Unit 2 Notes
Buoyancy & Adiabatic Processes Unit Page
Unit 2 Overview
Slide 1: Buoyancy & Adiabatic Processes
Slide 3: Dry & Moist Adiabatic Lapse Rates
Slide 4: Adiabatic Processes & Weather
Slide 5: What Happens to a Rising Parcel of Air?
Unit 2 Overview
The buoyancy of air is extremely important in the study of meteorology. The ability of air to move in the vertical goes a long way in determining the type and severity of the weather we experience.
In this unit we will take a look at positively buoyant air, which can rise freely on its own, and negatively buoyant air, which will in turn descend. Both of these actions have profound effects on day-to-day weather.
Finally, we will take an introductory look at the skew-t log-p thermodyanamic diagram, which is created using data gathered from a balloon release like the one shown above. As the balloon rises through the atmosphere, it radios data back to a receiver on the ground. This provides us with a three-dimensional look into the atmosphere.
