AER200: Advanced

Aeronautics
Lecture 1: The Earth’s Atmosphere
Reference: RACWM Chapters 1 & 2
 Agenda

1. Course Introduction
2. Composition & Properties of Atmosphere
3. Structure of Atmosphere
4. Solar Radiation
5. Change of State
6. Conduction & Terrestrial Radiation
7. Heating of the Troposphere
8. Standard Atmosphere
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 1.1 Schedule
Class Date Topics

January 09, 2023 Course Introduction & The Earth's Atmosphere

January 13, 2023 Temperature, Moisture, Stability & Instability

Atmospheric Pressure & Meteorological Aspects of

January 16, 2023
Altimetry

January 20, 2023 Clouds, Precipitation, & Surface Based Layers

January 23, 2023 Winds, Windshear, & Turbulence

January 27, 2023 Air Masses & Fronts

January 30, 2023 Aviation Weather Reports: METARs,TAFs, PIREPs

Aviation Weather Forecasts: GFAs, AIRMETs, FDs, &

February 03, 2023
SIGMETs

February 06, 2023 Thunderstorms & Aircraft Icing

February 10, 2023 Meteorology Review: Putting it All Together

February 13, 2023 Term Test 1

February 17, 2023 Navigation Charts & CFS I

February 20, 2023 Family Day - College Closed

February 24, 2023 Term Test 1 Review, Navigation Charts & CFS II
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 1.1 Schedule
Class Date Topics

March 06, 2023 Performance I

March 10, 2023 Flight Panning I

March 13, 2023 Flight Planning II

March 17, 2023 Flight Planning: Practice I

March 20, 2023 Flight Planning: Practice II

March 24, 2023 Pilot Navigation

March 27, 2023 Performance II

March 31, 2023 Weight & Balance

April 03, 2023 Term Test 2

April 07, 2023 Good Friday - College Closed

April 10, 2023 Flight Planning: Practice III

April 14, 2023 Term Test 2 Review & Radio Communication

April 17, 2023 Radio Navigation

4 April 21, 2023 Exam Preparation: Full Course Review

 1.2 Deliverables

• 5 Quizzes à 1% each
• 5 Assignments à 3% each
• 2 Term Tests à 20% each
• Final Exam à 40%

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 1.3 Required Texts and Supplies
Texts:
• From The Ground Up
• Air Command Weather Manual
Supplies:
• E6B Flight Computer
• ICAO Ruler
• Douglas Protractor
• Toronto VNC Map

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 1.4 Class Expectations

I have the same expectations the airlines do

during their training:
• Phones on silent during class
• Positively participate
• Respect each other’s ideas
• Ask questions at any time

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 2. Composition & Properties of the Atmosphere

What do you know so far about the earth’s atmosphere?

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 2. Composition & Properties of the Atmosphere
100%

About 14.7 psi at sea level or 1013.2 mb

90%

80%
• Atmosphere has weight, half of it is below
70% 18,000 feet
60% • No well-defined upper surface but satellite
50%
drag data indicates some air at 1,000 miles
• Gases each contribute to
atmospheric pressure
40%

• Water vapour usually less than 1% but can

30%

Oxygen 21%
20%
be 3.5%, but still very critical
Water/Other 1%
10%

Nitrogen 78%
9 0%
 2. Composition of the Atmosphere & Properties

• Water Vapor is fundamental for weather

• Predominantly found in lower levels
• Responsible for clouds and precipitation
• H2O vapour (10) is lighter than O2 (16) or N2 (14)
• H2O proportion varies hour to hour, day to
day, by season and by latitude
• Water content changes depending on
temperature, pressure, & source

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 2. Composition of the Atmosphere & Properties
• Air is a fluid
• 3 primary properties: mobility, expansion & compression
• Mobility: can easily move across different areas
• Expansion: capable of indefinite expansion, decrease in pressure à condensation
• Compression: increase in pressure à evaporation
• Lifting agents can be frontal, thermal, orographic, mechanical
• Air at altitude has less air mass above it, reduced pressure & lower
temperature
• Air going up also cools, due to reducing pressure

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 3. Structure of the Atmosphere

~25,000-56,000 feet
Average height - 36,000 feet
-56.5 C

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 3. Structure of the Atmosphere
Four distinct layers, divided based on
temperature change in the layer:
1. Thermosphere
• Contains the Ionosphere, which can affect
radio waves
• Aurora is found in this layer
2. Mesosphere
• Decrease in temperature with height
3. Stratosphere
• Constant temperature with an increase in
height
• Cloud formation is rare
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 3. Structure of the Atmosphere

4. Troposphere
• Layer nearest to earth
• Decrease in temperature with altitude
• Where most weather occurs
• Water vapour and large-scale vertical currents
• Jet streams are found at the top of the troposphere, which is several layers below
the thermosphere. higher at the equator and lower at the poles. They are lower in
winter and higher in summer.

