Name: _______________________________

Date: ________________________________

Lab 6: Saturation and Atmospheric Stability

Introduction

How do clouds form? The concept of saturation, introduced in the previous lab, is important
here. The two basic means by which air achieves saturation (relative humidity = 100%) are
cooling and increasing water vapor content. In this lab, we will examine several common
atmospheric processes that will lead to either or both of these phenomena. We will focus
particularly on how air changes as it rises from Earth's surface and how these changes relate to
atmospheric stability.

Objectives

After completing these exercises, you should be able to:

 Calculate how temperature changes when air is forced to rise

 Determine the height at which clouds should form when air rises
 Summarize the concept of atmospheric stability
 Explain why some clouds grow vertically and some do not

Materials needed: calculator, straight edge

Mixing

Saturation occasionally occurs when two air masses mix. Mixing usually involves a change in
both water vapor content and temperature. Consider, for example, two unsaturated air samples, A
and B:

Air Sample Temperature Relative humidity

A 10°C 75%
B 38°C 75%

1. Use Table 6-1 to find the saturation mixing ratio (ms) of air samples A and B.
o A: ms = ___ g/kg
o B: ms = ___ g/kg
2. What are the mixing ratio (m) values of samples A and B?
o A: m = ___ g/kg
o B: m = ___ g/kg
Exercises for Weather and Climate

3. Use the temperature and mixing ratio data to plot the two air samples in Figure 6-1.

Table 6-1. Saturation mixing ratio (g kg-¹) at sea-level pressure as a function of dry-
bulb temperature (°C).
Exercises for Weather and Climate

Figure 6.1 Saturation mixing ratio

Assume that equal parts of these two air masses mix together. The resulting temperature is

halfway between 10°C and 38°C, and the mixing ratio is halfway between the values that you

found for the two samples.

4. Plot the mixed air sample in Figure 6-1.

5. What is the new temperature? __________________

6. Saturation mixing ratio? __________________

7. Mixing ratio? ___________________

8. Relative humidity? ____________________

Exercises for Weather and Climate

9. The nonlinear relationship between temperature and saturation makes it possible for two
unsaturated air samples to mix and form a new saturated air sample. jet contrails are one example
of this as warm exhaust containing moisture mixes with cold air. Some contrails disappear
quickly, others linger. What do you think determines the life span of a contract:

Adiabatic Cooling
Saturation occurs more commonly when air is cooled to its dew-point temperature than when air
masses mix. In nature, this cooling often occurs when air rises. Consider a parcel of air that is
forced to rise and does not mix with the surrounding environment. As the parcel rises,
atmospheric pressure around it decreases, allowing the parcel to expand (Figure 6-2). Since the
parcel has the same number of molecules but occupies more volume, its average internal energy
(i.e., temperature) decreases. Air can be forced to rise for several reasons:
a) intense surface heating;
b) the "collision or convergence of surface air masses;
c) c the contact of air masses of unlike temperature
d) along warm and cold fronts;
Exercises for Weather and Climate

e) topographic barriers (such as mountain ranges); and

f) upper-air divergence (a concept we will discussing later lab).
As an unsaturated air parcel rises, its temperature will decrease at the dry adiabatic lapse rate
(DALR) of approximately 10°C per kilometer (or 1' C per 100 meters).

10. Calculate the temperature of an unsaturated air parcel at 100-meter increments as it is forced
to rise from Earth's surface, where its temperature is 35°C.
Height (m) Temperature (◦C)

1000 (1km) _____________

900 _____________
800 _____________
700 _____________
600 _____________
400 _____________
300 _____________
200 _____________
100 _____________
Earth's surface _____________

It is possible that rising air parcels will cool to the forced to rise to 5km. The lifting condensation
level is dew-point temperature. When this happens, a parcel 1.5kmn, above which the parcel
cools at an average wet becomes saturated and condensation of clouds form. The height at which
this occurs is called the lifting condensation column of If the air parcel rises above the LCL, it
cools at a slower rate referred to as the saturated, moist, of wet adiabatic lapse rate (WALR). The
wet adiabatic lapse rate ranges between 5°C and 9°C per kilometer. It is slower the dry adiabatic
lapse rate because latent heat released within the parcel as water vapor condenses, a warming
that partially offsets adiabatic cooling. The WALR varies because the amount of condensation
depends both on the amount of water vapor in the parcel and on atmospheric pressure.

11. Consider air parcel A, which is 28°C at the surface. It is possible that rising air parcels will
cool to the forced to rise to 5km. The lifting condensation level is 1.5kmn, above which the
parcel cools at an average wet adiabatic lapse rate of 5°C per kilometer Fill in the left height at
which this occurs is called the lifting condensation column of Table 6-2 indicating the parcels
changing temperature.
Exercises for Weather and Climate

12. Now consider air parcel B with a surface temperature of 10°C that is forced to rise. It too
reaches the LCL at 1.5 km, but the average wet adiabatic lapse rate in this case is 7° C per
kilometer. Fill in the right column of warming that partially offsets adiabatic cooling. The
WALR the table indicating temperature change in the lower 5 kilometers

13. Why would the warmer parcel cool at a slower rate atmospheric pressure. between 1.5 and
5km?

Table 6.2 Parcel Temperatures

Parcel A Temperature (◦C) Height (km) Parcel B Temperature (◦C)

5.0
4.5
4.0
19
15
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
28 ◦C surface 10 ◦C
Exercises for Weather and Climate

Figure 6-3 Lifting Condensation Model

In the previous example, the lifting condensation level was provided for you. We can calculate
the LCL from surface temperature and dew-point temperature. The LCL generally occurs at the
height where air has cooled to the dew-point temperature. Like temperature, dew- point
temperature also decreases with height because of decreasing pressure. Dew point drops
approximately 2°C per kilometer.
Consider the example shown in Figure 6-3. An air parcel at sea level has the following
characteristics: Temperature = 30°C, Dew-point temperature = 14°C, Pressure = 1010 mb. If the
parcel is forced to rise, its temperature drops at the dry adiabatic lapse rate (10°C per kilometer)
until it becomes saturated. The drop in dew-point temperature (2°C per kilometer) can be found
by following a mixing ratio line associated with dew-point temperature at the surface. The point
where the lines intersect is the lifting condensation level.
Exercises for Weather and Climate

14. Fill in Table 6-3 below to show the temperature and dew-point temperature of the forced air
parcel.

Table 6-3. Temperature and dew-point temperature.

Height (m) Temperature (◦C) Dew Point Temperature (◦C)

2000
1500
1000
500
Earth’s surface 30 ◦C 30 ◦C