturnal drainage winds.
When the mountain breeze travels down and gathers in the valleys, water vapor
will condense. Therefore, in valley (basin regions), there are usually clouds and
fog ( fog is a cloud that appears near the ground) before sunrise. In high
latitudes, during late spring or early autumn, the cold air trapped in the valley
and basin will often generate frost (layer of ice that forms when the air
temperature is below the freezing point at night:). Therefore, the farmers in such
regions, usually plant cold-sensitive plants on mountainsides. Since cold air
doesn't often accumulate on a mountainside at night, the probability of frost is
lower.

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6.1.3 Chinook (or foehn) Winds
These winds occur when air moves up over a mountain barrier and then down the
leeward side (Figure 6.4). As the air descends it is adiabatically compressed and
warmed. These relatively warm winds are also very dry.
When clouds and precipitation occur on the mountain’s windward side, they can
enhance the chinook. For example, as the cloud forms on the windward side of the
mountain, the conversion of latent heat to sensible heat supplements the compressional
heating on the leeward side. This phenomenon makes the descending air at the base of
the mountain on the leeward side warmer than it was before it started its upward journey
on the windward side. The air is also drier, since much of its moisture was removed as
precipitation on the windward side.
This type of winds occur along the leeward slopes of mountains in some regions of the
world. They usually occur over the east slope of the Rocky Mountains during the winter
and known as chinook. A similar wind occurs in the Alps, where they are called foehns.
The Santa Ana winds in California are also of this type.
Latent heat and sensible heat

Latent heat and sensible heat are two forms of energy that are used in
explaining the relationship between the temperature and matter. Latent heat is
defined for a system that undergoes a phase change of matter whereas sensible
heat is defined for a system that has no change in the phase of matter.
Figure 6.4 Chinook (Foehn) wind
6.1.4 Katabatic (fall) winds

Katabatic (or fall) wind, usually denotes downslope winds that are much stronger than
mountain breezes and it can affect a much larger area than a simple mountain breeze.

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Katabatic winds can originate over an elevated plateau surrounded by mountains, with
an opening that slopes rapidly downhill (Figure6.5). These winds are formed when air
over snow or ice covered, high terrain is cooled and becomes very cold. It then drains
down slope (similar to the mountain breeze). However, this air is very cold and dense,
and moves down slope very rapidly. Even though it is adiabatically warmed, it still
arrives in the valley at very cold temperatures and causes a cold wind flow.
Katabatic winds can reach hurricane speeds, but most are not that intense and many are
on the order of 20 km/h or less. Strong downslope katabatic-type winds funneled
through a mountain canyon can do extensive damage.
Katabatic winds are observed in various regions of the world. Along the northern
Adriatic coast, in the former Yugoslavia, it is observed as bora - a cold, gusty,
northeasterly wind with speeds sometimes in excess of 100 knots. A similar, but often
less violent, cold wind known as the mistral observes over French Alps, which blows
downward into the Mediterranean Sea. Strong, cold katabatic winds also blow
downslope off the icecaps in Greenland and Antarctica, occasionally with speeds
greater than 100 knots.
Wind speed unit :1 knot =1.852 km/h
Figure6.5 Katabatic wind
6.2 Global Wind systems
Generally, the air in the Earth’s atmosphere moves from high pressure to low pressure.
On a rotating body such as the Earth, the air flow deviates due to the friction which
creates by rotation. Thus weather systems associate with global wind belts are made
through the combined effects of rotation and temperature differences.

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At any one time there are multiple weather systems active around the globe with
variable winds. When these winds are averaged over many years a well-defined global
circulation pattern appears.
6.2.1 General Circulation of the Atmosphere
The general circulation of the atmosphere refers to the average global circulation over
considerable time period to neglect variations produced by weather systems but short
enough to capture seasonal and monthly variability. Actual winds at any one place and
at any given time may vary considerably from this average. However, the average can
explain why and how the winds blow around the world and give a picture of the driving
mechanism behind these winds,
In earth, the tropics receive more radiation than they emit. The polar regions emit more
radiation than they receive. This causes an imbalance in heat.
Figure6.6 The latitudinal variation of incoming and outgoing radiation of the Earth
A spatial imbalance between radiative inputs and outputs exists for the earth-ocean-
atmosphere system (Figure6.6). Near the tropics, more solar radiation enters than IR
leaves. Near Earth’s poles, incoming solar radiation is too weak to totally offset the IR
cooling. Therefore, the tropics receive more radiation than they emit. The polar regions
emit more radiation than they receive. The tropics experience a net gain in energy, while
polar regions suffer a net loss. The net result is differential heating, between warm
equatorial air and cold polar air. This causes an imbalance in heat. To balance these

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inequities, the atmosphere transports warm air poleward and cool air equatorward. This
process drives the global-scale general circulation of winds.
The poles receive much less solar radiation than the low latitudes
due to
1. Difference in the sun’s angle of incidence
2. Tilt of the earth’s axis results in no solar radiation pole-ward
of the Arctic circle for six months each year
3. Arctic and Antarctic ice reflect considerable solar radiation
back to space
Although this process seems simple, the actual flow of air is complex.
The major influences on the general circulation of the atmosphere are:
1. Differential heating in latitudes
2. Earth’s rotation
3. Topography
4. Atmospheric and oceanic fluid dynamics
In order to have better understanding of the global general circulations, some
imaginary models (that is, artificially constructed analogies) can be used to
eliminate some of these complexities.
6.3 Single-cell Model
The simplest approach, is the single-cell model, in which we assume that

