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Flyschool Meteorology
Air Academy
Lesson 3
Temperature

ATPL ME8 03
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Heat and Temperature
Temperature i s a measure of the level of molecular activity within a substance, and it is
not a direct measure of the amount of heat energy present. You can have very hot small
objects that contain little heat energy, and large warm objects that contain huge amounts
of heat energy. We have to make a clear distinction between heat energy and • Water boiling point
temperature.

When an object is cooled to a temperature of absolute zero, - 273°C or 0 Kelvin(K), all

molecular activity ceases, and the object contains no heat energy. If we add heat energy - Ice melting point
the temperature will go up. How much the temperature goes up depends on the material
we are heating.

Absolute zero

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Heat and Temperature continued

We define the units of heat energy by reference to the behaviour of water. We say that
the amount of heat needed to raise one gram of water by one degree centigrade - or one
Kelvin as they are the same size -shall be called one calorie (cal). Thus if you add 10 cal
to 1 g m of water the temperature will rise by 10°C. or if you add 10 cal to 100 gm of water
the temperature will rise by 0.1°C. Water has the highest ability of all common
substances to absorb heat in this way so most other materials will heat up more easily.

The ratio of the amounts of heat required for the same temperature rise is called the
specific heat of the substance. Water has a specific heat of 1 .0 but most other common 100g water
substances have specific heat values of much less than 1 .0. For example, ice has a
specific heat of approximately 0.5 and rock a specific heat of about 0.25, depending on its
specific heat 1.0
composition. This means that it takes one calorie to raise the temperature of one gram of
water through one degree Celsius, it takes 14 of a calorie to raise the temperature of one
10 cals
gram of ice through 1°C and only % of a calorie to raise the temperature of one gram of
rock through 1 °C. This fundamentally affects the way oceans and land masses respond
raises temp 0.1°
to the energy input from the Sun, for the sea stays at a more or less constant temperature
while night and day, winter and summer, the land heats up quickly and cools down quickly.

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Latent Heat
Energy is also needed to loosen the bonds that hold molecules together and so change
solids to liquids and liquids to gases, referred to as a ‘change of state of aggregation'.
This energy input does not raise the temperature but remains hidden, or latent, inside the
system ready to be released to the surroundings when a change of state in the reverse

Heat input (cals)

direction occurs. To change a gram of ice at 0°C to water at 0°C you have to add 80 cal -
there will be no rise in temperature, just a change of state. To make the change from
liquid water to water vapour at 100°C you have to add 540 cal per g. Going the other way,
1 g of water vapour condensing into water releases 540 calories into the surroundings
and 1 g of water freezing to ice releases 80 calories into the surroundings.

These heat quantities are called the latent heat of fusion (melting)/solidification (freezing)
and the latent heat of evaporation/condensation. The amounts of heat energy involved in
changes in the large-scale atmosphere are very significant, as illustrated in this diagram.
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Latent Heat continued

Here one gram of ice at -273°C is heated. To bring it uptoO°C about 137 cal must be
added. A further 80 cal is needed to change it to water at 0°C, bringing the total heat
content to 217 cal. Another 100 cal brings the water to 100°C, but now a further 540 cal is
needed to change the water to water vapour at 100°C, more than doubling the heat

Heat input (cals)

energy content of the system, from 317 to 857 cal. If now the water vapour changes back
to water the heat content is more than halved, and 540 cal per gram of water Is released
to the surroundings. Of course, water can evaporate at temperatures below 100°C, It is
just that the process is slower at lower temperatures. The principle is the same, but the
calories needed to make the change are rather more at lower temperatures, reaching
about 600 cal for temperatures around 0°C.

Note that water vapour can go straight to ice and ice to water vapour without passing
through the water stage. The common term for this transition is sublimation. Sublimation
will only occur if there is something present for the ice crystals to form on, either
vegetation, existing ice crystals or even very small particles of atmospheric dust known as
sublimation nuclei. The latent heat value will be the sum of the two normal stages, about
680 cal.
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Atmospheric Nuclei and Dust

Cloud and fog droplets form by condensation of water vapour from the atmosphere onto
small particles called condensation nuclei. These form part of the atmosphere s aerosol In which of the following changes of state is latent heat released?
content

In addition to acting as condensation nuclei these particles also have an effect on the Gas to liquid
optical properties of the atmosphere and play an important role in atmospheric electricity.

If a reasonably dust- free sample of air which is saturated with water vapour is rapidly
Liquid to gas
expanded so that adiabatic cooling occurs, droplet cloud formation will only occur if the
expansion ratio is high enough to produce several hundred percent supersaturation.
However, if particles are present in the air, condensation can occur at much lower
Solid to liquid
supersaturations (a few tenths of a percent).

