AER200: Advanced

Aeronautics
Lecture 2: Temperature, Moisture, Stability, & Instability
Reference: RCAFWM Chapters 3 & 4
 Review

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 Review

3
 Review

4
 Review

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 Agenda

1. Cooling of the Atmosphere

2. Radiation Cooling
3. Expansion Cooling
4. Stability
5. Lapse Rates
6. Types of Stability
7. Instability

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 1. Cooling of the Atmosphere

Based on what we have learnt about heating of the atmosphere,

how do you think cooling of the atmosphere happens?

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 1. Cooling of the Atmosphere

Two important results:

1. Increases the density of the air
2. Moist air that is cooled can result in visible moisture (clouds and/or precipitation)
Two main types of cooling:
1. Radiation cooling
2. Expansion cooling

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 2.0 Radiation Cooling

• Troposphere is heated by
conduction and radiation
• Results in decrease in temperature
up to the tropopause
• Decrease in temperature is known
as the “lapse rate”
• Average environmental lapse rate
is the standard lapse rate
• Approximately 2OC per 1000 feet

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 2.0 Radiation Cooling

• Solar radiation goes away at night

• The earth will continue to radiate
long wave radiation
• Surface temperature will drop due
to conduction
• The lower 4000 feet of the
atmosphere cools the most
• Generally, upper atmosphere
does not have significant diurnal
variation
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 2.0 Radiation Cooling

5 main effects of radiation cooling:

1. Nocturnal inversions
2. Wind effect
3. Cloud effect
4. Topographical effect
5. Maritime effect

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 2.1 Nocturnal Inversions
• Normally, temperature will decrease
with altitude up to tropopause
• Temperature increase with altitude is
known as an ”inversion”
• When the cause is night cooling, it is a
“nocturnal inversion”
• Temperatures can be 15 to 20OC warmer
than the surface
• Normally quite shallow, less than 1000
feet thick
• Disappears as sun heats the earth
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 2.2 Wind Effect

• During windy nights, turbulence can

mix lower few thousand feet of the
atmosphere
• This distributes the cooling effect of
the earth’s surface aloft
• Surface will not cool as quickly as on a
calm night

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 2.3 Cloud Effect

• Cloud layers can absorb terrestrial

radiation
• Re-radiates back to the earth
• Slows down the rate of cooling as the
earth re-absorbs some of the radiation
• Surface will not cool as quickly as on a
clear night

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 2.4 Topographical Effect
• Mountainous terrain will not cool at
the same rate as flat terrain
• Cold air is much denser than warm air
• The denser (heavier) air will flow down
mountainous terrain
• Similar to water flowing down a hill
• Remember air is a fluid
• This will create an inversion
• Surface air will be much cooler than air
aloft
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 2.5 Maritime Effect
• Remember: water heats and cools
much slower than land
• More energy is required to heat water
• Both land and water will radiate heat
after sunset
• More heat available in the water, it will
cool much slower than the land
• Nocturnal inversions very weak or
non-existent in maritime areas

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 3. Expansion Cooling

• Warmer air will rises, pressure 6 main methods of expansion cooling:

differential will cause it to expand 1. Orographic lift
• As it expands the pressure will 2. Mechanical turbulence
decrease 3. Convection
4. Advection cooling
• As the pressure decreases, the
5. Large scale ascent
temperature will decrease

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 3.1 Orographic Lift
• Air flowing against a mountain
• Air cannot go through the mountain, it must go up
• Gradual incline is called “upslope” lift

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 3.2 Mechanical Mixing
• Wind blowing over rough terrain will become turbulent
• Air near the surface is lifted aloft, expands, and cools

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 3.3 Convection

• Ascending air current expands and

cools
• “Convection currents”

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 3.4 Evaporation

• Some rain evaporates before it

reaches the surface
• This change of state requires energy
• Energy is taken from the air, air will cool
as a result

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 3.5 Advection

• Air that moves over a warmer surface

will be heated
• The same occurs when air moves over
a cooler surface
• The air will be cooled
• Cooling is a result of conduction and
mechanical turbulence mixing

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 3.6 Large Scale Ascent

• Air over a large area slowly rising

• Only a few feet per minute
• The lifting or “ascent” is the result of
fronts
• This will be taught in much more detail in
the air masses and fronts lecture

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 4. Stability

What do you know so far about stability?

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 4. Stability
• Stable: returns to original position
• Unstable: moves further away from original position
• Neutral: stays in new position

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 4. Stability
• Stable air will descend back to original position when displaced
• Unstable air will continue to rise when displaced
• Neutral air will stay in its new position when displaced

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 4. Stability

• Stability depends on the buoyancy of an air parcel in the atmosphere

• Remember that warmer air is less dense à more buoyant
• Stability has to do with temperature
• Both of the rising air and the ambient air
• Air will continue to rise until it is met with air of equal temperature
• Rate of change of air temperature is also important
• This is called the “lapse rate”

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 5. Lapse Rates

There are three main lapse rates that are important to us:
1. Dry adiabatic lapse rate (DALR) à 3OC per 1000 feet
2. Saturated adiabatic lapse rate (SALR) à 1.5OC per 1000 feet
Saturated range is actually 1.1OC TO 2.8OC
3. Environmental lapse rate: the actual rate of change of temperature
at a given time