• The earth’s surface is uniformly covered with water, so that differential
heating between land and water can eliminate.
• The sun is always directly over the equator, so that the winds will not shift
seasonally.
• The earth does not rotate, so that the only force we have to consider is the
pressure gradient force.
With these assumptions, the general circulation of the atmosphere would look like a
homogeneous, non-rotating earth. There is only one thermally driven convection cell in
each hemisphere (Figure 6.7).

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Figure 6.7 Single cell model
This single cell in each hemisphere is known as the Hadley cell (named after the 18th
century meteorologist- George Hadley, who first proposed the idea). Hadley proposed
that the large temperature contrast between the poles and the equator creates a large
convection cell in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
It is driven by energy from the sun. Excessive heat energy of the equatorial area
produces a broad region of surface low pressure, while at the poles, excessive cooling
forms a region of surface high pressure. In response to this horizontal pressure gradient,
cold surface polar air flows equatorward, while at higher levels air flows toward the
poles. The entire circulation builds of a closed loop with rising air near the equator,
sinking air over the poles, an equatorward flow of air near the surface, and a return flow
aloft. Thus, thermal convection drives this Hadley cells.
Such a simple cellular circulation does not actually exist on the earth. The main cause
is earth’s rotation. As earth rotates, the Coriolis force deflects the winds.
6.4 The effect of Coriolis force dur to Rotating earth
If we allow the earth to rotate, the Coriolis force will significantly affects air that moves
over great distances. The Coriolis force deflects air to the right in the Northern
Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere, causing it to follow a curved
path instead of a straight line (Figure 6.8). This changes the general circulation pattern
of the air.

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Figure 6.8 The effect of earth rotation
6.5 Three-cell Model
If we eliminate the assumption Earth is not rotating and allow the earth to rotate, the
pattern of flow described in the single cell model would be altered, and the wind flow
of the atmosphere would more closely approximate the actual global circulation on the
Earth. Coriolis force, due to earth’s rotation would cause the development of three
circulation cells in each hemisphere rather than one. These three circulation cells are
known as the: Hadley cell, Ferrel cell. and Polar cell.
Hadley cell - Low latitude air movement toward the equator that with heating, rises
vertically, with poleward movement in the upper atmosphere. This forms a convection
cell that dominates tropical and sub-tropical climates.
Ferrel cell - A mid-latitude atmospheric circulation cell which named by Ferrel in the
19th century. In this cell the air flows poleward and eastward near the surface and
equatorward and westward at higher levels.
Polar cell - Air rises, diverges, and travels toward the poles. Once over the poles, the
air sinks, forming the polar highs. At the surface air diverges outward from the polar
highs. Surface winds in the polar cell are easterly (polar easterlies).
Seven pressure belts in the three-cell model (Figure 6.9)
1. Equatorial low-pressure belt (Doldrums)- at the equatorial zone, a belt of low
pressure (equatorial trough)
2. Subtropical high-pressure belts - lying to the 30oN or 30oS (horse latitudes), air
subsiding zone.
3. Sub-polar low-pressure belts - locate on 60oN and 60oS, meeting place of polar
air mass and warm air mass from 30oN or 30oS. It is also called polar front
4. Polar high-pressure belts. - locate on North and South poles.

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Figure: 6.9 Global (a) Pressure belts (b) Prevailing winds
6.5.1 Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ)
In the new 3-cell model, the equator still remains the warmest location on the Earth.
This area of greater heat acts as a zone of thermal lows known as the intertropical
convergence zone (ITCZ). The ITCZ, known by sailors as the doldrums, where the
northeast and southeast trade winds converge. The ITCZ is generally located between
50 latitude north and south, but it can extend as far as 180, depending on the season. The
position of the ITCZ varies throughout the year. Over land, it moves back and forth
across the equator following the sun’s zenith and over the oceans, it is better defined.
This is due to greater variation of land temperatures.
When this subtropical air reaches the equator, it rises into the upper atmosphere because
of convergence and convection. It attains a maximum vertical altitude of about 14
kilometers (top of the troposphere), and then begins flowing horizontally to the North
and South Poles (Figure 6.10b).
An important characteristic of the ITCZ is that it is a region of cloudiness, frequent
rains, and even volatile weather. This occurs for two primary reasons. One is that the
trade winds flow over warm oceans across much of their length. Therefore, evaporation
is high from these warm surfaces, and the air contains abundant moisture. In this
context, high levels of atmospheric moisture can be reached because the air is warm
and expanding. The second reason is solar heating in the region, which forces air to
rise through convection.
Due to the high angle of incoming solar radiation combined with high moisture content
as a result of high temperatures, specially over large oceanic regions, intense convection
can happen. These reasons produce an accumulation of large thunderstorms and heavy
precipitation along the belt. Therefore, it is easy to find the ITCZ on a satellite image
because it consists of a band of clouds and thunderstorms (Figure 6.10).

