Rising Air Cools-Sinking Air Warms
8 m/s
494 m/s
502 m/s
502 m/s
494 m/s
Rising Expanding
Sinking Contracting
¥Rising air parcel expands
Expansion
requires work against outside air
Air
molecules rebound from ÒwallsÓ at a slower speed,
resulting in a cooler temperature
Assuming
no transfer of heat across parcel walls (adiabatic expansion), cooling rate is 10oC/km
10oC
20oC
no
heat transfer
Ahrens, Fig 5.2
502 m/s