Chapter 3: Turbulence and Cumulus Clouds

Physics concepts

  1. Sensible vs Latent heating
  2. adiabatic processes
  3. First law of thermodynamics
  4. saturation and equilibrium between rate of evaporation and rate of condensation

Weather and Climate concepts

  1. convection vs. advection
  2. boundary layer and free troposphere
  3. Where are turbulent processes most prominent?
  4. Turbulent mixing homogenizes "conservative variables"
    1. What does this mean?
    2. What are examples of conserved variables homogenized by mixing?
    3. What are examples of non-conserved variables that are not homogenized by mixing?
  5. dry static energy, s
    1. be able to identify all terms in the equation
    2. under what conditions is s conserved? (Hint, what is the equation that describes how s changes with time?). NOTE: You do NOT have to know what a Lagrangian derivative it. It is sufficient for you to think about how s changes in a parcel as the parcel moves around.
    3. How is this related to the dry adiabatic lapse rate?
  6. moist static energy, h
    1. be able to identify all terms in the equation
    2. under what conditions is s conserved? (Hint, what is the equation that describes how s changes with time?).
    3. be able to plot constant h for a parcel leaving the surface on a diagram of (s, h, and h*, where h* is saturated moist static energy).
    4. also be able to identify lifting condensation level, level of neutral buoyancy, region of CAPE, and region of CIN
  7. dry adiabatic lapse rate, moist adiabatic lapse rates, environmental lapse rate
    1. definitions, and differences between these (when are they used, which applies to parcels and which is an actual measurement?)
    2. calculations of parcel temperatures using lapse rates
    3. Why is dry adiabatic lapse rate always greater than saturated (or moist) adiabatic lapse rate?
    4. identifying stability by comparing lapse rate
      1. stable
      2. unstable
      3. conditionally stable
  8. stratification and relationship with dry and moist static energies
  9. moisture variables
    1. vapor pressure (relation to sat'n vapor pressure--which one does not measure how much moisture is present?
    2. specific humidity (saturation specific humidity)
    3. relative humidity (value of relativity at saturation)
    4. How does saturation vapor pressure vary with temperature? How does this explain why "warm air holds more moisture than cool air?"
  10. CAPE, CIN, how these are related on a diagram of dry, moist, saturated static energies.
  11. What does this mean: "cumulous convection converts CAPE into kinetic energy"?
  12. Convection is widely spaced; what happens between convective cells?
  13. What determines intensity of convection?
  14. What is the ITCZ?

Reading Guide, and useful links