Stability,instability,cloud, pptn

GUIDANCE IAS MORE THAN A COACHING
0 11-4 5 5 8 6 8 2 9
9 718 79 3 3 6 3
Office : 111, 1st Floor, 4-B, Grover Chamber, Pusa Road,
Pillar No. 109, Karol Bagh Metro Station, New Delhi-05 website : www.guidanceias.com
LECTURE: 4 CLIMATOLOGY
ATMOSPHERIC STABILITY & INSTABILITY:

• In the atmosphere, the conditions which promote/hinder vertical movement in air masses are
necessary to understand as they largely control process of precipitation as well as heat budget
of Earth. These factors depend upon the relationship that exists between rising air mass and
its surrounding. If rising air masses is buoyant than its surrounding, it would display a vertical
ascent & situation is of instability. On the other hand, if it resists vertical ascent air mass is said
to be stable. This phenomenon of buoyancy is a function of relationship between
Environmental lapse rate and adiabatic lapse rate.
Conditions of Equilibrium:
1) Condition of absolute stability:
Environmental lapse rate < Wet Adiabatic lapse rate < Dry Adiabatic lapse rate
Diagram:
• When ELR is always lower than both the adiabatic lapse rates, situation is called absolute
stability. Such an air mass is always non-buoyant compared to surrounding environment. Thus,
would display tendency to resist vertical upliftment.
Diagram: GUIDANCE IAS

MORE THAN A COACHING.....
• This air mass will always resisting vertical upliftment so absolutely stable.
• Such absolute stability conditions are very common in high pressure belts of earth. E.g. sub-
topical high pressure belt & polar high pressure belt. In winters such conditions are more
common.
2) Absolute Instability
• Environmental lapse rate > dry adiabatic lapse rate > wet adiabatic lapse rate.
• Such an air mass displays strong tendency to ascent with little bit of initial push. It keeps rising
unless it reaches tropopause.
Altitude (km) Temperature of rising air mass
0 30oc
1 20oc
2(D.P.) 10oc
3 1oc
4 -8oc
• Thus, at very height rising air mass is warmer & buoyant than the surrounding air. In reality
such conditions can exist when air mass is very humid.
Diagram:
1
0 11-4 5 5 8 6 8 2 9
9 718 79 3 3 6 3
3) Neutral Equilibrium:
• It is more of an ideal condition which can hardly exist at all the heights. It would exist if either
Environment lapse rate = dry adiabatic lapse rate/environment lapse rate = wet adiabatic
lapse rate.
4) Conditional Instability – (more common):
Dry adiabatic lapse rate > environment lapse rate > wet lapse rate.
It is a situation which exists when 2 conditions are fulfilled. These are:
a) Initial push is strong enough to uplift air beyond dew point, so that wet adiabatic lapse rate
can set in.
b) There should be large amount of moisture in rising air.
Diagram:
Altitude (km) Temperature of rising air Temperature of environment

