Adiabatic Lapse Rates

What do you know about the Wet Adiabatic Lapse rate?

-       Less than dry adiabatic lapse rate

The more it slants = greater lapse rate 

Lapse rate = Rate of cooling

What’s the difference between the Dry and Wet Adiabatic Lapse Rate?

-   Unsaturated à reaches LCL à Saturated

-   Latent “Hidden” heat - The heat either released or absorbed as a result of a change of state.

-   When a cloud forms….

o   The water vapor reaches the LCL à Temperature decreases à It’s doing work à slows the rate of cooling

-   Water vapor condenses à latent heat is released

Mixing ratio (w) - A measurement of the amount of water vapor in the air of a given sized quantity of dry air. Grams of vapor per kilogram of dry air.

W = Water vapor in the box

-   Dewpoint Lapse Rate = As it goes up it decreases = 2 deg C / km

-   Dew point (Td) - The temperature to which air must cool at constant pressure in order for air to reach saturation (commonly dew to form); indicates moisture content.