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Lapse Rate
Temperature Changes and
Stability Inside Clouds
Temperature Changes Inside
Clouds
Two processes occur simultaneously inside
clouds that affect the temperature.
(1) Rising air expands, does work and
cools;
(2) Condensation releases latent energy
which is then stored as internal
energy and warms the air inside the
cloud.
Temperature Changes Inside
Clouds (Cont.)
Normally, the cooling due to the work of
expansion is greater than the warming
associated with the release of latent
energy and its conversion to internal
energy.
Temperature Changes Inside
Clouds (Cont.)
Thus, as air rises inside a cloud it still gets
colder, but it does so at a slower rate than
the Dry Adiabatic Lapse rate.
dq = cpdT - αdp
The SALR (Cont.)
In this case the energy gained, dq, is equal
to the latent energy released when water
vapor condenses inside the cloud.
dq = -Lvdqv
where
Lv is the latent heat of vaporization, and
dqv is the change of specific humidity of the
air parcel when water vapor condenses
The SALR (Cont.)
Substitute for dq in the First Law of
thermodynamics to get
-1 dp = g
ρ dz
The SALR (Cont.)
Substitution results in
-dT = g + LvdqV = Γs
dz cp cp dz
cooling warming due to
SALR = due to
work of + latent energy
released during
expansion condensation
The SALR (Cont.)
The SALR is always less than the DALR
because the cooling caused by
adiabatic expansion is partially offest
by the release of latent energy during
condensation.
The SALR (Cont.)
The SALR is a variable.
cumumlo-
nimbus
cumulus
Stability Cases for Clouds (Cont.)
(2) When the ELR is equal to the SALR,
then the air inside the cloud is neutral.
stratus
Stability Cases for Clouds (Cont.)
There is a special stability case that occurs
when the Environmental Lapse Rate is
between the Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate
and the Saturated Adiabatic Lapse Rate.
Stability Cases for Clouds (Cont.)
For example, what if
DALR = 1.00°C/100 m
ELR = 0.75°C/100 m
SALR = 0.50°C/100 m
wind direction
T = 6°C, Td = 6°C
3000 m
T = 31°C, Td = 6°C
500 m
T = 26°C, Td = 16°C
Air rises and
cools at
0 meters DALR
The Effect of Topography on
Precipitation Patterns (Cont.)
Rising motion causes clouds and
precipitation on the windward side of the
mountain range.
Sinking motion causes warm, dry conditions
on the leeward side of the mountain.
The dry area on the leeward side of the
mountain is called the rain shadow.
The Effect of Topography on
Precipitation Patterns (Cont.)
Since the prevailing wind direction in the
middle latitudes is from the west, the
western sides of the mountains along the
west coast of the U.S. are the rainy sides
and the rain shadows occur along the
eastern slopes of the mountains.