ENVR 3002 Introduction to Atmospheric Sciences

Key concepts in Overview of Earth System

• Components of the earth system:
atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, biosphere, lithosphere

Key concepts in Thermodynamics

• Temperature: dry air temperature, wet bulb temperature, vertical structure of the atmosphere
• Pressure: unit, relation to mass of air column, scale height [ 𝑝 = 𝑝# exp (−𝑧/𝐻) ]
o Atmospheric pressure (barometric pressure) at one point is equal to the weight per
unit area of the air above that point.
• Ideal gas law: 𝑝 = 𝜌𝑅0 𝑇
• Moisture variables (mixing ratio, specific humidity, relative humidity)
• Virtual temperature [ 𝑇2 = 𝑇(1 + 0.61𝑤) ] and the ideal gas law with 𝑇2 , 𝑝 = 𝜌𝑅0 𝑇2 .
o 𝑇2 is a “moisture-corrected” temperature, with which the ideal gas law has a form
similar to that of dry air.
09 9<
• Hydrostatic equation: = −𝜌𝑔 = −
0: => ?@
• Hypsometric equation in an isothermal atmosphere:
DDD2D
𝑅0 𝑇 𝑝C
𝑍B − 𝑍C = ln ( )
𝑔# 𝑝B
and
𝑍B − 𝑍C
𝑝B = 𝑝C exp G− H
𝐻
DDDD
= ?
DDD2D is the scale height.
where 𝐻 = > @ = 29.3 𝑇
<I
o These two equations will be provided in exams, but all other equations in this
document need to be memorized.
• Specific heat at constant pressure and volume.
o 𝑐9 =1005 J/kg/K
o 𝑐2 = 717 J/kg/K
o To calculate energy change for heating/cooling, 𝐸 = 𝑚 𝑐9 Δ𝑇 or 𝐸 = 𝑚 𝑐2 Δ𝑇
• Dry adiabatic lapse rate Γ0
o “Adiabatic” means that there is no exchange of heat (or mass) between the air parcel
and environment.
o “Dry” means there is no phase change of water (condensation, freezing, evaporation…)
9 =/UV
• Potential temperature 𝜃 = 𝑇 S 9I T
o 𝜃 is conserved in dry adiabatic process. Physically, it means the temperature of an air
parcel (at some height and temperature) when it is brought to 𝑝# (usually 1000hPa)
level dry adiabatically.
• Saturation vapor pressure over water and ice, eW and eWX ;
o Roughly speaking, 𝑒Z is a measure of maximum number of water vapor molecules
allowed in the air at a given temperature (with respect to water surface).

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 o 𝑒Z[ is the maximum number allowed with respect to ice surface.
• Dew point temperature 𝑇0
o For given mixing ratio of moisture (w), if we decrease the temperature to 𝑇0 , relative
humidity becomes 100% and condensation starts to occur.
• Lifting condensation level (LCL)
o If an air parcel (with some amount of moisture) is lifted adiabatically, it cools as it
ascends, because es decreases as T decreases, at some height level, relative humidity
(RH) becomes 100% and condensation occurs. This height level where RH becomes
100% is LCL.
• Moist diabatic process
o Similar to dry diabatic, except “moist” indicates the air parcel is saturated and phase
change of water occurs during vertical movement.
o Moist adiabatic lapse rate is denoted by ΓZ in this course, where “s” denotes
“saturated”.
• Stability
o If a vertically lifted air parcel tends to return to its original position due to buoyancy,
the environment is stable; If it tends to continue ascending due to buoyancy, the
environment is unstable.
o An air parcel warmer than the environment tends to ascend, and an air parcel colder
than the environment tends to sink.
o Thus if the environment temperature decreases very quickly with height (large Γ > Γ] > ΓZ ),
an air parcel that is lifted adiabatically would become warmer than environment and
keep rising. [absolutely unstable]
o If the environment temperature decreases very slowly with height (small Γ < ΓW < Γ0 ), an
air parcel that is lifted adiabatically would become colder than environment and sink.
[absolutely stable]
o If ΓW < Γ < Γ0 , the lifted air parcel could be warmer or colder than the environment,
depending on whether the parcel is saturated. [conditionally unstable]
o Γ0 = 9.8 K/km; ΓZ varies depending on the amount of moisture. It could be as low as 4
K/km, but in any case, ΓZ < Γ0
• Skew-T chart