The effectiveness of a particle as a condensation nucleus depends on whether it is

hygroscopic (water attracting) or hydrophobic (water repelling). Solid to gas

Similar observations apply to the formation of ice crystals. Small water droplets can be
supercooled to temperatures as low as -40 GC but in the presence of freezing and
sublimation nuclei the formation of ice crystals occurs at much warmer temperatures.
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Energy Release

The energy released by changes of state of aggregation is extraordinary. As an example,

over the Amazon basin on a typical day rising moist air forms convective cloud aloft and
heavy rain falls. The latent heat of condensation released Is enough to raise the mean
temperature of the troposphere overhead by 10°C. This process of evaporation and
condensation is one of the more powerful factors involved in the global movement of heat
energy.

A change of state releases or absorbs energy

Temperature
Insolation
Insolation is a measure of solar radiation energy received on a given surface area in a
given time.
Radiation is defined variously as:
■ The emission and propagation of energy in the form of rays or waves.
■ The energy radiated or transmitted in the form of rays, waves, or particles.
■ A stream of particles or electromagnetic waves that is emitted by the atoms and
molecules of a radioactive substance as a result of nuclear decay
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Solar Radiation
Solar energy Is created at the core of the Sun when hydrogen atoms are fused into helium
by nuclear fusion.
The radiative surface of the Sun, or photosphere, has an average temperature of about
5800 Kelvins.
Most of the electromagnetic radiation emitted from the Sun's surface lies in the visible
band centred at 500 nm (1 nm = 1 0’ 9 meters), although the Sun also emits significant
energy in the ultraviolet and infrared bands, and small amounts of energy in the radio,
microwave, X-ray and gamma ray bands.
The total quantity of energy emitted from the Sun’s surface is approximately 63,000,000
Watts per square meter (W/m 2 or W m '2 ).
The energy emitted by the Sun passes through space until it is intercepted by planets,
other celestial objects, or interstellar gas and dust.
The trip from the Sun’s surface to the Earth takes about 8 minutes.
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Solar Radiation continued

Fortunately for us, a lot of this energy is diverted, scattered and reflected high in the Outgoing Radiation (%) SPACE
atmosphere and much of the ultra-violet is absorbed in the ozone layer. From the 100%
tropopause down, about 15% of what is left is either scattered or absorbed in clouds, Incoming KX
gases and dust in the troposphere. Much still gets through and it is generally true to say Radiation fl\\
Emission
that the Sun s radiation passes through the troposphere to heat the Earth, and it is the Backscatter ed by clouds
Earth that then heats the troposphere. by air
Emission
Absorbed by by water vapour
water vapour, carbon dioxide
dust, ozone ozone
ATMOSPHERE
Absorption
Reflected by clouds,
water vapour, Latent
by clouds
carbon dioxide, heat transfer
Conduction Absorbed ozone e ...
Convection by clouds Sensible
heat transfer

Reflected
by surface

Absorbed Longwave radiation LAND I OCEAN

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Solar Radiation continued

The intensity of radiant energy from the Sun that hits the Earth depends on its angle of
arrival. The angle of arrival at any point is dependent on its Latitude, the season, as the
Earth axis tilts in relation to the Sun, and the time of day, as illustrated in the diagram.

Here the radiation, which arrives in parallel lines from the Sun, has the same intensity at
A, B and C, but A and C have to cover much more surface area on the Earth, so the
intensity of radiation falling on the surface is much lower. The extra distance that radiation
at A and C has to pass through the atmosphere also slightly reduces the intensity on the
surface.
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Absorption of the Sun’s Radiation

When the radiation arrives at the Earth s surface, some is absorbed, and some is
reflected back out to the troposphere and to space. How much is absorbed, and how
much reflected depends primarily on the type of surface. Forests and ploughed land, for
example, absorb radiation energy readily but snow and desert sand reflect it back.
Oceans absorb radiation that arrives at high angles of incidence, as i n the tropics, but Radiation
reflect more when the angle of arrival is low. This Is also true to some degree of all
surface types, so, overall, we can say that the percentage of incident radiation energy that
is absorbed by the Earth depends on the type of surface and the angle of arrival of the
radiation.

jWW* Radiation
Conduction

The percentage of the Sun’s energy that is absorbed by the Earth depends on the type of
surface and the angle of arrival of the radiation

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Absorption of the Sun’s Radiation continued

When the Earth absorbs the radiant energy from the Sun its temperature rises. For any
given quantity of heat energy that is absorbed by the Earth s surface the rise in
temperature will depend on the specific heat of the surface material. Water, with a
specific heat of 1 .0. will show the lowest temperature rise, damp earth a greater rise, and
materials like rock and concrete - in cities - the greatest rise in temperature. This is why,
in the sunshine, the flagstones at the side of a swimming pool burn your feet when the
water in the pool is cold. In the oceans the temperature rise is further limited by the deep
penetration of the radiation and by circulation of the water, which mixes surface water with
the great stable mass of cold deep water.

