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QUESTIONS?
Why is meteorology important to
airborne science?
What you should get from these lectures:
The basics of meteorology
Meteorological concepts specifically
important to SARP
A few weather-related project ideas
ENSO/long-range transport Project Idea
What you should get from these lectures:
The basics of meteorology
Meteorological concepts specifically
important to SARP
A few weather-related project ideas
Lets start with some basics!
Then, apply them to SARP flight planning
SARP + Weather = FUN!
UC Regents
Layers of the Atmosphere
Atmospheric Pressure: weighing the air
above us
Pressure = Force/Area = [mass x gravity] / area
Commonly used units:
Pascal = 1 N m
-2
1 hectoPascal (hPa)
= 1 millibar (mb)

Basic things to remember:
Avg mean sea level pressure
1013.25 hPa (or mb)
Pressure decreases
exponentially with height
Mass of the Atmosphere
Surface Pressure
Not MSLP
Mass of the Atmosphere
Avg SFC Pressure: 985 hPa
Pressure = Mass * Gravity / Area !
Mass = Pressure*Area/Gravity

Mass_atmos = (98500 Pa / 9.81 N/kg) * 4 * pi * R
2


= 5.12 e18 kg !!!!

Or, 128 TRILLION Semi-trucks!
Parcels
X
Do not exchange energy or mass
with environment
Dry Adiabatic Processes
1
st
Law of Thermodynamics: dh = c
p
*dT !*dp
Adiabatic: change of state without exchange of energy
or mass with environment ! dh = 0
Example: Parcel expands, does work, and T get
cooler
Lapse Rate ("
d
): rate at which a rising parcel cools
Do some magic, and solve for dT/dz:
dT/dz = -g/c
p
= 9.8 C/km = dry adiabatic lapse rate
>0 for T decreasing with height
<0 for inversions
Rising air cools, sinking air warms
But its more complicated: Water Vapor
Vapor Pressure = partial pressure of vapor (hPa)
Mixing Ratio = mass of vapor/mass dry air (g/kg)
Relative Humidity = (mixing ratio/saturation mixing ratio) * 100%
Commonly expressed as:
Saturation: parcel can no longer hold any more water
vapor and condensation occurs, i.e., RH = 100%
Dew Point Temp: temperature to which air must be
cooled at a constant pressure to become saturated
Saturated Adiabatic Processes
-Start with a saturated parcel
If we lift it, condensation occurs, which
releases latent heat! dh # 0
Vapor
Liquid
-We can now perform more magic with dh =
latent heat release to find that:
"
s
$"
d
"
s
% 6
o
C/km, depending on
how much vapor is in the air
Vapor
Liquid
Latent heat
released, cooling
slowed
What causes the wind to blow??
Forces, of course!
hup://www.s-cool.co.uk/a-level/geography/lnLroducuon-Lo-weaLher-and-
cllmaLe/revlse-lL/aLmospherlc-clrculauon-and-mouon
Coriolis Force
Geostrophic Wind: balance of the PGF and
the Coriolis force
Flow Around Highs and Lows:
Include Centripetal Acceleration!
Gradient Wind
hup://www.physlcalgeography.neL/fundamenLals/7n.hLml
How does this look on a weather map?
500 hPa Chart %18,000 ft or 5.5 km
Height Contours Replace Isobars
Why are weather people always showing
500 hPa plots?!!?
L
H
Why are weather people always showing
500 mb plots?!!?
Divergence
L
H
Divergence more mass leaving a column
of air than entering it
Things change at the surface:
New balance of forces!
Surface Map
Isobars = Lines of constant pressure
Quick Breather
When you bring your full attention to each
moment, a day is a complete lifetime of
living and learning,
Mark Divine, Retired Navy SEAL
Rain Forecasting:
Will air rise or sink?
All precipitation is due to rising air
(of course, until it falls)

Stability: Classic Picture
unstable
stable
neutral
Radiosondes
Dallas, TX
Displace parcel upward (could go downward)
Will displacement be
Suppressed = Stable
Layered clouds, steady precipitation
Enhanced = Unstable
Towering clouds, showers or Tstorms
Neither = Neutral
Parcel moves only to where pushed
Hydrostatic Stability: Hot air rises!
Environmental lapse rate less then sat. adiabatic
lapse rate
Environmental lapse rate greater than "
d
Environmental lapse rate between dry and
saturated adiabatic rates
Dry Adiabatic
Wet Adiabatic
Environment
Why does stability matter to you and
SARP?
QUESTION:
Rim Fire: August 2013
."#"%4$1 516 7("% 89:;<=
PyroConvection: Fire storms
."#"%4$1 516 7("% 89:;<=
hup://mlchaelsweaLherblog.blogspoL.com/2013/08/rlm-re.hLml
Stability affects flow over mountains
hup://www.remodels.org/downloads/behaveplus/publlcauons/llreWeaLher/
pms_423_llre_Wx_ch_04.pdf
Weather Forecasting: Educated Guessing
X
LUCK!
fuelberg.met.fsu.edu/sarp
Thanks to Sean Freeman!
Become a forecaster!
Quick Summary
1. Basic thermodynamics
1. Rising air cools, sinking air warms
2. Saturation
2. Why the winds blow
1. Geostrophic, gradient, and surface winds
3. Stability
1. Influences processes of interest to SARP
4. Weather Forecasting
THANKS!