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    Characteristics of Troposphere

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    sukhjit78
    The document discusses key concepts in meteorology including: 1. The Earth's atmosphere is composed of distinct layers defined by temperature variations, with weather occurring primarily in the lower troposphere. 2. Temperature in the troposphere decreases with height at an average rate known as the environmental lapse rate, though this rate varies spatially and temporally. 3. Air pressure decreases exponentially with height due to decreasing air density, though the rate of decrease depends on air temperature at each level.

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    Characteristics of Troposphere

    Uploaded by

    sukhjit78
    210 views24 pages
    The document discusses key concepts in meteorology including: 1. The Earth's atmosphere is composed of distinct layers defined by temperature variations, with weather occurring primarily in the lower troposphere. 2. Temperature in the troposphere decreases with height at an average rate known as the environmental lapse rate, though this rate varies spatially and temporally. 3. Air pressure decreases exponentially with height due to decreasing air density, though the rate of decrease depends on air temperature at each level.

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    3. Characteristics of Troposphere

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    The document discusses key concepts in meteorology including: 1. The Earth's atmosphere is composed of distinct layers defined by temperature variations, with weather occurring primarily in the lower troposphere. 2. Temperature in the troposphere decreases with height at an average rate known as the environmental lapse rate, though this rate varies spatially and temporally. 3. Air pressure decreases exponentially with height due to decreasing air density, though the rate of decrease depends on air temperature at each level.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    210 views24 pages

    Characteristics of Troposphere

    Uploaded by

    sukhjit78
    The document discusses key concepts in meteorology including: 1. The Earth's atmosphere is composed of distinct layers defined by temperature variations, with weather occurring primarily in the lower troposphere. 2. Temperature in the troposphere decreases with height at an average rate known as the environmental lapse rate, though this rate varies spatially and temporally. 3. Air pressure decreases exponentially with height due to decreasing air density, though the rate of decrease depends on air temperature at each level.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 24