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Convective breakthrough has observed in tropopause region when the air is very
unstable with lots of moisture. This can be important to aircrafts who crosses ITCZ, as
the weather can be quite turbulent in such situations.
Figure 6.10 (a) Vertical cross section of the Hadley cell (b) Average summer and winter
positions of the ITCZ around the world.
At the point, where the northeasterly and southeasterly trade winds converge at the
ITCZ, the winds can become relatively calm and highly variable because the pressure
gradient is very weak. Early sailors called this area as place of calm air, the doldrums,
because their wind-powered vessels trapped in this area for many days without winds.
The warm rising air that releases latent heat during the formation of cumulus towers,
thunderclouds provide the energy that drives the Hadley cells (Figure 6.10a).
6.5.2 Sub-tropical high-pressure belt (horse latitude)
As the flow aloft moves poleward, the air begins to subside in a zone between 25° and
35° latitude. Two factors contribute to this general subsidence:
(1) As upper-level flow moves away from the stormy equatorial region, radiation
cooling becomes the dominant process. As a result, the air cools, becomes denser, and
sinks.
(2) In addition, the Coriolis force becomes stronger with increasing distance from the
equator, causing the poleward-moving upper air to be deflected into a nearly west-to-
east flow by the time it reaches 30° latitude. This restricts the poleward flow of air.
Therefore, the Coriolis force causes a general pileup of air (convergence) aloft.
This subsidence occurs in the zones between 25° and 35° latitude in both hemispheres
and causes an increase in the temperature of surface air. This sinking air warms,

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suppressing cloud development and precipitation. Hence most of the worlds hot deserts
occur along these latitudes. These latitudes are where the sub-tropical high-pressure
belt present and also known as Horse latitudes (Figure 6.11). The most important
feature of this pressure belt is that it is broken into a number of high pressure centers or
cells. The cells of high pressure persist in this belt throughout the year with slight
seasonal changes in their position. This subtropical ridge is characterized by calm
winds.
Figure 6.11 high pressure cells in the horse latitude.
6.5.3 Trade winds

From the center of the horse latitudes, the surface flow splits into two branches—one
flowing poleward and one flowing toward the equator. The equatorward flow is
deflected by the Coriolis force to form the trade winds, which enabled early sailing
ships to move goods between Europe and North America. In the Northern Hemisphere,
the trade winds blow from the northeast, while in the Southern Hemisphere, the trade
winds are from the southeast.
6.5.4 Westerlies
At latitude 300, some air moves toward the poles and deflects toward the east, forming
westerly air flow, the westerlies (anti-trades), in both hemispheres. Westerly winds
blow from Sub-tropical high-pressure belts towards the Sub-polar low-pressure belt
between 300 to 600 latitudes. It blows from the South-west direction in the Northern
hemisphere, while from the North-west direction in the Southern hemisphere.

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6.5.5 Subpolar low-pressure belt

The Polar front is the boundary between the polar cell and the Ferrell cell around the
60° latitude in each hemisphere. At this boundary, where cold polar air meets warm
tropical air, a sharp temperature gradient occurs. This is a zone of low pressure, the
subpolar low, where surface air converges and rises and storms develop. This zone is
responsible for much of the stormy weather in the middle latitudes (mid-latitude
cyclones), particularly in the winter.
Initially, the front is stationary. In northern hemisphere warm air blows from the south
and cold air from the north of the front. When the pressure drops along the front, the
warm air moves northward and the cold airs move towards south setting in motion an
anticlockwise cyclonic circulation (Figure 6.12). The cyclonic circulation leads to well-
developed extra-tropical cyclone, with warm front and cold front. These cyclones occur
between the mid latitude and high latitude beyond the tropics.
Figure 6.12 Formation of mid-latitude cyclones: Patterns of wind flow, surface

pressure, fronts
6.5.6 Polar high pressure belt

Near each pole, there are high pressure area known as polar highs. These areas have
clear skies, cold dry descending air, light winds, and little snowfall. Between each polar
high (at 90°) and the subpolar low (at 60°) is a belt of weak easterly winds, called the
polar easterlies. The Polar easterlies blow from polar high-pressure belt towards sub-
polar low pressure belt. It blows from North-east in the Northern hemisphere, while
from South-east in the Southern hemisphere.

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The effect of Coriolis force on global wind pattern

Coriolis force is a deflecting force which is produced by earth rotation. The
force tends to turn the flow of air.
The Coriolis effect is increase with latitudes, greatest at poles and is zero (no
effect) on the equator (Figure 6.13). The Coriolis effect only affects wind
direction and does not affect wind speed.
The Coriolis effect causes the air systems to swirl counter-clockwise in
Northern hemisphere and clockwise in southern hemisphere.
Figure 6.13 The apparent displacement from the expected path of the flow
due to Coriolis effect (varies with latitude according to strength of the
Coriolis effect).
Summary
 Atmospheric motions occur over 3 main scales, microsclae, mesoscale, and
macroscale circulations.
 Small-scale convection currents arise from uneven heating on a smaller scale
occurs along a coast and in the mountains causing local winds.

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 Local winds blow over a much smaller area and change direction and speed
over a shorter period of time than global winds.
 Global winds are really large air masses that are created mainly as a result of
the Earth’s rotation, the shape of the Earth and the sun’s heating power.
 The rotation of the Earth creates friction, called as Coriolis force, which breaks
up the air circulation between the equator and the poles into three different
mirror-image wind systems on each side of the Equator.
 ITCZ is hot and humid, with low pressure. The area consists strong upward air
motion and heavy convective (thunderstorm) precipitation.
Objectives
 Identify the main scales of atmospheric motions.
 differentiate the local winds and global winds.
 Explain the available global circulation models and identify their main features.
1. Describe the various scales of motion and give an example of each.
2. Why does a sea breeze blow from sea to land and a land breeze from land to
sea?
3. Which wind will produce clouds: a valley breeze or a mountain breeze? Why?
4. What are katabatic winds and Chinook? How do they form?
5. Explain why chinook winds are warm and dry.
6. Why is it impossible on the earth for a Hadley cell to extend from the pole to
the equator?
7. Along a meridian line running from the equator to the poles, how does the
general circulation help to explain zones of abundant and sparse precipitation?
8. Why there is a shift in Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) toward south in
January and toward north in July?

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8. The ITCZ shifts position throughout the year since the sun's direct rays on the earth
vary throughout the year in relation to the apparent movement of the sun. Sun’s
apparent movement is due to the tilt of the earth.
In July, in northern summer, the sun is directly overhead the Tropic of Cancer due to
the tilt of the earth. The ITCZ migrates northwards and is positioned over the Tropic
of Cancer. In January, in northern winter, the sun is directly overhead the Tropic of
Capricorn due to the tilt of the earth. Therefore, the ITCZ migrates south and is
positioned over the Tropic of Capricorn. Thus, the ITCZ will be located north of the
equator in the Northern Hemisphere summer and south of the equator in the Northern
Hemisphere winter.

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Session 7
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF AIR
Contents
Introduction
7.1 Real and Ideal gases
7.2 Behavior of Ideal gases
7.3 Ideal gas law
7.4 Boyle’s Law
7.5 Charle’s Law
7.6 Dalton’s Law
7.7 Gas Constant for Dry Air
7.8 Gas Constant for water vapor
7.9 Virtual Temperature
Summary
Objectives
Introduction
The atmosphere contains a few highly concentrated gases, such as nitrogen, oxygen and
many trace gases. All such gases are constituents of air. Important characteristics of air
are its pressure, density, and temperature. These parameters vary with altitude, latitude,
longitude, and season and are related to each other by the equation of state. In this
session, basic equations describing atmospheric physics and thermodynamics are
introduced considering atmospheric behavior as an ideal gas.
7.1 Real and Ideal gases

The equation of state describes the relationship among pressure, volume, and absolute
temperature of a real gas. The ideal gas law describes this relationship for an ideal gas.
An ideal gas is a gas for which the product of the pressure and volume is proportional
to the absolute temperature. A real gas is ideal only to the extent that intermolecular
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forces are small, which occurs when pressures are low enough or temperatures are
high enough for the gas to be sufficiently dilute. Under typical atmospheric temperature
and pressure conditions, the ideal gas law gives an error of less than 0.2 % for dry air
and water vapor in comparison with an expanded equation of state (Pruppacher and
Klett 1997). Thus, the ideal gas law can reasonably approximate the equation of state.
7.2 Behaviour of Ideal gases

The state of a homogeneous, gaseous system may be characterized by three variables;
for example, density, pressure, and temperature.
The density ρ is the mass of material (M) in the system divided by the volume (V) of
that system (M/V ). Specific volume, α (volume per unit mass), is the inverse of density,
(1/ ρ).
𝜌 = 𝑀/𝑉
𝛼 = 1/𝜌
Density (𝜌) and specific volume (𝛼) are expressed in SI units of kg/m3 and m3/kg,
respectively.
The pressure (P) is the force per unit area exerted by the random motions of the
molecules contained within a system. It has no preferred direction. SI units of pressure
are N/m2 or Pascal (Pa).
A fundamental concept in thermodynamics is that of an equation of state. The three
variables which describe a system have been shown experimentally not to be
independent of each other. In other words, they satisfy a relation of the form
𝑓(𝑃, 𝑉, 𝑇) = 0 or 𝑓(𝑃, 𝛼, 𝑇) = 0
Which means, if any two of the three variables were known, the third would be
determined.
Factors Affecting Pressure

 Amount of Gas: Increasing the number of particles increases collisions,
which increases pressure. Removing particles reduces pressure.
 Volume: Increasing the volume will decrease the pressure of a gas since
collisions are less likely. Decreasing the volume has the opposite effect.
 Temperature: Increasing the temperature increases the speed of the

molecules, which leads to more collisions and greater pressure. Decreasing
the temperature has the opposite effect.