Key concepts in Radiative Transfer

• Frequency and wavelength, 𝑓𝜆 = 𝑐
• Radiance and irradiance (flux intensity)
o Radiance is the flux intensity from a specific direction
o Irradiance is the flux from all direction of the hemisphere above a horizontal surface
• Blackbody concept
o A hypothetical perfect absorber of radiation. It does not reflect radiation at any
wavelength.
• Planck’s law

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 o Planck’s law describes the radiance of a blackbody at different wavelengths at a given
temperature. Based on it, we derive Wien’s law and Stefan-Boltzmann law.
• Wien’s law 𝜆bcd = 2897/𝑇 (µm)
o 𝜆bcd is the wavelength at which a blackbody has maximum irradiance for given
temperature T.
• Shortwave and longwave radiation
• Stefan-Boltzmann law: 𝐹 = 𝜎𝑇 j
o F here is the total radiation flux (including all wavelengths) emitted by a blackbody at
given temperature T.
• Solar constant 𝑆# = 1368 W/m2
o The solar radiation (including all wavelengths) reaching the top of the atmosphere
(TOA)
• Averaged solar radiation over TOA of the Earth, 𝑆# /4
o 𝑆# is the intensity for a surface normal to the coming direction of solar radiation. If we
distribute that energy uniformly over the entire globe of the Earth, the resulting mean
value is 𝑆# /4
• Greenhouse gases: CO2, CH4, (tropospheric) O3.
• Effects of low and high clouds on radiation
o Low clouds mainly reflect solar radiation, so they cool the climate.
o High clouds are more effective in absorbing longwave radiation emitted from surface
and lower-level atmosphere, so they make the climate warmer.
• Color of Sky during day and at sunset/sunrise.
o Due to different ratios of particle sizes to wavelengths, Mie and Rayleigh scattering
redistribute energy differently. Rayleigh scattering redistribute significant amount of
energy backwards and sideways. Mie scattering redistribute energy mostly forward.
o Air molecules produce Rayleigh scattering to sunlight.
o The efficiency of Rayleigh scattering is proportional to 1/𝜆j , so the scattering of blue
light (𝜆 ≈ 0.47 µm) is more efficient than that of red (𝜆 ≈ 0.64 µm) or other light.
o Thus the sky is blue for most of the times of a day.
• Single atmosphere layer model

Key concepts in Cloud Physics

• A few types of clouds: cumulus, stratus, altocumulus, cirrus, cirrocumulus, cumulonimbus
• Typical size of cloud droplets (~10µm) and rain drops (~1000µm=1mm)
• Conditions for cloud formation: MAC (moisture, aerosol, cooling)
o Aerosols are need because of the curvature effect. As mentioned in class, if we simply
let water vapor molecule “stick” together, relative humidity (RH) need to be larger than
440%
o With aerosols, cloud droplets do not have to be from zero radius, making the
formation of cloud droplets require a smaller supersaturation (RH).

