Assessing Atmospheric Stability

• The bottom line - 

  • To determine whether or not a parcel will rise or sink in the atmosphere, one must compare the parcels temperature (T_p) with that of the environment (T_e) at some altitude:

  • if T_p > T_e what will the parcel do? ANSWER

  • if T_p = T_e what will the parcel do? ANSWER

  • if T_p < T_e what will the parcel do? ANSWER