    W H AT

    C R E ATE S
    W E ATH E R
    MSD41502
    MARINE
    METEOROLOGY
    Objective
    • Layers of atmosphere
    • Environmental lapse rate
    within troposphere
    • Variation of pressure with
    height
    Atmosphere
    • Layers of gases surrounding a planet or other celestial body.
    • Earth’s atmosphere stretches from the surface of the planet up to as far
    as 10,000 kilometers (6,214 miles) above. After that, the atmosphere
    blends into space.
    • In meteorology we are concerned almost entirety with the lower region
    of the atmosphere called the troposphere, which extends from the
    surface to a maximum height of about 10 - 6 km (10 miles)
    • Compare this to the Earth's diameter of about 11,000 km (6900 miles).
    • Because of its gaseous state, internal motions and physical effects, it is
    mainly responsible for all our ‘weather’ – state of sky, clouds,
    precipitation, fog, mist and other meteorological phenomena.
    Composition of the atmosphere
    • Atmosphere may be considered as having a number of
    distinctive layers which are defined by the variation of air
    temperature with increase in height.
    • Every single layer of the Earth’s atmosphere plays a crucial
    role in supporting life on the planet. The article will provide
    more information on each of these layers and their
    significance for us.
    Below the mesopause the mixture of gases in
    the atmosphere is nearly constant.
    Nitrogen – 78.09%
    Oxygen – 20.95%
    Argon – 0.93%
    Carbon Dioxide – 0.03%
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXf39bQH6iE
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXf39bQH6iE
    Troposphere
    • Known as the lower atmosphere almost all weather occurs in this
    region. The troposphere begins at the Earth's surface and extends
    from 6 to 20 km high.
    • The height of the troposphere varies from the equator to the poles.
    At the equator it is around 8-20 km high, at 50°N and 50°S, 11 km
    and at the poles just under 9 km high.
    • As the density of the gases in this layer decrease with height, the
    air becomes thinner. Therefore, the temperature in the troposphere
    also decreases with height in response. As one climbs higher, the
    temperature drops from an average around 17°C) to -51°C at the
    tropopause.
    Stratosphere
    • The Stratosphere extends around 50 km down to anywhere
    from 6 to 20 km above the Earth's surface.
    • This layer holds 19 percent of the atmosphere's gases but
    very little water vapor.
    • In this region the temperature increases with height. Heat is
    produced in the process of the formation of Ozone and this
    heat is responsible for temperature increases from an
    average -51°C at tropopause to a maximum of about -15°C at
    the top of the stratosphere.
    • This increase in temperature with height means warmer air is
    located above cooler air. This prevents "convection" as there
    is no upward vertical movement of the gases. As such the
    location of the bottom of this layer is readily seen by the
    'anvil-shaped' tops of cumulonimbus clouds.
    The importance of Water Vapour
    The amount of water vapour present at any time is very varied because
    • of the temperature
    • amount of evaporation from water surfaces
    • condensation and precipitation
    The amount of water vapour is greater in lower the lower troposphere
    and decreasing with increasing height.
    The volume of water vapour may be as much as 4% which, although
    small compared to the total volume of the atmosphere , but s very
    significant in terms of the amount of energy which atmosphere is able
    to store.
    The changing quantities of dust and salt particles in the atmosphere
    are also of great meteorological importance.
    Air Temperature
    Distribution - for
    the standard
    atmosphere
    Temperature – Environmental Lapse Rate
    • The rate at which the air temperature changes with height in
    the atmosphere surrounding a cloud or a rising parcel of air.
    • The overall average rate is a decrease of about 6.5 °C/km, but
    the rate varies greatly in different regions of the world, in
    different airstreams, and at different seasons of the year.
    • Where the lapse rate of temperature is negative (temperature
    increases with height), an inversion is said to exist.
    Heating of the Troposphere
    • The atmosphere is transparent to the short-wave radiation from the
    sun and receive little or no appreciable heat from this source.
    • The earth however is heated by the sun’s rays and the surface air
    layer is warmed by contact with the earth.
    • This warmth is spread upwards by convection, turbulence and
    conduction.
    • The later process, is by itself is very slow. Thus, air temperature in
    lower levels tends to be determined by that of the underlying
    surface.
    The diurnal variation of lapse rate
    • All things in nature have a diurnal or "daily" pattern simply because
    they change throughout the course of a day.
    • In meteorology, the term "diurnal" most often refers to the change
    of temperature from the daytime high to the nighttime low.
    • The diurnal range of temperature generally increases with distance
    from the sea and toward those places where solar radiation is
    strongest—in dry tropical climates and on high mountain plateaus
    (owing to the reduced thickness of the atmosphere to be traversed
    by the Sun’s rays).
    Daily temperature variataion
    • Q: During a 24 hour day, when is the minumum temperature
    observed at a given location?
    • Q: When is the maximum surface temperature observed?
    Diurnal
    Temperature
    Variation – Net
    radiation
    Can we use this information for
    cargo care at sea?
    Factors affecting the heating Effect of
    Solar Radiation
    • The nature of the surface
    • The specific heat capacity of the surface
    • Penetration of the solar rays / absorption properties
    • Evaporation
    • Reflective properties
    • The inclination of the solar beam to the earths surface
    • Latitude of the place
    • Suns declination
    • The daily change in suns altitude
    Variation of Pressure with Height
    • Atmospheric pressure at any level is the weight of the air
    above that level.
    • The density of the gases decreases with increasing height
    since they are compressible and 75% of the total mass of air is
    within troposphere.
    • At the surface the standard atmospheric pressure is 1013.2
    hPa(hectopascal), the equivalent of a tonne load on a our
    shoulders.
    • With increasing height atmospheric pressure decreases.
    • In the lower levels the
    average rate at which
    Variation of pressure falls is
    approximately 1 hPa per
    Pressure with 27.7m of height, but actual
    Height rate at any given time is
    governed by temperature.
    Variation of Pressure with Height –
    temperature dependent
    Questions
    • Layers of Atmosphere
    • Troposphere
    • Environmental Lapse Rate
    • Diurnal Variation
    • Factors affecting the heating Effect
    Recap of Solar Radiation
    • Variation of Pressure and density
    with Height
    • Variation of pressure is dependent
    on temperature of the air column

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