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 5. Lapse Rates

1. Dry adiabatic lapse rate

(DALR) à 3OC per 1000 feet
• Rate at which dry (unsaturated)
air will warm or cool

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 5. Lapse Rates

2. Saturated adiabatic lapse rate

(SALR) à 1.5OC per 1000 feet
• Saturated range is actually 1.1OC
to 2.8OC
• Clouds are formed as a result of
condensation
• Latent heat is released during
condensation, reducing the rate at
which the air will cool

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 5. Lapse Rates

2. Saturated adiabatic lapse rate

(SALR) à 1.5OC per 1000 feet
• Saturated range is actually 1.1OC
to 2.8OC
• Sinking air will heat, causing it to
no longer be saturated
• Will warm at the dry adiabatic
lapse rate

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 5. Lapse Rates
What is “adiabatic”?
• Air that is forced to rise will encounter lower pressure
• The air will then expand to equalize the pressure
• The decrease in pressure will cause a decrease in temperature
• The opposite will happen to sinking air: increased pressure will cause
compression which will cause an increase in temperature
• The temperature change is the result of expansion or compression,
not the addition of heat
• Adiabatic: no heat added or removed from the system
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 5. Lapse Rates
What is “adiabatic”?
• Adiabatic heating: heating as a result of compression, with no
addition of heat
• Adiabatic cooling: heating as a result of expansion, with no addition
of heat

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 5. Lapse Rates

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 5.1 Lapse Rates: Definitions

Steep lapse rate: the temperature decreases very rapidly with height.
This implies unstable air.
Shallow lapse rate: the temperature decreases very little with height.
This implies stable air.
Inversion: temperature increase with height; this indicates extremely
stable air.
Isothermal layer: the temperature does not change with height; this
indicates very stable air.

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 5. Lapse Rates: Definitions

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 5. Lapse Rates

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 5. Lapse Rates

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 5.2 Lapse Rates: Changing ELR
• ELR will shallow (stability) if:
• Heating upper layer
• Cooling lower layer
• ELR will steeping (instability) if:
• Heating lower layer
• Cooling upper later

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 5. Lapse Rates

Saturated Adiabatic Lapse Rate

1.5 C / 1000 feet
Latent heat of
vaporization
Altitude
released

Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate

3 C / 1000 feet

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Temperature
 6.0 Types of Stability

Four main types of stability

1. Absolute instability
2. Conditionally instability
3. Absolute stability
4. Potential instability

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 6.1 Types of Stability: Absolute Instability

Absolute instability: the environmental lapse rate is greater than the

dry adiabatic lapse rate (DALR)

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 Absolute Instability
6.1 Types of Stability: Absolute Instability
ELR
3.5 C / 1000 feet
SALR
Air pocket
continues to rise
Altitude

DALR

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Temperature
 6.2 Types of Stability: Conditional Instability

Conditional Instability: the environmental lapse rate is between the dry

and the saturation adiabatic lapse rate. If the air is unsaturated, it is
stable; if it is saturated it is unstable

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 Conditional Instability
6.2 Types of Stability: Conditional Instability
ELR
2.5 C / 1000 feet Air pocket
continues to rise

SALR
(Clouds will form
Altitude

if air is saturated)
DALR
(No clouds if
air is not saturated)

Air pocket will

not continue to rise

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Temperature
 6.3 Types of Stability: Absolute Stability

Absolute stability: the environmental lapse rate is less than the

saturation adiabatic lapse rate (SALR)

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 Absolute Stability
6.3 Types of Stability: Absolute
ELR
Stability
1 C / 1000 feet

SALR
Altitude (No clouds form)

DALR
(No clouds form

Air pocket will

not continue to rise

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Temperature
 Absolute Stability (Inversion)
6.4 Types of Stability:
ELR
Absolute Stability (Inversion)
3.5 C / 1000 feet

Altitude

Air pocket will Inversion

not continue to rise

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Temperature
 Stability: Definitions

Potential Instability: Initially stable air becomes unstable as the whole

airmass undergoes large scale ascent until it becomes saturated; this
would occur principally with frontal lift and with convergence

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 6.5 Types of Stability: Stable Air Summary

Which has better weather, stable or unstable air?

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 6.5 Types of Stability: Stable Air Summary

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 6.5 Types of Stability: Unstable Air Summary

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 6.6 Types of Stability: Summary
Steep lapse rate in the air mass
Cumulus type cloud
Precipitation in showers
Thunderstorms
Good visibility
Bumpy conditions
Shallow lapse rate in the air mass
Stratus type cloud
Precipitation is steady and lighter
Fog
Poor visibility
Smooth conditions

UNSTABLE STABLE
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 7. Instability

• Daytime heating is one of the main causes of instability

• Amount of heating depends on the surface (land heats faster than water)
• Instability or stability can also develop through advection
• Cold air moving over a warmer surface
• Stability can develop if warm air moves over a cooler surface

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 7. Instability

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 7. Instability

• Warm air advection:

• Cold air moving rapidly will develop
instability when moving over warmer air
• Cold air advection:
• Warm air moving rapidly will develop
stability when moving over cooler air

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 Questions?

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