Absolute Stability
- consider the diagram to the right,
notice that:
- Tup < Tsp
< Te
- where Tup is
the temperature of an unsaturated parcel
= 0°C
- Tsp =
temperature of a saturated parcel = 10°C
- Te =
environmental temperature = 20°C.
- generally, notice that Te
is always larger than Tsp and Tup
at any level
- Hence, an unsaturated or saturated
parcel will always be cooler than the environment
and will sink back down to the ground
- This is an example of absolute stability
- The condition for absolute
stability is:
- Gd is the dry adiabatic lapse
rate (10°C km-1)
- Gm is the moist adiabatic
lapse rate (6°C km-1)
- Ge is the environmental lapse
rate (variable - 0°C
km-1 in this case)
Q: How would you characterize the
stability of an inversion layer?
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