mass Environment lapse rate = (8oc/km)
(DALR) – 10oc/km
(WALR) – 5oc/km
0 30oc 30oc Stable air
2(D.P.) 10oc 14oc Stable air
4 0oc -2oc Instability
achieved &
continued
In reality it is conditional instability that is much more common and it would lead to rainfall
and can create atmospheric disturbances.
5) Convectional Insatiability:
GUIDANCE IAS
Diagram: MORE THAN A COACHING.....
• Normally an air mass consists of various layers located at different heights. Each of these layer
have variable characteristics with respect to temperature and moisture. In general, temperature
& moisture declines with altitude. Thus, lower layers are moister compared to higher layers.
If such an air mass is forced to rise, lower layers would display different behavior from upper
air. Lower layer would reach dew point first and thus soon begin to cool down @ lower wet
adiabatic lapse rate.
• Thus, decline in temperature of lower layer is comparatively less. However, upper layers
which are comparatively less moist would reach dew point at greater heights. Thus, they
would cool down at faster dry adiabatic lapse rate for greater height. As a result, their
temperature would significantly reduce than lower layers. This creates a steep temperature
gradient within a rising air column. Such a situation can create very high instability & can
become cause of various atmospheric disturbances.
QUES — Discuss as to how frontogenesis contributes to weather instability.
QUES – Examine the Tropical atmospheric Instability.
QUES – Discuss the significance of atmospheric equilibrium.
HUMIDITY:
• It is the Moisture/water vapor contained within atmosphere/air mass.
• This is primarily a function of 2 basic factors:
 Temperature. It is directly related, more temperature, more is chance of humidity.
2
0 11-4 5 5 8 6 8 2 9
9 718 79 3 3 6 3
 Source region/area over which it has travelled i.e. source region & its trajectory. Marine
surfaces provide more humidity to air mass. If an air mass has its trajectory over sea-surface
it will be moister.
TYPES:
On the basis of the way of measurement:
1) Absolute Humidity – amount of moisture contained in air with respect to its volume. Thus, it
measures actual amount of moisture.
A limitation with this is its value changes if volume changes even if amount of moisture
content remains same.
2) Specific Humidity – Ratio of amount of moisture (mass)/ amount of air (mass of air).
Better indicator – as mass remains constant.
3) Relative Humidity – It is the ratio of [(Actual amount of moisture contained in an air at a
particular temperature)/ (potential amount of moisture at particular temperature)] X 100.
Temperature Actual moisture Potential RH
30oc 50 100 50%
15o (D.P) 50 50 100% Fully saturated
0o 25 25 100% (Rest 25 units
converted to
water droplets)
2 ways:
1) If air is forced to rise.
2) During night air is called near surface.
QUES – Discuss the various kinds of atmospheric humidity & their associated forms.
CLOUDS:
GUIDANCE
These are forms of condensation, IAS
parcel of air/air mass which contain tiny water droplets
floating within it. They are nomenclated
MORE THAN A COACHING..... and height from ground surface.
on the basis of shape
3
0 11-4 5 5 8 6 8 2 9
9 718 79 3 3 6 3
Cirrus – high clouds.
Cumulus – clouds of vertical development.
Stratus – low level clouds/sheet like.
Altus – middle level clouds.
Nimbus – rain bearing clouds.
Classification – 4 families of clouds:
1) Family A: high Clouds:

• Mean low level is around 20,000 ft. (12km).
• Primarily formed of ice-crystals and therefore is Whitish color.
3 types –
a) Cirrus clouds – highest level, can be found even in stratosphere, are silky, fibrous appearance,
whitish made of ice particles.
Weather conditions – fair weather.
b) Cirrostratus – High sheet like whitish clouds, form halos around sun and moon. A halo is
formed because light bends around them. They are representative of approaching cyclones
and depict bad weather conditions.
c) Cirrocumulus – Rounded wall like high clouds, whitish colour, sometimes make various
patterns e.g. scales of fish etc. In this case sky is called Mackerel sky. Presence of this type
of sky represents that rising warm air along front is humid and rainfall is intense.
2) Family B: Middle Clouds:

• Height varies from 6000ft –GUIDANCE
20000 ft. IAS
• Combination of rain droplets as well as ice – crystals.
• Bluish to greyish.
2 types:
a) Alto – cumulus – middle level greyish wall like clouds in between which blue sky can be
visible. Generally they make waves/patterns in sky. In this case sky is called mackerel sky.
When they are found individually they represent fair weather but when they cover whole
sky, they represent bad weather conditions. Although no rainfall takes place from them. It
shows that rising air has high humidity. Wind direction is parallel.
b) Alto-stratus – greyish sheet like clouds covering entire sky. They are thicker causing sun &
moon to shine with faint gleam. They represent bad weather conditions & provide
continuous rainfall. If they are associated with fronts they become more important.
3) Family C: - low level clouds (stratus), maximum height = 6000ft.