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7.3 Ideal gas law

The ideal gas law is expressed as a combination of Boyle’s law, Charles’ law, and
Avogadro’s law.
In 1661, Robert Boyle (1627–1691) found that doubling the pressure exerted on a gas
at constant temperature reduced the volume of the gas by one-half. This relationship is
embodied in Boyle’s law.
7.4 Boyle’s Law:

At constant temperature, the volume of a given sample of gas varies inversely as the
pressure.
𝑃 ∝ 1/𝑉
𝐶1
𝑃=
𝑉
𝑃𝑉 = 𝐶1
where C1 is a constant of proportionality and C1 = f(T)
Here P is the pressure exerted on the gas (hPa), and V is the volume enclosed by the
gas (m3 or cm3).
Boyle’s law describes the compressibility of a gas.

When high pressure is exerted on a gas, as in the lower atmosphere, the gas
compresses (its volume decreases) until it exerts an equal pressure on its
surroundings. When low pressure is exerted on a gas, as in the upper atmosphere,
the gas expands until it exerts an equal pressure on its surroundings.
In 1787, Jacques Charles (1746–1823) found that increasing the absolute temperature
of a gas at constant pressure increased the volume of the gas. This relationship is
embodied in Charles’ law.
7.5 Charle’s Law :

At constant pressure, the volume of a gas is proportional to absolute temperature
(Kelvin scale).
𝑉𝑇 𝑉0
= = 𝐶2
𝑇 𝑇0
𝑉 = 𝐶2 𝑇

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where C2 is a constant of proportionality and C2 = f(P). Here T is the temperature of

the gas (K).
Since gases change phase to liquids or solids before 0 K, Charles’ law cannot be
extrapolated to 0 K.
Charles’ law states that, at constant pressure,

the volume of a gas must decrease when its temperature decreases.
Kelvin temperature scale:

is the base unit of thermodynamic temperature measurement in the International
System (SI) of measurement. The Kelvin scale was determined based on the
Celsius scale, but with a starting point at absolute zero.
0 °C (freezing point of water) = 273.15 K and 0 K (absolute zero) = - 273.15
Celcius
K = °C + 273.15 and °C = K – 273.15
Absolute zero
is the temperature at which a system is in the state of lowest possible (minimum)
energy. As molecules approach this temperature their movements drop towards
zero. It is the lowest temperature a gas thermometer can measure. No electronic
devices work at this temperature.
Amedeo Avogadro (1776–1856) hypothesized that equal volumes of different gases

under the same conditions of temperature and pressure contain the same number of
molecules. In other words, the volume of a gas is proportional to the number of
molecules of gas present and independent of the type of gas. This relationship is
embodied in Avogadro’s law.
At constant pressure and temperature, 𝑉 ∝ 𝑛
Where 𝑛 is the number of gas moles.
Avogadro’ law states that, for fixed pressure and temperature, the number of
molecules per unit volume of a gas is a constant, irrespective of the chemical
composition

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To represent a fixed number of molecules, introduce an unit called as mole

The number of molecules in a mole is constant for all gases and given by Avogadro’s
number, A= 6.0221367 × 1023 molec. mol−1.
SI unit called as kilomole (kmol) and A= 6.0221367 × 1026 molec. kmol−1.
Again, Charle’s Law and Boyle’s Law are given by the following pair of equations:
𝑃𝑉 = 𝐶1 (𝑇)
𝑉 = 𝐶2 (𝑃)𝑇
Can hold true if there is another 𝐶 constant such that
𝑃𝑉 = 𝐶𝑇
𝐶 depends on both the size of the gas sample and on the type of gas.
Combining Boyle’s law, Charles’ law, and Avogadro’s law gives the ideal gas law or
simplified equation of state as
𝑃𝑉 = 𝑛𝑅 ∗ 𝑇
where 𝑛 is the number of moles in the sample and 𝑹∗ is the universal gas constant.
The equation of state of an ideal gas, known as the Ideal Gas Law is
𝑷𝑽 = 𝒏𝑹∗ 𝑻
It relates the four independent properties of a gas at any time.
The constant 𝑹∗ value depends on the units used to express pressure and volume.
Table 7.1 lists the numerical values of R.
Table 7.1 Values of the Ideal Gas Law Constant R
Numerical Value Units

𝐿 × 𝑎𝑡𝑚
0.08205
𝑚𝑜𝑙 × 𝐾
𝐿 × 𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑟 𝐿 × 𝑚𝑚𝐻𝑔
62.36 =
𝑚𝑜𝑙 × 𝐾 𝑚𝑜𝑙 × 𝐾
𝐽
8.314
𝑚𝑜𝑙 × 𝐾

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If 𝑁 is the number concentration of gas molecules,