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 o Saturation vapor pressure es increases (decreases) with increase (decrease) in
temperature, thus cooling lowers es and make saturation occur eventually, i.e. making
e = es and RH=100%.
• Cooling processes: radiation, uplift, mixing
• Curvature effect (Kelvin equation + figure)
o Saturation vapor pressure e (i.e. maximum number of water vapor molecules allowed
in the air for a give temperature) depends on curvature (in addition to temperature)
o Curvature is defined to be the reciprocal of the radius of a circle, 1/r.
o Small radius values make e become larger, i.e. RH has to be larger than 100% to make
condensation occur.
• Aerosol and CCN
o CCN: cloud condensation nuclei.
• Solute effect (Raoult’s law)
o The existence of solute makes evaporation more difficult, so the saturation vapor
pressure e for a solution is lower than that for pure water.
• Köhler theory (figure)
o Köhler theory combines solute effect and curvature effect.
o The required supersaturation or RH (for the occurrence of condensation) initially
increases with particle size because the growth of cloud droplet means more water is
added and the solution is diluted, the solute effect becomes weaker.
o It decreases with radius later, because the droplet is already so diluted (close to pure
water), the curvature effect dominates.
• Cloud growth mechanisms: collision–coalescence, riming (hail), aggregation, capture
nucleation
• Bergeron–Findeisen process
o In mixed-phase clouds, where ice and supercooled water coexist, ice grows and
decreases ambient vapor pressure (number of vapor molecules), causing evaporation
of water droplets.

Key concepts in Atmospheric Dynamics

• Definition of wind in meteorology
• Wind barb
C o9
• Pressure gradient force (𝑓9 = − n od )
• Coriolis force
o In northern hemisphere, it is always to the right of the wind vector
o calculation 𝑓U = 2Ω𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜙 ∙ 𝑣
• Coriolis parameter
o 𝑓 = 2Ω𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜙
• Geostrophic wind
C 09 C 09
o 𝑣< = − =−
BwnWXxy 0z {n 0z
• Rossby wave and conservation of total vorticity*

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 • Jet streams (zonal mean zonal wind map)

Key concepts in Weather Systems

• Constant height/pressure chart
• Circulation around low/high centers
• Convergence, divergence, and vertical motions
o Due to mass conservation, low-level convergence implies upper-level divergence, and
upward air motions.
o Low-level divergence implies upper-level convergence and sinking motions.
• Cold/warm front
• Infrared satellite image of extratropical cyclones
o Satellite measures radiation (at some wavelengths). Because 𝐹 = 𝜎𝑇 j , the radiation
emitted from the Earth’s surface is stronger, while the emission from cloud tops, which
• Difference between typhoon, severe typhoon, super typhoon
• Conditions favorable for tropical-cyclone (TC) genesis
o Warm ocean water
o Latitude > 5 degree
o Convective instability
o High relative humidity
o Low wind shear
• Storm tracks
o Extratropical cyclones tend to develop over midlatitude oceans
o Those regions with frequent development extratropical cyclones are storm tracks,
which produce strong winds and precipitation.
• Monsoons
o Ocean has a higher heat capacity than land.
o In summer, the land warms fast and this strong heating cause the air over land ascend;
the relative cold temperature over ocean causes sinking motions. Due to mass
conservation, moist ocean air flows from the ocean to land and produces significant
precipitation.
o In winter, the circulation is reversed, dry inland air flows towards the ocean, so there is
much less precipitation.

Key concepts in Atmospheric Boundary Layer

• Atmospheric boundary layer (ABL)
o The portion of the atmosphere most affected by the Earth’s surface
o Normally the lowest ~1 km of the atmosphere
o Characterized by mixing due to turbulence
• Turbulence can be driven thermally or mechanically
o Thermally driven turbulence is due to heating at bottom and/or cooling at top
o Mechanically driven turbulence is due to wind shear