The degree to which the Earth heats the troposphere depends on the temperature of the
Earth s surface, so this is one of the fundamental factors in determining the behaviour of
the weather system. Remember, night and day, winter and summer, oceans maintain
stable temperatures, while land masses rapidly heat up and cool down.

The sea temperature is stable, land heats and cools

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The Greenhouse Effect

As we have seen the atmosphere is warmed by absorption of infrared thermal radiation

from the underlying surface, absorption of shorter wavelength radiant energy from the
Sun, and convective heat from the surface.

Gases in the atmosphere radiate energy, some of which is directed back down to the
surface and lower atmosphere thereby warming these areas.

The greenhouse effect is the process by which radiation from these gases in the
atmosphere warms the Earth’s surface to a temperature above what it would be without
its atmosphere

By their percentage contribution to the greenhouse effect on Earth, the four major gases
are:

water vapour 36-70%

CO2 9-26%

methane 4-9%

ozone 3-7%

It is not physically realistic to assign a specific percentage to each gas because the
absorption and emission bands of the gases overlap (hence the ranges given above).
The major non-gas contributor to Earth’s greenhouse effect, clouds, also absorb and emit
infrared radiation and thus have an effect on the radiative properties of the atmosphere
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The Heating of the Troposphere

Radiation
The Earth has a much lower temperature than the Sun and because of this radiates
energy at a much longer wavelength, in the 10 micron band. Radiation at this wavelength
is absorbed in water vapour and carbon dioxide, and by clouds, heating the troposphere,
especially the lower troposphere where clouds and water vapour are at a maximum.
Some long wave radiation is re-radiated and reflected back to the Earth, at a maximum
rate in overcast conditions. This is the first of the ways that the Earth heats the
troposphere - by radiation.

The Sun heats the Earth by radiation. The Earth heats the atmosphere by radiation,
conduction and convection

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Conduction

At the surface in contact with the troposphere, an exchange of heat energy takes place by
conduction. This can go either way, for if locally the surface is colder, heat will be taken
from the air and where the surface is the warmer, the layer of air in contact with the Earth
will be heated.

Conduction works by contact. In this diagram the heat is conducted along the bar. Air is
not a good conductor of heat. In the absence of any method for distributing the heat aloft
this effect would be confined to a very shallow layer at low level, as indeed it is o n very still
days or nights.

However, if the airflow in the lower troposphere is turbulent it can transfer heat from the
surface through the lower troposphere. This method of extracting heat from the Earth into
the atmosphere is referred to as turbulence heating.
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Convection

The method for transfer of the heat aloft is convection, the vertical movement of air. This
can be forced convection - aiir forced u p over a range of mountains - or mechanical
turbulence in the lee of hills or mountains. More usually it is thermal convection, where
the heated air will have a lower density than its surroundings and therefore rises.

The rising air carries energy aloft in two forms, ordinary heat energy and latent energy, for,
as the air rises and cools, water vapour in the air may condense to form cloud, releasing
its latent heat of condensation.

Convection means the upward movement of air

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Shortwave Radiation

The next two diagrams give you schematic diagrams of the complex inter-relationship In from space Reflected back to space
between long and short-wave radiation. Do not try to memorise the diagrams, they are
only there to give you a general feel for the system.

Short wave radiation emanating from the Sun enters the atmosphere. Some is reflected,
and some is absorbed.

The latent heat in water vapour transfers more energy than anything else

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Long Wave Radiation
Out to space
Long wave radiation transfers out to the troposphere a large amount of heat, but a large
amount is also re-radiated back to the surface. Out of all the energy transferred from the
surface to the troposphere net long wave radiation accounts for only 42%. Warm air
convection accounts for 12% and latent heat convection for 46%. Long wave radiation Radiation from Radiation from
water vapour cloud
out to space occurs from the upper troposphere, one reason why temperatures aloft are
CO 2 and other
low.
gases

I Multiple Tropospheric i
absorbtions and a /
' re-radiations

Back radiation
from clouds
and gases

Warm
Long wave Latent air
radiation heat
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Advection

The final heat transfer method is advection, the horizontal movement of the air, wind.
Because, by definition, advection only transfers energy horizontally it is not responsible
for heating the troposphere, only for redistributing the energy within it. We shall see later
that advection has a substantial effect on the stability of the air.

Thermal advection can be divided into Warm Air Advection (WAA) and Cold Air Advection
(CAA).