𝑁 = molecules of gas per cubic meter or cubic centimetre of air
𝑛𝐴
𝑁=
𝑉
And 𝑘𝐵 is Boltzmann’s constant
𝑅∗
𝑘𝐵 =
𝐴
𝑘𝐵 = 1.380658 × 10−25 m3 hPa K −1 molec.−1
= 1.380658 × 10−19 cm3 hPa K −1 molec.−1
Then the Ideal gas law is in the form,
𝑛𝑅 ∗ 𝑇 𝑛𝐴 𝑅 ∗
𝑃= = ( ) 𝑇 = 𝑁𝑘𝐵 𝑇
𝑉 𝑉 𝐴
𝑷 = 𝑵𝒌𝑩 𝑻
The Ideal Gas Law

 the Ideal Gas Law is valid whenever the density of the gas is low
enough (due to a suitable combination of low pressure and high
temperature) so that individual molecules do not experience
significant attractive forces,
 Under conditions near the liquefaction point of a gas, the Ideal Gas
Law may no longer be sufficiently accurate.
 At ordinary atmospheric pressures, air obeys the Ideal Gas Law
quite closely for meteorological purposes.
In meteorology, it is convenient to deal with a known mass M of a gas rather than a

number of moles. This can be accomplished by replacing 𝑛𝑅 ∗ with 𝑀𝑅.
𝑷𝑽 = 𝑴𝑹𝑻
where R is a gas constant which depends on the particular gas.
By this definition
𝑛 ∗
𝑅∗
𝑅=𝑅 ( )=
𝑀 𝑚
where 𝒎 is the molecular mass (units kg kmol−1 = “atomic mass units” or amu)

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7.6 Dalton’s Law

In 1803, John Dalton (1766–1844) stated that total atmospheric pressure equals the
sum of the partial pressures of the individual gases in a mixture. This is Dalton’s law
of partial pressure.
For a mixture of Q components
𝑸
𝑷𝑻𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 = 𝑷𝟏 + 𝑷𝟐 + 𝑷𝟑 + ⋯ 𝑷𝑸 = ∑ 𝑷𝒊
𝒊=𝟏
The partial pressure exerted by a gas in a mixture is the pressure, the gas exerts, if it
alone occupies the same volume as the mixture, at the temperature of the mixture.
Using the expression 𝑷 = 𝑵𝒌𝑩 𝑻 where N is number concentration,
𝑸 𝑸
𝑷𝑻𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 == ∑ 𝑷𝒊 = 𝒌𝑩 𝑻 ∑ 𝑵𝒊
𝒊=𝟏 𝒊=𝟏
𝑷𝑻𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 = 𝑵𝑻𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒌𝑩 𝑻
where 𝑵𝑻𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 is the number concentration of the air, determined as the sum of the
number concentrations of individual gases.
7.7 Gas Constant for Dry Air

Total atmospheric pressure is the sum of partial pressures exerted by dry air and water
vapor.
𝑷𝑻𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 = 𝑷𝒅 + 𝑷𝒗
Similarly, the number concentration of air molecules can be written as
𝑵𝑻𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 = 𝑵𝒅 + 𝑵𝒗
where 𝑵𝒅 is the number concentration of dry air, and 𝑵𝒗 is the number concentration
of water vapor. Dry air consists of all gases in the atmosphere, except water vapor.
Equation of state for dry air using density is,
𝑛𝑑 𝑅 ∗ 𝑇 𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑑 𝑅 ∗
𝑃𝑑 = = ( ) 𝑇 = 𝜌𝑑 𝑅𝑑 𝑇
𝑉 𝑉 𝑚𝑑
Again, it can write using number concentration
𝑛𝑑 𝐴 𝑅 ∗
𝑃𝑑 = ( ) 𝑇 = 𝑁𝑑 𝑘𝐵 𝑇
𝑉 𝐴

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where 𝑃𝑑 is dry-air partial pressure (hPa), 𝑛𝑑 is the number of moles of dry air, 𝑚𝑑 is
the molecular weight of dry air, 𝜌𝑑 is the mass density of dry air (kg m−3), and 𝑅𝑑 is
the gas constant for dry air.
The dry-air density, number concentration, and gas constant are, respectively,
𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑑 𝑛𝑑 𝐴 𝑅∗
𝜌𝑑 = 𝑁𝑑 = 𝑅𝑑 =
𝑉 𝑉 𝑚𝑑
𝑚𝑑 = 28.964 kg kmol -1
𝑅𝑑 = 8314/28.96 = 287.06 J kg-1K-1 = 2.8704 𝑚3 ℎ𝑃𝑎 𝑘𝑔−1 𝐾 −1
7.8 Gas Constant for water vapor

The equation of state for water vapor is
𝑛𝑣 𝑅 ∗ 𝑇 𝑛𝑣 𝑚𝑣 𝑅 ∗
𝑃𝑣 = = ( ) 𝑇 = 𝜌𝑣 𝑅𝑣 𝑇
𝑉 𝑉 𝑚𝑣
Again, it can write using number concentration
𝑛𝑣 𝐴 𝑅 ∗
𝑃𝑣 = ( ) 𝑇 = 𝑁𝑣 𝑘𝐵 𝑇
𝑉 𝐴
where 𝑃𝑣 is the partial pressure exerted by water vapor (hPa), 𝑛𝑣 is the number of
moles of water vapor, 𝑚𝑣 is the molecular weight of water vapor, 𝜌𝑣 is the density of
water vapor (kg m−3), and 𝑅𝑣 is the gas constant for water vapor.
The water vapor density, number concentration, and gas constant are, respectively,
𝑛𝑣 𝑚𝑣 𝑛𝑣 𝐴 𝑅∗
𝜌𝑣 = 𝑁𝑣 = 𝑅𝑣 =
𝑉 𝑉 𝑚𝑣
𝑚𝑣 = 18.016 kg kmol -1
𝑅𝑣 = 8314/18.016 = 461.5 J kg-1K-1 = 4.615 𝑚3 ℎ𝑃𝑎 𝑘𝑔−1 𝐾 −1
The equation of state for water vapor can be rewritten in terms of the dry-air gas
constant as
𝑅𝑣 𝜌𝑣 𝑅𝑑 𝑇
𝑃𝑣 = 𝜌𝑣 𝑅𝑣 𝑇 = 𝜌𝑣 𝑅𝑑 𝑇 =
𝑅𝑑 𝜀
𝑅𝑑 𝑅 ∗ 𝑚𝑣 𝑚𝑣
𝜀= = ( ∗ )= = 0.622
𝑅𝑣 𝑚𝑑 𝑅 𝑚𝑑

