Determining Air Parcel Temperature: Rising air parcels and adiabatic cooling

• consider a sinking parcel of air -->>

• As the parcel sinks, it will adiabatically compress and warm

• adiabatic - a process where the parcel temperature changes due to an expansion or compression, no heat is added or taken away from the parcel

• the parcel compresses since it is moving into a region of higher pressure

• due to the parcel compression, the air molecules gain internal energy

• hence, the mean temperature of the parcel increases