Warm Air Advection

Warm Air Advection (WAA) is the movement of warmer air toward a fixed point on a
horizontal plane. WAA is common behind warm fronts and ahead of cold fronts.

WAA contributes to rising air because warm air is less dense than cold air. Since warmer
air expands to a larger volume than cold air, this expansion in the low levels pushes the
air above the low levels up.

This upward motion is slow and the rate that the air rises is much less than the rate the air
rises in an updraft of a thunderstorm.

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Cold Air Advection

Cold Air Advection (CAA) is the movement of colder air toward a fixed point on a
horizontal plane. CAA Is common behind cold fronts.

CAA contributes to sinking air because cold air is denser than warm air. Cooler air has
contracted more than warmer air and this contraction in the low levels forces a sinking
motion aloft to compensate for the reduction of volume in the lower levels

Thus, in the ideal case the skies will clear behind cold fronts.

There is nota direct relationship between thermal advection and resultant vertical motion
in the atmosphere since other lifting and sinking mechanisms can complicate the picture.
Warm air
Evaporative cooling, condensation warming, solar heating, complex topography, and
radiational cooling contaminate thermal advection. A forecaster will examine these
contaminating factors to determine the actual magnitude of the resultant thermal
advection. For example, the warming and uplift from WAA will be reduced in cases where
precipitation is falling into the low levels and cooling the air through evaporation.
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Surface Temperature in January
Having looked at the mechanism for the heating of the Earth we would expect to find
surface temperature varying widely by place, by day and by season. The next two
diagrams show the world mean surface temperatures in January and July.

Notice how, in January, the land masses in the Northern Hemisphere are extremely cold,
while in the Southern Hemisphere they are hot. Note, too, the effects of cold sea currents
off the west coasts of Africa and South America, and of the warm sea currents in the North
Atlantic and North Pacific oceans.

January temperatures °C
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Surface Temperature in July

In July, the position has reversed. North America and Siberia have warmed up, Siberia
reaching 20°C r while in the Southern Hemisphere the land masses have cooled down.
There are very hot regions in Mexico, the Sahara and on the Tibetan plateau. The effects
of the cold currents off Peru and South Africa can still be seen, but in the North Atlantic the
sea temperature is about the same as the land temperature, and the contrast is less
obvious. In the North Pacific r the sea temperature, remaining relatively constant, is now
colder than the land temperature. The sea temperature off California has been more or
less the same all year round.

Sea currents play a major part in the distribution of heat at low level. So do the global
winds. The warm winds blowing up over the Gulf Stream are moving heat horizontally by
a process of advection. They carry heat in the same way that convection does, as warm
air, and as latent heat. Warm moist air drifting over cold surfaces and forming advection
fog is carrying out the same process as convection and cloud formation, but horizontally July temperatures °C
instead of vertically.
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Diurnal Variation of Surface Temperature

The daily, or diurnal, variation in surface temperature is also important, for on this
depends the formation of radiation fog. for example, land and sea breezes, and the
development of convective cloud during the day.

Radiation energy
The balance between incoming and outgoing radiation is shown in this diagram, for a
typical day over land in May or September, in the middle latitudes, with sunrise at 0600
local mean time (LMT) and sunset at 1 800LMT.

------ Incoming solar radiation

------ Outgoing long wave radiation

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Diurnal Variation of Surface Temperature continued

You would expect the surface temperature to fall during the radiation deficit, and to rise
when net radiation goes into surplus, and this is roughly true. There are, however, more
factors than just radiation at work. As the temperature rises, thermal convection begins,
and winds can bring turbulent mixing of the air. On a calm night, the maximum surface

Radiation energy
cooling can take place. But on a windy night, some warmer air is mixed downward to the
surface, which prevents the temperatures from dropping as quickly as they would on a
clear night. Near the coast, sea breezes will bring the sea's stabilising effect into play.
Clouds too, as we have seen, will give a blanket effect, limiting incoming radiation and
reflecting back outgoing radiation, and therefore reducing the variation in temperature.
Thick clouds are a more effective blanket than thin clouds. Clouds with low bases are
most efficient in reducing the daytime maximum temperature and the diurnal temperature
range (DTR) mainly because they are very effective in reflecting the sunlight, while middle
and high clouds have only moderate damping effects on DTR.

The overall effect, is that minimum surface temperatures occur at about 30 minutes after
sunrise, and maximum temperatures at two to three hours after mid-day, with the diurnal
variation of surface temperature much reduced by cloud cover. ------ Incoming solar radiation
------ Outgoing long wave radiation

This is summarised in the diagram for clear skies and overcast conditions, and with the
radiation pattern displayed for comparison.

Minimum surface temperatures occur 30 minutes after sunrise, and maximum temperatures at
two to three hours after mid-day