Institute of Technology of Cambodia Meteorology

Faculty of Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering

Group I3 GRU(A3)

METEOROLOGY

Lecturers: Mrs. Phoeurn Chan Arun

Students: ID
Dorn Da e20150152
Dy Veng Hort e20160127
E Nary e20160128
Hab Sopheak e20160138
Harn Norak e20160146

2018-2019

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Lesson 2 : Principle Parameters in Meteorology

1. The accompanying satellite images show the cloud patterns associated with two low
pressure systems

Figure (a) Figure (b)

 a. Determine the airflow around each of these pressure cells (clockwise or
counterclockwise).
Answer: The airflow in the figure (a) is clockwise and the airflow in figure (b) is
counterclockwise.
 b. Which one of these two areas of low pressure is located in the Northern Hemisphere?
Answer: In the case of the wind swirled counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere,
it is called cyclonic flow. Among the given figures, the figure (b) is located in
the northern hemisphere.
 c. Can you identify which one of these storm systems is a tropical cyclone (hurricane)?
Answer: Among the given figures, the figure (a) is a tropical cyclone.

 Determine the region of cyclone and anticyclone on earth today.

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 The region of cyclone and anticyclone on earth today (28 november 2018):
 Northern hemisphere
 Cyclone: (35.430 N, 173.850 E), (32.270 N, 155.330 E)
 Anticyclone: (51.980 N, 18.500 W), (34.620 N, 162.910 W)
 Southern hemisphere
 Cyclone: (39.590 S, 135.760 W)
 Anticyclone: (30.730 S, 103.050 E), (32.530 S, 159.410 E)

 The accompanying map is a simplified surface weather map for April 2, 2011, on which
the centers of three pressure cells are numbered.

a. Identify which of the pressure cells are anticyclones (highs) and which are
midlatitude cyclones (lows).
Answer: The pressure cell 1 is mid-latitude cyclones, the pressure cell 2 is an
anticyclone, and the pressure cell 3 is a cyclone.
b. Which pressure system has the steepest pressure gradient and hence exhibits the
strongest winds?
Answer: The steepest gradient is pressure cell 1 and has the strongest wind.
c. Determines whether pressure system 3 should be considered strong or weak.
Answer: The winds at pressure 3 are strong since it is at 972 mb which is close to
what is considered a strong pressure system of 980 mb when mid-latitude
cyclones occur.

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 How this will look like in southern hemisphere?

 In southern hemisphere it will look like figure below:

1024mb 1004mb
1020mb 1008mb1012mb
1016mb

(a) Anticyclonic flow (Southern Hemisphere) (b) Cyclonic flow (Southern Hemisphere)

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Lesson 3 : Stability and cloud development

 Describe the figure above from left to right

 First figure
The environmental lapse rate in layer 1 is greater than the dry adiabatic
rate, so the layer is absolutely unstable.
The air layers above it _ layer B and layer C are both absolutely stable
since the environmental lapse in each layer is less than the moist adiabatic
rate.
 However, the overall environmental lapse rate from the surface up to
the base of inversion(2000m) is 7.5 C per 1000m which indicates a
conditionally unstable atmosphere.

 Second figure
 Suppose that a warm bubble of air with an air temperature and dew-
point temperature of 35C and 27C, respectively, breaks away from
the surface and begins to rise.
 Notice that, a short distance above the ground, the air inside the
bubble is warmer than the air around it, so it is buoyant and rises
freely.
 This level in the atmosphere where the rising air becomes warmer
than the surrounding air is called the level of free convection.
 The rising bubble will continue to rise as long as the air inside it is
warmer that the air around.

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 Third figure
 The rising air cools at the dry adiabatic rate and the dew point falls, but not
as rapidly. 
 The rate at which the dew point drops varies with the moisture constant of
the rising air, but an approximation of 2C per 1000 m is commonly used. 
 So, as unsaturated rising air cools, the air temperature and dew point
approach each other at the rate of 8C per 1000 m. 
 This process causes an increase in the air’s relative humidity. 

 Fourth figure
 At an elevation of 1000 m, the air has cooled to the dew point, the
relative humidity is 100 percent. The condensation begins and the cloud
forms. 
 The elevation where the cloud forms is called the condensation
level.
 Above the condensation level the rising air is saturated and cools at
the moist adiabatic rate.
 Condensation continues to occur, and since water vapor is
transforming into liquid cloud droplets, the dew point within the cloud
now drops more rapidly with increasing height than before.

