Stability and Cloud Development Parcel of Air = invisible bubble Rising = cooling (parcel is buoyant when it is warmer than

its environment). Parcel is unsaturated below the LCL. Parcel is saturated at and above LCL so a cloud forms. Condensing water vapor releases latent heat in the cloud adding buoyancy. Sinking = warming (also reduces RH of parcel) Three Kinds of Equilibrium Stable -- When a rising parcel of air cools faster than its environment, the cooler parcel sinks back down. Unstable -- When a rising parcel cools, reaches saturation, and water vapor condenses, latent heat is released. The parcel cools more slowly than its environment, and the warmer parcel keeps rising. Neutral -- When the parcel is neither warmer or cooler than its environment, other factors, e.g. wind flow, come into play. Lapse rates Rate of cooling with height = T/z When rising air is unsaturated, it cools at the dry adiabatic rate of - 10 o C / km When rising air is saturated, it cools at the moist adiabatic rate of - 6 o C / km The average environmental cooling rate is about 6.5 oC / km Parcels rise up dry to the LCL up moist in the cloud Parcels sink down dry First law of thermodynamics Conservation of energy. Mechanical equivalent of heat. Cannon boring (mechanical) boils water (thermal). Heat = internal energy (T) + work of expansion (P) Adiabatic means no heat added, Heat = 0 So change in T is due to expansion only. For Earth: T/z (dry) = -g / C p = - 9.8 oC / km. Moist adiabatic means latent heat is added, Heat > 0 So change in T is due to expansion (cooling) + latent heat release (warming) T/z (moist) = - 6 oC / km.

Conditional instability The environmental lapse rate of -6.5 oC/km is classified as "conditionally unstable." It is less than the dry adiabatic rate of -10 oC/km (so dry parcels rising will find themselves always cooler than the environment and will sink or be stable) And it is greater than the moist adiabatic rate of about -6 oC/km (so moist parcels rising will find themselves always slightly warmer than the environment and will continue to rise or be unstable). Conditional instability, therefore, refers to whether the convection is dry (unsaturated) or moist (saturated). a. superadiabatic -- absolutely unstable b. typical environmental -- conditionally unstable c. isothermal -- absolutely stable d. inversion -- absolutely stable Height of a cloud base Cloud base = LCL = lifting condensation level = 100% RH Dry cooling rate 10 oC / 1000 m Decrease in Td 2 oC / 1000 m So dry air rising and cooling approaches saturation (100% RH) at a rate of 8 oC / 1000 m Cloud base (LCL) = (Ts - Td) / 8 oC / 1000 m = 125 (Ts- Td) [m / oC] Example 1: Ts = 20 oC, Td = 12 oC, Cloud base (LCL) = 125 (20-12) = 1000 meters. Example 2: Ts = 40 oC, Td = 12 oC, Cloud base (LCL) = 125 (40-12) = 3500 meters. Windward clouds and leeward rain shadow Cloud development in three different soundings