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7.9 Virtual Temperature
The presence of water vapor in the air influences the temperature, pressure, and
density of the air.
Moist air has a smaller apparent molecular weight than dry air.
𝑚𝑣 = 18.016 kg kmol-1 is less than 𝑚𝑑 = 28.964 kg kmol -1
Therefore, the gas constant for 1 kg of moist air is larger than that for 1 kg of dry air
𝑅∗
(according to 𝑅𝑑 𝑜𝑟 𝑉 = 𝑚 ).
𝑑 𝑜𝑟 𝑉
𝑅𝑑 = 287.06 J kg-1K-1 is less than 𝑅𝑣 = 461.5 J kg-1K-1

However, rather than use a gas constant for moist air, the exact value of which would
depend on the amount of water vapor in the air (which varies considerably), it is
convenient to retain the gas constant for dry air and use a fictitious temperature (which
called as virtual temperature) in the ideal gas equation.
The derive an expression for the virtual temperature, consider a volume 𝑉 of moist air
at temperature 𝑇 and total pressure 𝑷𝑻𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 that contains mass 𝑚𝑑 of dry air and mass
𝑚𝑣 of water vapor. The density of the moist air is given by
𝑚𝑑 + 𝑚𝑣
𝜌= = 𝜌𝑑 + 𝜌𝑣
𝑉
Here 𝜌𝑑 and 𝜌𝑣 are partial density of dry and water vapor respectively. These will be
the densities, if the total volume (𝑉) is occupied by a single constitute alone.
Let’s denote 𝑷𝒗 by e
According to equation of state for dry air and water vapor,
𝑒
𝑒 = 𝜌𝑣 𝑅𝑣 𝑇 and 𝜌𝑣 = 𝑅
𝑣𝑇
𝑃
𝑃𝑑 = 𝜌𝑑 𝑅𝑑 𝑇 and 𝜌𝑑 = 𝑅 𝑑𝑇
𝑑
Consider the total pressure of moist air which is given by Dalton’s law
𝑃𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = 𝑃𝑑 + 𝑒
Denote partial densities in terms of partial pressure values,
𝑃−𝑒 𝑒
𝜌 = 𝜌𝑑 + 𝜌𝑣 = +
𝑅𝑑 𝑇 𝑅𝑣 𝑇
𝑃 𝑒
𝜌= [1 − (1 − 𝜀)]
𝑅𝑑 𝑇 𝑃
𝜌𝑅𝑑 𝑇
𝑃= 𝑒
[1 − 𝑃 (1 − 𝜀)]

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If virtual temperature 𝑇𝑣 is defined as

𝑇
𝑇𝑣 = 𝑒
[1 − 𝑃 (1 − 𝜀)]
Then the equation of state becomes,

𝑃 = 𝜌𝑅𝑑 𝑇𝑣
The virtual temperature allows the use of the dry-air equation of state for moist air,
replacing 𝑇 by 𝑇𝑣 . Hence the virtual temperature is the temperature that dry air would
have if its pressure and density were equal to those of a given sample of moist air.
It follows that the virtual temperature is the temperature that dry air would need to attain
in order to have the same density as the moist air at the same pressure.
Because moist air is less dense than dry air at the same temperature and pressure, the
virtual temperature is always greater than the actual temperature. However, even for
very warm and moist air, the virtual temperature exceeds the actual temperature by only
a few degrees. In some cases, the difference between 𝑇𝑣 and 𝑇 is small enough to ignore.
Summary
 An ideal gas is defined as one in which all collisions between atoms or
molecules are perfectly elastic and in which there are no intermolecular
attractive forces.
 Boyle’s Law: For constant temperature. PV = constant.
 Charle’s First ;Law: For constant pressure. V/T = constant.
 Avogadro’ law: At constant pressure and temperature, V ∝ n
 Combining all these laws, the ideal gas law: PV=nR1T
 Dalton’s law - pressure of a mixture of gases equals to the sum of their partial
pressures.
 For dry air (air without water vapor) the ideal gas law becomes 𝑷𝒅 = 𝝆𝒅 𝑹𝒅 𝑻
 For water vapor the ideal gas law is 𝑷𝒗 = 𝝆𝒗 𝑹𝒗 𝑻
 When there is a mixture of water vapor and dry air, it is convenient to retain the
gas constant for dry air and use a fictitious temperature called virtual
temperature ( 𝑻𝒗 ) in the ideal gas equation , 𝑷 = 𝝆𝑹𝒅 𝑻𝒗

PHU 5302
Objectives
 Derive the ideal gas law and its other formats
 Derive the Ideal gas law for dry air and water vapor.
 Derive the Virtual temperature
1. Calculate the density of dry air and number concentration of air molecules in the
atmosphere at standard sea-level pressure (1013 hPa) and temperature (288 K).
2. Calculate the water vapor density When water vapor pressure is 10 hPa and
temperature is 298 K.
3. A normal breath is about 0.50 L. If room temperature is about 22°C, then the air
has a temperature of about 295 K. With normal pressure being 1.0 atm, how many
moles of air do we take in for every breath?
1. Calculate the density of dry air and number concentration of air molecules in
the atmosphere at standard sea-level pressure (1013 hPa) and temperature (288
K).
At standard sea level, P = 1013 hPa and T = 288 K.
𝑃𝑑 = 𝜌𝑑 𝑅𝑑 𝑇
𝑃𝑑 1013 hPa
𝜌𝑑 = = 3 −1 −1
= 1.2253 𝑘𝑔 𝑚3
𝑅𝑑 𝑇 2.8704 𝑚 ℎ𝑃𝑎 𝑘𝑔 𝐾 288 𝐾

PHU 5302
𝑘𝐵 = 1.380658 × 10−19 cm3 hPa K −1 molec.−1
Thus, from
𝑷 = 𝑵𝒌𝑩 𝑻
𝑷 1013 hPa
𝑵= =
𝒌𝑩 𝑻 1.380658 × 10 cm3 hPa K −1 molec.−1 × 288 K
−19
𝑵 = 2.55 × 1019 molec. cm3
2. Calculate the water vapor density When water vapor pressure is 10 hPa and
temperature is 298 K.
Use the equation of state for water vapor 𝑒 = 𝜌𝑣 𝑅𝑣 𝑇
𝑅𝑣 = 4.615 𝑚3 ℎ𝑃𝑎 𝑘𝑔−1 𝐾 −1
𝑒
𝜌𝑣 =
𝑅𝑣 𝑇
10 ℎ𝑝𝑎
𝜌𝑣 =
4.615 𝑚3 ℎ𝑃𝑎 𝑘𝑔−1 𝐾 −1 × 298 𝐾
water vapor density = 𝜌𝑣 = 7.27 × 10−3 𝑘𝑔 𝑚−3
3. A normal breath is about 0.50 L. If room temperature is about 22°C, then the
air has a temperature of about 295 K. With normal pressure being 1.0 atm,
how many moles of air do we take in for every breath?
Using the ideal gas law

𝑃𝑉 = 𝑛𝑅 ∗ 𝑇
𝑃𝑉
𝑛= ∗
𝑅 𝑇
1.0 𝑎𝑡𝑚 × 0.5 𝐿

𝑛= = 0.021 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑎𝑖𝑟
𝐿. 𝑎𝑡𝑚
0.08205 × 295 𝐾
𝑚𝑜𝑙 . 𝐾

1 PHU5302 Atmospheric Physics Unit 1 2019

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PHU 5302

EARTH AND ITS ATMOSPHERE

1.1 The Earth

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Earth’s rotation rate (Ω) = 7.27 × 10−5s−1

1.2 Earth's atmosphere

without greenhouse gases, the earth would be 33°C (59 °F)

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While keeping in necessary heat radiation, components in the atmosphere block

Without the atmosphere, the Earth would be like a bigger version

1.3 Various theories proposed for the origin of gases

Oxygen only became a part of Earth's atmosphere when green plants

1.4 Nature of the atmosphere

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the oceans to the continents, providing precipitation critical to sustain terrestrial

1.5 Composition of the Atmosphere

The amount of atmospheric gases can be expressed by different measures. Most

The noble gases (Inert gases)

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Humankind is changing atmospheric composition of Earth by

1.6. Vertical structure of the atmosphere

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1.7 Vertical change of composition

Figure 1.1 Vertical structure of the atmosphere according to chemical composition

1.8 Vertical changes in air properties

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Figure 1.2 Vertical profile of pressure and density in the atmosphere.

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Figure 1.3 Global-mean pressure as functions of altitude.

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Some key features of the atmosphere’s vertical structure:

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2. Why doesn't the Moon have an atmosphere? Assume M = mass of moon

Answers to the Self-Assessment Questions

G = Newton's universal constant of gravity = 6.67 x 10-11 N-m2/kg3

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VERTICAL CHANGE OF TEMPERATURE

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2.1 Vertical structure of the Atmosphere according to

Figure 2.1 Atmospheric structure according to the temperature

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Why does air get colder with altitude?

All weather is driven by density (which depends on temperature and moisture)

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Figure 2.3 Atmospheric Layers and clouds

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Figure 2.5 Upper atmospheric optical phenomena associated with thunderstorms,

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Figure 2.6 Thermosphere and radiation blocking

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Figure 2.8 Variations in the ionosphere during the day

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Figure 2.9 Region of the Ionosphere in upper atmosphere, according to

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Answers to the Self-Assessment Questions