a) Strato-cumulus – Low level cotton ball like greyish clouds, arranged in waves & patterns
like Alto-cumulus. Here as compared to former, individual clouds are larger and thicker.
Wind direction is parallel to waves & lines.
Generally they represent fair weather but sometimes rain/snow can fall from individual
clouds masses.
b) Stratus — Sheet like greyish to bluish, low level, thinner, sometimes they resemblance fog
4
0 11-4 5 5 8 6 8 2 9
9 718 79 3 3 6 3
although not being rested on ground. Represent good weather: limited rainfall (drizzles) at
times.
c) Nimbo stratus —Rain-bearing stratus clouds, thicker, greyish in colour. They provide
continuous heavy rainfall.
4) Family D:-
a) Cumulus – individual cotton ball like clouds, base is flat, representative of good weather
conditions.
b) Cumulus-nimbus –
• Towering cumulus clouds providing very heavy rainfall. These are called as thunderstorm
clouds. Initially Cauliflower shape and as it reaches their top becomes Anvil shaped. Colour
of top is whitish. Flat bases are darkish in colour and hence below them there is darkness.
• Lightening & thunder is present. Lightening is created as the top & lower level of cloud is
differently charged. 3 types:
1) Cloud to cloud Lightening.
2) Within cloud Lightening.
3) Cloud to ground lightening.
Thunder is caused due to sudden expansion of air & explosion.
QUES – Type of clouds reveal the type of weather Conditions. Comment.
PRECIPITATION PROCESS:
• Presence of clouds does not always indicate that there would be precipitation. For any
precipitation to occur numerous tiny droplets forming clouds should combine to form fewer
larger droplets which should be heavier enough to be attracted by gravity.
It can occur in two ways – GUIDANCE IAS
1) Bergeron – Findeisen theory (Ice-crystal theory/Cloud Instability theory):
• According to this theory within clouds ice crystals are formed which grow in size with time
at the expense of neighboring super-cooled droplets. Ultimately they become larger and
heavier enough to be attracted by gravity. Some pre-conditions for this phenomena to take
place is –
(a) Temperature should be below freezing point.
(b) Presence of super-cooled water droplets & super-cooled nuclei.
• Once such conditions are present, ice-crystals can be formed when water droplets come in
contact with super-cooled nuclei. Once ice crystals have been formed water begins to
behave anomalously and saturation vapor pressure over water droplets becomes greater
than saturation vapor pressure over ice-crystals.
• Thus, ice-crystals grow in size. This growth occurs because water vapor sticks to surface of
ice crystals. Thus, saturated vapor pressure within clouds declines below level required by
water droplets to maintain equilibrium. Thus, some of water droplets convert to vapor to
maintain this equilibrium. Thus, ice crystals continue to grow at expense of droplets. Once
they become heavier enough, they begun to fall as ice-crystal. However, friction from air
during fall normally converts them into rain droplets.
• This theory is able to explain precipitation process from clouds at very low temperature.
(Higher altitudes/latitudes). But precipitation is a more universal phenomena that occurs
from both high and low level clouds.
5
0 11-4 5 5 8 6 8 2 9
9 718 79 3 3 6 3
2) Collision-Coalescence theory:
• In unstable clouds there can be lots of disturbances in which droplets are falling at very
high velocity. This may cause collision among water droplets due to which they merge to
form single droplets. As process continues they become larger and heavier to form
precipitation.
Langmuir Theory:
• He highlighted shortcoming of original collision-coalescence theory. He found that if collision
occurs between droplets of same size, there is equal chance of splitting as that of merger.
Thus, according to Langmuir, such a collision-coalescence would only occur if there is presence
of droplets of unequal size. Larger droplets falling through cloud would sweep across other
small droplets and would continue to grow in size. Such larger droplets can be formed by many
ways e.g. presence of larger hygroscopic nuclei or by chance.
TYPES OF PRECIPITATION:
• Ascent of an air column and its adiabatic cooling are fundamental process required for any
precipitation to occur. However, manner of this ascent is variable. Depending upon type of
ascent displayed, precipitation is of 3 types:-
1) Convectional precipitation:
• Occurs when surface is intensely heated which causes air parcel over it to become warm
and buoyant.
• Thus, initial push due to this buoyancy causes air-column to rise vertically. If rising air-
column is heated it leads to formation of vertical cumulus clouds. Heavy rainfall takes place
from such clouds. Such rainfall is localized as it forms from individual clouds having limited
horizontal extent.
• It is short-lived in nature as horizontally flowing upper air winds carry clouds away from
GUIDANCE IAS
region receiving rainfall. During daytime, late-afternoon has maximum probability of such
rainfall. Such rainfall is more common in summer in temperate & higher latitudes and in
tropical latitudes such rainfall can occur anytime in the year. Within equatorial belt it occurs
every day.
2) Relief/Orographic Rainfall:
• Such a rainfall occurs when path of wind is obstructed by part of a relief feature causing
winds to rise along windward slopes. This ascent causes adiabatic cooling and very heavy
precipitation is primarily received on windward slopes. On the opposite slope, winds are
forced to descend and they become dry due to adiabatic heating reducing chances of rainfall.
3) Cyclonic/Disturbance rainfall:
• Associated with presence of circular low pressure centers, warm humid air is forced to
ascend leading to precipitation.
• Such a precipitation takes different form in temperate areas as compared to lower latitudes.
 Temperate Areas: Warm air is forced to rise along fronts causing condensation &
precipitation.
 Tropical Areas: Associated with intense low pressure systems formed over sea-surfaces.
6
0 11-4 5 5 8 6 8 2 9
9 718 79 3 3 6 3
DISTRIBUTION OF PRECIPITATION:
Factors affecting distribution of precipitation:
Factors Zonal impact Regional/local Impact