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• Common heating/cooling mechanism in the atmosphere
o Surface heating
o Cloud top cooling
o Canopy cooling
• Richardson number
o A dimensionless number that expresses the ratio of a measure of the buoyancy to that
of the flow.
𝑔 𝜕𝜃DDD2
𝑇|2 𝜕𝑧
𝑅𝑖 =
𝜕𝑢D B 𝜕𝑣̅ B
S 𝜕𝑧 T + S 𝜕𝑧 T
o Bulk Richardson number (finite difference approximation for operational use)
𝑔 Δ𝜃 DDD2
𝑇|2 Δ𝑧
𝑅𝑖 =
Δ𝑈| B Δ𝑉D
B
G H +G H
Δ𝑧 Δ𝑧
• Turbulence kinetic energy (TKE)
o is defined as the kinetic energy (per unit mass) associated with turbulent fluctuation
components of velocities, i.e.
1 DDDDD DDDDD
„B + 𝑣 DDDDD
„B + 𝑤
1
„B … = [𝜎 B + 𝜎 B + 𝜎 B ] .
𝑇𝐾𝐸 = ƒ𝑢
2 2 ‡ 2 ˆ

• Turbulent flux
o Covariance between (vertical) velocity and scalars (potential temperature, moisture,
etc.) For example, the vertical turbulent heat flux is
Œ
1
DDDDDD
𝑤 „𝜃„ = ‹ 𝑤[„ 𝜃[„
𝑁
[•#
• Surface energy balance: 𝐹 ∗ = 𝐹•Z + 𝐹•Z + 𝐹‘Z
o 𝐹 ∗ is the net radiation flux (solar minus longwave)
o 𝐹•Z is sensible heat flux into the air (positive upward, for flux away from the surface)
o 𝐹•Z is latent heat flux into the air (positive upward), and
o 𝐹‘Z is the conduction of heat down into the ground (positive downward, away from the
surface); the extra subscript s denotes near the surface.
• Capping inversion
o A statically stable layer at the top of the ABL, with a strong temperature gradient
o It suppresses turbulence within it and confines the turbulent mixing below
• Diurnal cycle of the ABL

Key concepts in Chemistry measures and models

• Mixing ratio
o ppm, ppb, ppt
• Column concentration
o is defined as the vertically integrated number (amount) density of a gas, i.e.,
•
𝛺“ = ” 𝑐“ 𝑑𝑧 ,
#

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 • Mass concentration
• PM2.5
o Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) that have a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers
• Key processes included in a chemistry model
o Emission, chemistry reactions, transport, deposition
• Lifetime of a chemical (regarding specific sinks)
o the average time that a molecule of 𝝌 remains in the box when sources are ignored
and only sinks are considered, that is, the ratio of the mass 𝑚 (kg) of 𝜒 in the box to the
removal rate 𝐹𝑜𝑢𝑡+𝐿+𝐷 (kg/s):
𝑚“
𝜏=
𝐹Ÿ‡ + 𝐿 + 𝐷
o Lifetime can also be defined for one specific sink (export, chemical, deposition, …)
o This is often called the e-folding time scale, because for a model with a first-order sink
and no sources, 𝑚“ (𝑡) = 𝑚# 𝑒 ¡ /¢
, so at 𝑡 = 𝜏, mass 𝑚“ = 𝑚# /𝑒, where 𝑚# is the initial
mass of the chemical 𝜒.
• First order sources/sinks are those proportional to the mass of the chemical, for example, a
first-order chemical loss has the following form
𝐿 = 𝑘U 𝑚

Key concepts in Geochemical Cycles

• Reservoirs for geochemical cycles
o atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, soil, lithosphere
• Ocean acidification and its effect on CO2 absorption.
• Mixed layer of the oceans
o Approximately top 100m
o Rich nutrients for biological activities, including photosynthesis
o residence time (lifetime) of the mixed layer water is about 18 years, while deep water
has a residence time of about 120 years.
• Net primary productivity (NPP)
o is defined as the yearly average rate of photosynthesis minus the rate of respiration by
all plants in an ecosystem
• CO2 level was about 275 ppm before 1800 and has passed 400 ppm around 2016.

Key concepts in Stratospheric Chemistry

• Stratospheric ozone
o concentration maximizes around 20km above surface
o absorbs harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation
• Roles of CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbons) in ozone loss (catalyst)
• Montreal Protocol