 Describe figure below

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 Cumulus Humilis
 In this cause the cumulus humilis is a small convective cloud, which
forms just after a rising thermal reaches the condensation level. Humilis cloud
always dissipate few minutes after they form and not showing much growth.
 Cumulus humilis created when the environmental lapse rate decrease,
cool air flows over a body of relatively warm water, the lowest layer of the
atmosphere become

 Cumulus Congestus
 Cumulus congestus clouds, also called towering cumulus are in
the last stage of development before coming cumulonimbus clouds.
The cumulus congestus was inducing instability convection begins
and cumulus clouds form. Moreover, conditionally unstable about
midway through troposphere.

 Cumulonimbus
 The clouds grows until it reaches a stable layer in the
atmosphere, at which point it spreads outward creating an anvil. If air
moves over progressively warmer water ( open ocean ), more active
convection occurs and a cumulus cloud can builds into cumulonimbus.

Exercise
A radiosonde is released and sends back temperature data as shown in the diagram.

a. Calculate the environmental lapse rates from the surface up to 3000m.

b. What type of atmospheric stability does the sounding indicate? Suppose the wind is blowing from the
west and a parcel of surface air with a temperature of 10 C and a dew point of 2 C begins to rise upward
along the western (windward) side of the mountain.

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c. What is the relative humidity of the air parcel at 0 m before rising?

d. As the air parcel rises, at approximately what elevation would condensation begin and a cloud start to
form?

e. What is the air temperature and dew point of the rising air at the base of the cloud?

f. What is the air temperature and dew point of the rising air inside the cloud at an elevation of 3000 m? (Use
moist adiabatic rate of 6 C per 1000 m.)
g. At an altitude of 3000m how does the air temperature inside the cloud compare with the air temperature
outside the cloud, as measured by the radiosonde? What type of atmospheric stability (stable or unstable)
does this suggest? Explain.

h. At an elevation of 3000m, would you expect the cloud to continue to develop vertically? Explain.

Answer:
a. Since the dry adiabatic rate and the dew point lapse rate close at 8C/km and since the temperature and
the dew point differ by 8C(10C-2C) at the surface, the height Calculate the ELR

By formula: ELR=ΔT/h
ELR = 10- (-14)/3000
= 8C/km

b. 8 C is between the dry adiabatic rate and moist adiabatic rate. Hence the atmosphere is conditionally
stable.

c. The vapor pressure at the surface, which is equal to the saturation vapor pressure at the dew point. The
saturation vapor pressure at the surface. Thus, the relative humidity is

.
RH= = 0.56 56%
.

d. of the condensation level is approximately h= 1km=1000m.

e. At the cloud base, the temperature will have dropped by 10C from the surface, hence Tbase= 0C.

f. T (3000 m) = 0°C − 2000 m × 6°C/1000 m = −12°C.

g. The inside temperature (-12 C) is higher than the outside temperature(-14C). This suggests buoyancy for
the rising moist parcel. The atmospheric is Conditionally unstable.
h. As explain in part (g) the parcel would continue to rise and therefore to develop vertically.

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Lecture 4: Circulation of the atmosphere

1. Notice the many zones of clouds that are produced by large convective cells similar to the Hadley cells on
Earth. Given your understanding of the role of the Coriolis force in producing Earth’s wind belts, do you
think Jupiter rotates faster or slower on its axis than Earth? Explain.

Answer: The Jupiter rotates slower on its axis than Earth because there are thin clouds on Jupiter high as
the base of the stratosphere. The pressure at the cloud tops on Jupiter is thus similar to the pressure at the cloud
tops on the earth. The temperatures at those levels on Jupiter is five times are much lower, however, since Jupiter
is five times father from the Sun than the earth is, moreover, Earth is closer to the Sun so it rotates faster in its
obit.
 
2.  The  accompanying  maps  of  Africa  show  the  distribution  of  precipitation  for  July  and  January.  Which  map 
represents July and which map represents January? How did you determine your answer? 

 Figure A: It represents July because we saw the blue area (rainfall area) is above the equator so the ITCZ
is above the equator line too.
 Figure B: It represents January because we saw the equator line is above the blue area (rainfall area).