Weather Observation and Analysis Project

• Data collection is this week

Lecture Week 7: Topics

Stability and Cloud Formation

[REF: AJJ12 Ch 6 / AJJ16 Ch 6 p 164-169]

• requirements for clouds
• upward motion due to convection
• why/how does the atmosphere become unstable?
• Active Figure 6.22 Air rising over a mountain

First Law of Thermodynamics

[REF: AJJ12 - Ch 2, 6 / AJJ16 Ch 2 p 32-35; Ch 6 p 154-157]

• relationship between heat and temperature in solids and gases
• specific heat at constant pressure and volume related to gas constant
• dry adiabatic lapse rate (DALR) - derive and explain
• potential temperature
• saturated adiabatic lapse rate (SALR)
• potential temperature ($\theta$ )
• problem 3

Atmospheric Stability and Lifting

[REF: AJJ12 Ch 2, 6 / AJJ16 Ch 6 157-175]

• ELR, DALR, SALR
• absolute stability, inversions, air quality
• Active Figure 6.3 Stable atmosphere
• instability
• Active Figure 6.7 Unstable atmosphere
• neutral stability
• conditional stability
• Active Figure 6.8 Conditionally unstable atmosphere

Air Pollution

[REF: AJJ12 CH 18 / AJJ16 Ch 18 p 545-554 557-567]

• sources, atmosphere, receptors
• atmospheric conditions leading to poor air quality
• air pollution in Prince George:
  • Total Reduced Sulfur (TRS)
  • Particulate Matter (PM10, PM2.5)
  • trends
• modelling air quality