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 3. Structure of the Atmosphere
Boundaries between atmospheric layers:
• Mesopause: top of mesosphere
• Stratopause: top of the stratosphere
• Tropopause: top of the troposphere
• Average height of 36,000 feet
• Lower in the winter
• Higher near the equator
• Average temperature of -56.5 C
• Allows movement under it, ie. lows and highs

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 3. Structure of the Atmosphere

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 4. Solar Radiation

What do you know so far about heating of the atmosphere?

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 4. Solar Radiation

• Sun emits short wave solar radiation (ultraviolet)

• Some reflected by the earth à depends on angle and surface
• Some reflected by clouds
• Some absorbed by the earth

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 4. Solar Radiation

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 4. Solar Radiation

Earth emits long wave radiation (infrared)

• Some absorbed by H2O
• Some absorbed by CO2
• Some absorbed by clouds
• Some radiated back to ground
• Outgoing radiation balances incoming radiation
• Earth’s average temperature remains constant

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 4. Solar Radiation

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 4. Solar Radiation

• Radiation itself is not heat

• Heat will be emitted when radiation is
absorbed by a substance
• Radiation absorbed by ozone in the upper
atmosphere
• Radiation absorbed by water vapour and
carbon dioxide in lower atmosphere

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 4. Solar Radiation

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 5.0 Change of State
• Atmospheric moisture originates from
evaporation from bodies of water
• Mixed throughout several thousand feet
• Water can change between three forms
• Solid (ice crystals)
• Liquid (water droplets)
• Gas
• Change from solid to gas à sublimation
• Significant amount of energy is released or
absorbed in this process
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 5.0 Change of State

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 5.0 Change of State

Moisture content
• There is a limit to the amount
of water vapour that can be in
the atmosphere
• When this limit is reached the
air becomes “saturated” à
cloud forms
• The amount of moisture air
can hold depends on the
temperature

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 5.0 Change of State

Dew point
• “The temperature at a given pressure, to which
air must be cooled to cause saturation”
• Dew point spread: difference between
temperature and dew point; tells you how
saturated the air is
• Zero spread indicates saturated air (Ex. temperature
of 20C and dew point of 20C)

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 5.0 Change of State

Relative humidity
• “compares the amount of water vapour in the air with the amount that it could
hold if it were saturated and this is expressed as a percentage”
• 100% relative humidity indicates the air is saturated
• This would be the same as a temperature dew point spread of 0
• Does not take into account the temperature of the air, provides less information
• Warmer air can hold more moisture

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 5.0 Change of State
Condensation nuclei
• Required for visible moisture formation with temperature below dew point
• Can be sea salt, combustion particles, dust, pollen, ash
• Can cause visible moisture before saturation is reached

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 6. Conduction & Terrestrial Radiation

• Law of physics: heat will flow from warm to cold à conduction

• Air is a very poor conductor
• Heat will remain in very shallow layer unless it is distributed aloft through
vertical air motion
• More direct angle of sunlight will heat the surface more
• Near the poles the sun sits the surface over a greater surface area
• Also depends on type of surface (Ex. snow vs. land)

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 6. Conduction & Terrestrial Radiation

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 6. Conduction & Terrestrial Radiation

Maritime Effects:
• Lands heats and cools much faster than water
• Water has much smaller diurnal and seasonal
temperature changes
• Takes about 5x radiant energy to raise the
temperature of water
• Heat received at the water's surface can be
distributed downward
• Heat received by soil is held within a few
inches of the surface
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 6. Conduction & Terrestrial Radiation

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 7. Heating of the Troposphere

• Troposphere receives heat from 6 ways the troposphere is

terrestrial radiation and heated:
conduction 1. Terrestrial Radiation
• Heat distributed by convection, 2. Release of Latent Heat
turbulent mixing, release of 3. Convection
latent heat, and advection 4. Turbulent Mixing
5. Advection
6. Compression

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 7.1 Terrestrial Radiation

• Heating through the earth’s emission

of long wave radiation

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 7.2 Release of Latent Heat

• Evaporated water from the surface is

carried aloft
• Once aloft, if cooled and condensed,
latent heat is released à change of state
• Heat absorbed near the surface carried
aloft

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 7.3 Convection

• After the surface is heated by

conduction, the warm air rises
• With the rising of the warm air, heat
from the surface is brought up
through the atmosphere

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 7.4 Turbulent Mixing

• Wind causes the mixing of air

• Heated surface is is mixed with
cooler upper air

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 7.5 Advection (Conduction, Convection & Mixing)

• Wind can also move air horizontally

• Cooler air can move laterally and
then be heated by conduction
• This air will then be moved vertically
by convection and turbulent mixing

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 7.6 Compression

• Just as air expands when it rises, it

compresses when it descends
• As air descends, the increased
atmospheric pressure causes
compression
• The increase in pressure then causes
an increase in temperature
• Less common type of heating,
usually only occurs as air descends
down a mountain
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 8. Standard Atmosphere

• 29.92”Hg (1013.2 mb) @ sea level

• 15° C @ sea level (close to the average surface temperature world-wide)
• Decrease of 1.98° C per 1,000 feet
• Decrease of 1”Hg = 1,000 feet (varies with height)
• 1 mb = 30 feet
• Air is presumed perfectly dry for standard

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 Questions?

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