Vertical movement Wind and Pressure belts Disturbances & topography
Nature of air mass Temperature of air mass Distance from sea
• Low pressure belt - high rainfall; High Pressure belt – Low rainfall; Warmer air mass – high
specific humidity & more moisture content.
1) Zonal nature of Rainfall:
Diagram:
Equatorial belt – (10o north/south):
 West of monsoonal areas (India & south-east Asia).
• Vertical ascent + warm & humid air mass, > 160cm, Primary Maxima. Convergence & rise of
warm & humid Trades in ITCZ causes heavy rainfall.
• As we move away from equatorial zone, rainfall declines.
20-35o north/south – secondary maxima > 90cm:
• Reason – reduced vertical ascent due to sub-tropical high.
• Within this belt dry tropical & sub-tropical deserts as well as humid climates humid climates
are found due to which precipitation becomes little higher.
• 40o-60o north/south – precipitation increases, secondary maxima. This belt receives
precipitation of 120cm on an average primarily because of presence of low pressure belt
(sub-polar low) associated GUIDANCE IAS
with presence of temperate cyclones & fronts.
• Vicinity of poles – primary minima, cold polar anticyclones <13 cm.
• However, on account of regional & local factors like distribution of land – sea, topography
and presence of other disturbances, rainfall distribution becomes complex.
Diagram:
a) >200cm: - equatorial rainforest (Amazon forest, Congo basin + guinea coast, Indonesia,
Malaysia); Monsoon (areas where mountains are parallel & near to the coast. E.g.: Western
slopes of Western Ghats, north-east India, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, and coastal
Myanmar); British Type (coastal of Washington state, Alaska, Columbia)
b) 100-200 cm:-
 West of monsoonal areas (India & south-east Asia).
 China type (Easter china, south-eastern US).
 Laurentian type (coastal areas – parts of china, Korea, japan. Areas surrounding St. Lawrence
River valley).
 Parts of British type of climate.
 Large parts of savanna.
c) 50-100 cm:-
 Interior of monsoon climate (parts of Rajasthan).
7
0 11-4 5 5 8 6 8 2 9
9 718 79 3 3 6 3
 Rest of savanna (shrub & gross).
 Coastal Mediterranean (woodland areas).
 Interiors (of china type, Laurentian type & British type).
 Parts of taiga.
d) 25-50 cm:- semi-arid:-
 Boundaries of deserts (steppes).
 Shrub Mediterranean.
 Continental part of British, Laurentian & Taiga types.
e) Arid < 25 cm:-
 Tropical – sub tropical deserts (Chile- Atacama, Sahara, Arabian, and Thar).
 Namib, Kalahari (Africa), Western Australia, lower California, Mexican desert.
 Temperate deserts (Patagonia, central Asian deserts, Mojave Desert).
 Polar – sub-polar belt – Canadian Tundra, Greenland, Siberian Tundra, Antarctica.
QUES – “Distribution of rainfall is mainly zonal in nature” Critically Analyze.
GUIDANCE IAS

Stability,instability,cloud, pptn

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Stability,instability,cloud, pptn

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

GUIDANCE IAS MORE THAN A COACHING

ATMOSPHERIC STABILITY & INSTABILITY:

Diagram: GUIDANCE IAS

Altitude (km) Temperature of rising air Temperature of environment

1) Family A: high Clouds:

2) Family B: Middle Clouds:

3) Family C: - low level clouds (stratus), maximum height = 6000ft.

Factors Zonal impact Regional/local Impact

You might also like