Embedded Files
Purpose: Part I of this lab will introduce principles of the Ideal Gas Law and allow for further practice on basic math and quantitative reasoning, but within a meteorological context. The Ideal Gas Law also acts as a basis for many chapters/labs going forward and how we explain rising and sinking motions, temperature changes, stability, etc. Students should be able to analyze inverse and direct relationships between variables and apply them to a real-life example of a balloon/radiosonde rising in our atmosphere. These skills are vital in connecting basic atmospheric principles and understanding the “why” behind different meteorological phenomena.
Part II of this lab introduces a Skew T/Log P diagram and will allow students to become familiar with how radiosonde data is plotted vertically in our atmosphere. Additionally, students will complete a very basic analysis of this sounding to garner further understanding to be able to apply to other atmospheric concepts later on in the semester.
Learning Objectives: This lab will introduce the principles of the Ideal Gas Law. Relationships between pressure, density, and temperature will be observed and quantified, and more work on basic math and quantitative reasoning within a meteorological context will be assessed. Learn how to plot soundings and how to interpret them.
P=ρRT or PV=mRT
where P is pressure (units: Pa), ρ is density (units: kg/m3 ), R is the gas constant for dry air (units: J/kg*K), and T is temperature (units: K).
Boyle's Law: T constant, volume inversely proportional to pressure
Charles' Law: P constant, volume directly proportional to temperature
Gay-Lussac's Law: V constant, pressure directly proportional to temperature
A sounding is a measurement tool used to obtain a vertical profile of the atmosphere. To view the data observed by it, we use a chart known as a skew-T log-p diagram, where temperature is plotted on a skew and pressure increases logarithmically with height. Once the data is plotted, important features of the atmosphere can be observed.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse