ASHORTCOURSE

INBASIC
METEOROLOGY

ii

ABOUT THIS SHORT COURSE

Thismanualisdividedintoninesectionsthatwillleadyoufromthebasicaveragestateof
theatmospheretothemorecomplexstagesofdevelopmentofweathersystemsand
meteorologicalphenomena,withafocusontransportanddispersion.
Meteorology,thescienceoftheatmosphere,isfartooextensivetobetreatedexhaustively
insofewpages.However,bytheendofthismanual,youshouldhavelearnedenoughofthe
theorytomakesenseofthevariousmeteorologicaltools.Youshouldalsobeableto
understandenoughofthejargontocommunicateeffectivelywithmeteorologistsabout
weatherphenomenaofinteresttoyourdomainofexpertise.

EnvironmentCanada
1June2011

iii
TABLEOFCONTENTS

1.TheAtmosphere ...............................................................................................................................................1
Theheatengine............................................................................................................................................1
Thecompositionoftheatmosphere...................................................................................................2
Thethermalstructureoftheatmosphere........................................................................................3
Thetroposphere..........................................................................................................................................4
2.Heatingtheatmosphere................................................................................................................................5
Radiationsources........................................................................................................................................5
TheearthsEnergyBudget......................................................................................................................6
3.Atmosphericpressureandaircirculation.............................................................................................7
Pressure...........................................................................................................................................................7
Horizontalpressuregradientsandsurfacewinds..................................................................... 10
Localeffects ................................................................................................................................................ 13
Verticalpressuregradientsandupperwinds ............................................................................. 14
4.Thegeneralcirculation............................................................................................................................... 15
Energyhierarchyandcascade............................................................................................................ 15
TheWesterlies,planetarywaves,andthejetstream............................................................... 17
Globalwaterbudget................................................................................................................................ 19
5.Meteorologicalobservations.................................................................................................................... 20
Observationsnetworks.......................................................................................................................... 20
Surfaceobservations .............................................................................................................................. 20
Radiosondes ............................................................................................................................................... 24
Radars ........................................................................................................................................................... 26
Satellites....................................................................................................................................................... 28
6.Weathersystems........................................................................................................................................... 30
Weathermapsandmeteorologicalfeatures ................................................................................ 30
Thedevelopmentofweathersystems ............................................................................................ 33
Verticalmotion.......................................................................................................................................... 35
Theclimatologyofweathersystems ............................................................................................... 35
Blockedcirculation.................................................................................................................................. 36
7.AtmosphericStabilityanddispersion.................................................................................................. 37
Typesofequilibrium............................................................................................................................... 38
Airparcelbuoyancy ................................................................................................................................ 39
Effectofstabilityonmixinganddispersion................................................................................. 41
Estimatingstability.................................................................................................................................. 43
8.Thedevelopmentofclouds,precipitation,andsevereweather............................................... 44
Cloudsandprecipitation....................................................................................................................... 44
Convectiveandstratiformprecipitationprocesses .................................................................. 46
Severeweather.......................................................................................................................................... 46
9.AirQuality......................................................................................................................................................... 48
Pollutantsources...................................................................................................................................... 48
Formationprocesses,transportanddispersionofpollutants ............................................. 48
AirQualityHealthIndex........................................................................................................................ 50
APPENDIX1............................................................................................................................................................. a
APPENDIX2............................................................................................................................................................. e

1
1.TheAtmosphere
Theheatengine
Thecompositionoftheatmosphere
Thethermalstructureoftheatmosphere
Thetroposphere
Theheatengine
Ifourplanetwerejustapolishedrock,withnoairoroceans,thesunwouldheatupthe
surfacetoveryhightemperaturesonthelitside,whilethedarksidessurfacewouldfallto
verylowtemperatures.Fortunately,theatmosphere,agaseousblanketthattrapsheatand
letsitgoslowly,keepstheearthatareasonabletemperature,butalsoturnstheplanetinto
agenuine,althoughnotveryefficient,heatengine.
Theearthasawholereceivesincomingsolarradiationandemitsitbackasterrestrial
radiation.Thegloballyaveragednetradiationiszerointhelongtermmean.However,the
netsolarradiationdropsoffbyaboutafactoroffourbetweentheequatorandthepoles.
Thepolesemitmoreradiationthantheyreceivefromthesun,whilethetropicsreceive
moreradiationthantheyemitback(seefig.1.1)

Fig.1.1Annualaveragenetincomingsolarradiationandoutgoing
terrestrialradiationwithrespecttolatitude.

Thisdifferencecausestheatmospheretoheatupmoreattheequatorthanatthepoles.It
setsupanatmosphericconveyorbeltthattransportsthewarmmoisttropicalairfromits
heatsourcetoacolderdrierpolarheatsink.Theworkdonebytheatmosphericheatengine
maintainsthekineticenergyofthegeneralcirculationagainstfrictionaldissipation,justas
inaCarnotcycle.Theefficiencyofthisheatengineisrathersmallandcanbecalculated
usingthefollowingequation:
eq.1.1 =
T
H
T
C
T
H
,
where isthethermalefficiencyandT
n
thetemperaturesofthesource(H)andsink(C).
Assumingthepolartemperaturetobe30
o
C(243K)andthetropicaltemperaturetobe
30
o
C(303K),thenTis60K,andT/T
H
wouldgiveabout20%.Inactualfact,andall
considered,theefficiencyisreallyonlyabout1%.
Theearthbeingmadeofoceansandmountains,aswellasbeingarotatingbody,thesimple
assumptionofadirectthermalcirculationtransportingheattowardsthepolesstraightfrom
thetropicsisagrossoversimplification.Inreality,energyistransportedintheatmosphere
inmanywaysandatdifferentscales.Thistransferofenergyisresponsibleforthe
occurrenceofweather.
Thecompositionoftheatmosphere
Theatmosphere(below100km)isroughly78%nitrogenand21%oxygen,byvolume.
Argonmakestheremaining1%.Otherconstituentsareonlypresentastracesandinclude,
indecreasingorderofamount:
Watervapour Krypton
Carbondioxide Hydrogen
Neon Ozone
Helium
Oxygenisacolorless,odourless,andtastelesselement.Itismostlyseenasaninertdiatomic
gasatstandardatmospherictemperatureandpressure.Nitrogenhasthesame
characteristics.Althoughscarcecomparedtonitrogenandoxygen,watervapour,carbon
dioxide,andozoneplayanimportantroleinthethermalstructureoftheatmosphereas
theyabsorbradiationandtrapheat.
Inadditiontogaseoussubstances,thelowerlevelsoftheatmospherecontainquantitiesof
solidparticles.Theseparticlescanreducethevisibilitythroughtheair,andarealso
importantintheprocessofcondensation(gastoaliquid)andsublimation(gastoasolid).If
nosolidparticleswereintheair,itwouldbeverydifficultforclouddropletstoformand
thusforweathertooccur(seesection8).

3
Thethermalstructureoftheatmosphere
Theverticaldistributionoftemperatureforthestandardatmosphereisshowninfig.1.2.
Thisprofileisrepresentativeoftypicalconditionsinthemiddlelatitudes.Daytodayor
latitudinalvariationswillshowadifferentprofile,butthemaincharacteristicswillremain.

Fig.1.2VerticaltemperatureprofilefortheU.S.Standard
Atmosphere.
Theprofileisdividedintofourdistinctlayersroughlylocatedattheheightslistedbelow:
Troposphere(0to10km)
Stratosphere(10to50km)
Mesosphere(50to80km)
Thermosphere(80to100km)

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Thetroposphereaccountsformorethan80%ofthemassofvirtuallyallwatervapour,
clouds,andprecipitationintheearthsatmosphere.Inthetroposphere,thetemperature
decreaseswithincreasingheight,buttemperatureinversions(temperatureincreasingwith
increasingheight)arepossiblenearthesurface(seesection7).
Thelayerabove,ofconstantorincreasingtemperature,iscalledthestratosphere.Its
verticaltemperatureprofilemakesitverystableanddampensverticalmotion.This
particularprofileisduetothepresenceofozoneabsorbingultravioletrays(seesection2).
Verylittlemixingoccursbetweenthetroposphereandthestratosphere.Duetotheextreme
stabilityofthestratosphere,particlesthatareemitteddirectlyintoit(fromvolcanic
eruptions,nuclearexplosions,etc.)willremainthereforalongtime.Eventhestrongest
thunderstormswillonlypenetratethestratospheretoafewkilometresbeforetheir
updraftsarecapped(seesection7).Thestratospherethereforeactsasareservoirfor
certaintypesofatmosphericpollution.
Thetransitionbetweenthetwolayers,calledthetropopause,ismarkedbyabruptchanges
inwatervapourandozoneconcentration.Watervapourdecreasesandozoneincreasesas
onemovesclosertothestratosphere.Theaverageheightofthetropopause(ordepthofthe
troposphere)isabout11kilometres.Itcanvaryconsiderably,however,andbeoftheorder
of17kilometresovertheequatorandabout8kilometresoverthepoles.Thetropopauseis
generallyhigherinthesummerthaninthewinter.
Themesosphereandthermospherearesohighupandsodevoidofairandwater,thattheir
effectontheweatherispracticallynonexistent.Consequently,thiscoursewillonlycover
troposphericphenomena.
Thetroposphere
Thetroposphereischaracterizedbyratherstrongverticalmixingandiswheremost
weatherphenomenatakeplace.Itisfurtherdividedintotwolayers:theplanetaryboundary
layerandthefreeatmosphere.
Theplanetaryboundarylayer(PBL)isdefinedasthepartoftheatmospherethatisstrongly
anddirectlyinfluencedbythepresenceofthesurfaceoftheearth.Itrespondstosurface
forcings(solarheating,friction,evapotranspiration,etc.)withatimescaleofaboutanhour
orless.ThePBLisanimportantpartoftheatmosphere,becauseitiswherealmostall
humanactivitiestakeplace,wheremostheatinggetsintotheatmosphereandwherethe
groundaffectsweatherthemost.
Thedaytimeboundarylayerisusuallyveryturbulent,duetogroundlevelheatingand
winds(seesection7).Itcanreachdepthsofabout1500m.Atnighttime,surfacecooling
dampenstheturbulentactivityoftheboundarylayeranditsdepthcanreducetoafew
hundredmetres.
ThecharacteristicsofthePBLgreatlyinfluencethebehaviourofatmosphericdispersion.
SunnysummerafternoonconditionswillgenerallyleadtoawellmixedanddeepPBL.This
willleadtotherapidandextensivedilutionofanypollutantsreleasedatthesurface.Onthe

5
otherhand,earlymorning,clearwinterconditionswilloftenresultinaveryshallow
boundarylayer,resultinginrelativelyhighpollutantconcentrations(seesection7).
Thefreeatmosphereisrightabovetheboundarylayerandisnotdirectlyinfluencebylocal
surfaceforcings.Althoughairdoesflowbetweentheboundarylayerandthefree
atmosphere,atnighttimeorunderspecialcircumstancestheexchangecanbeverylimited.
Table1.1showsthemaindifferencesbetweenthetwolayers.
Table1.1Characteristicsoftheplanetaryboundarylayerandofthefreeatmosphere.
Property Boundarylayer Freeatmosphere
Turbulence Almostcontinuously
turbulentoveritswhole
depth.
Turbulencemostlyin
convectiveclouds(see
sections7and8).
Friction Strongdragagainstthe
earthssurface.Largeenergy
dissipation.
Smallviscousdissipation.
Dispersion Rapidturbulentmixingin
theverticalandhorizontal.
Smallmoleculardiffusion.
Oftenrapid,horizontal
transportbymeanwind.
Winds Crossisobarsatanangle.
Turncounterclockwise
(back)andgetstrongerwith
height(seesection3).
Nearlyparalleltoisobarsat
alllevels.
Verticaltransport Turbulencedominates
verticalmixing.
Meanwindandcumulus
scaledominate.
Thickness Variesbetween100mto
3kmovertimeandovera
distance.Diurnalvariations
overland.
Lessvariable.Depthsfrom7
to17km.Variesmostlywith
latitudesandseasons.
Bytheendofthismanual,thedifferencebetweenbothlayerswillbecomeevidentandyou
cancomebacktothistableandunderstanditfully.Letusnowlookatwheretheenergy
drivingtheatmospherecomesfromandwhereitgoes.
2.Heatingtheatmosphere
Radiationsources
Theearthsenergybudget
Radiationsources
Allmatterradiatesenergyintheformofelectromagneticwaves.Theamountofenergyand
thewavelengthsemittedaredependentonthetemperatureofthematter.Thehottera

6
substanceis,thegreatertheamountofemittedenergy,andtheshorterthewavelengthof
theemission.
Whenitcomestofuellingtheatmosphericheatengine,theonlysourceofenergythat
countsisthesun.Thesun,ahugenuclearreactor,emitselectromagneticradiationinall
direction,andtheearthinterceptsasmallfractionofit.Radiationemittedbythesunis
referredtoasshortwaveradiation.Itrangesfromultraviolet(0.12m)tonearinfrared
(4m)andincludesvisiblelight(0.34to0.7m).Theearth,ontheotherhand,beingmany
timescolderthanthesun,emitslongwaveradiation(i.e.infraredorIR).Exceptforthe
effectofdistance,radiationfromthesunreachestheouterlimitoftheatmosphere
undepleted.
Electromagneticradiationisnotheat.Onlyifasubstanceabsorbstheradiationwillitheat
upandraiseitstemperature.Forasubstanceorabodytoremainatconstanttemperature,
theheatabsorbedmustbalancetheheatemitted.Aswewillseeinthenextsection,the
earthanditsatmosphereradiatebackasmuchastheytakein.
TheearthsEnergyBudget
Gasesareselectiveinthewavelengthsthattheyabsorbandpermitcertainbandsof
wavelengthstopassthroughunhinderedinwhatarecalledwindows.Otherbandsof
wavelengthsareabsorbedandcausethetemperatureofthesubstancetorise.Air
molecules,haze,dust,cloudparticlesscatterandabsorbradiationsothatonlyapartofthe
energyactuallyreachestheearthssurface,eitherdirectlyorindirectly(seefig.2.1).
Ozoneisconcentratedinalayercalledtheozonosphereextendingfromabout10kmupto
50km.Itabsorbsmostofthesolarultraviolet(UV)radiation.Ifthisultravioletradiation
weretoreachthesurfaceitwouldkillalllifeonearth.
Theabsorptionofultravioletradiationbyozoneraisesthetemperatureofthehigh
atmospheretonearzeroCelsius.Astheradiationpenetratesfurtherintotheozonosphere,
absorptiongraduallydepletestheultravioletraysandthetemperatureoftheatmosphere
steadilyfallstoaminimumataheightthataveragesaround11km(thetropopause).The
remainderofthesolarradiationcontinuesthroughtheatmospherewithonlyasmall
amountofitbeingabsorbedbyotheratmosphericconstituents.Someofitisreflectedback
tospacefromtheatmosphere,cloudtops,ortheearthssurface.Theremainderisabsorbed
bytheearth,whichheatsupandradiatesbackinlonger,infrared(IR)wavelengths.
SomeoftheoutgoingIRradiationfromtheearthssurfaceisabsorbedbythecarbon
dioxideandwatervapouroftheatmosphere.Theamountofheatingthatthiscreates
decreaseswithaltitudeastheradiationisdepleted.Cloud,ifpresent,absorbsagreatdealof
terrestrialradiationandradiatesitbothbacktoearthandouttospace.Someofthe
terrestrialradiationpassesdirectlyouttospacethroughwindows,andtheatmosphere
itselfradiatesouttospace.Theoutgoingradiationbalancestheincomingradiationfromthe
sun,sothattheearthsaveragetemperatureremainsnearlyconstant.
Becausetheatmosphereistransparenttosolarradiation(exceptforUVs)butabsorbslong
waveradiationfromtheearth,theearthssurfacehasahighertemperatureonaveragethan

7
itwouldhaveiftherewerenoatmosphere.Althoughabitofamisnomer,thisheating
mechanismiscalledthegreenhouseeffect.Itisestimatedthat,withoutthiseffect,themean
globalsurfacetemperaturewouldbeabout30degreescolderthanthecurrentaverage
temperature(~15degrees).Theadditionofsocalledgreenhousegasesintothe
atmospherewouldlikelychangethisbalanceandcouldproduceariseintheaverage
temperatureoftheearth.

Fig.2.1Annualmeanglobalenergybudgetfortheearthatmospheresystem.
Eventhoughgloballytheenergybudgetisbalanced,inrealitysomeareasoftheplanet
receivemoreheatthanothers.Thisdifferentialheatingiswhatstartsupatmospheric
motion.
3.Atmosphericpressureandaircirculation
Pressure
Horizontalpressuregradientsandsurfacewinds
Localeffects
Verticalpressuregradientsenupperwinds
Pressure
Generallyspeaking,pressureisthecontinuousphysicalforceexertedonoragainstanobject
bysomethingincontactwithit.Inmeteorology,atmosphericpressureistheweightofa
columnofairaboveacertainlevel.Pressurecanbeexpressedinvariousunits.Thosethat
areusedinmeteorologyandweatherforecastingarethemillibar(mb)anditsSIequivalent,
thehectoPascal(hPa).

8
Asonemovesupintheatmosphere,lessairinthecolumnabovewillresultinalower
pressureatagivenheight.Thechangeinpressurewithrespecttodistance(horizontalor
vertical)iscalledthepressuregradient.
Thepressureatanyarbitrarylevelinanaircolumnisequaltotheweightofthepartofthe
aircolumnaboveit.Theequationgoverningthechangeinpressurewithrespecttoheightis
calledthehydrostaticequation:
eq.3.1 dp =
pg
RT
dz
wheredpisthepressuregradientforagivendifferenceinheight(dz);pisthepressure;g,
thegravity;R,theidealgasconstant;andT,theairtemperature.However,formanyusesit
issimplertousetheaveragevalueofToveralayerinordertofindthepressurewith
respecttoheight.Thissimplificationiscalledthehypsometricequation.Itcomesfrom
integratingeq.3.1tofind:
eq.3.2 p
2
= p
1
e

g
RT
(Z
2
Z
1
)

Pressurealsovarieshorizontally.Sincethepressureatanypointispracticallyequaltothe
weightoftheairabove,perunitarea,andsincedensitydepends(inversely)onthe
temperature,onemightexpecttohaveaclosecorrespondencebetweentemperatureand
pressure:warm(lowdensity)areashavinglowpressureandcold(highdensity)areas
havinghighpressure.Althoughtrueattimes,onthewhole,thesituationismore
complicated.
Generallyspeaking,whenacolumnofairiswarmed,itexpandsvertically,butatfirstthe
sameamountofairremainsinthecolumn.Thesameappliestoacolumnofairthatis
cooled.Itshrinksdown,butdoesnotlosemass.Therefore,thesurfacepressurestaysthe
same.However,asonegoesupwards,thepressuredropsaccordingtothehydrostatic
equation.Inthecoolcolumn,thepressurefallsmorerapidlywithheightthaninthewarm
column.
From p
2
= p
1
e

g
RT
(Z
2
Z
1
)
,weknowthatforagivenlayer(Z
2
Z
1
),withRandgbeingconstants,
ifwewarmtheairup(T),thenp
2
willdecreasemoreslowlyandresultinaweaker
absoluteverticalpressuregradient(p/z).Pressureinwarmairdecreasesmoreslowly
withheightthanincoldair.
Thereforewhenacolumnofairisheated,thepressureateachlevelaloftishigherthanthe
pressureinthecoolersurroundingair(seefig.3.1).

Fig.3.1Horizontalpressuredistributionand
correspondingthermaldistribution.
Onceapressuregradientisestablishedaloft,airmovesinitiallyfromthehighpressurearea
tothelowpressureone(wewillseelaterthattheCoriolisforcecomplicatesthatsimple
circulation).Asairaloftleavesawarmupperhighpressurearea(divergence),surface
pressurefallsbecauselessairremainsinthecolumn,ormingalowpressureareaatthe
surface.Theinverseistrueforacoldcolumnofair.Asairaloftmovestowardsthecoldarea
(convergence),surfacepressureincreases.
Surfacepressureformssynopticscalepatterns(oneortwothousandkilometreswide),
whicharerelatedinmanywaystotheweatherthatisoccurring.Toprovideavisual
portrayalofthepressurepatternsacrossthecountry,thepressuresfromobservingstations
areplottedonachartcalledasurfaceweathermap.Linescalledisobars,joiningplaces
havingthesamepressure,aredrawnonthischart.TheyaredrawnatfourhectoPascal
(hPa)intervalsupanddownfrom1000hPa.Theselinesnevercrossandformpressure
patterns.
Note,however,thattorepresentrealpatternsonamap,pressurehastobereducedtoits
meansealevelvalue.Meansealevel(MSL)istheaverageseasurfacelevelforallstagesof
thetideovera19yearperiod.Inmeteorology,itisthereferencesurfaceforallaltitudes.As
wehaveseen,pressuredecreaseswithheight.Ifaweatherstationmeasuringsurface
pressureislocatedatanelevationof500m,itspressurewillbeartificiallylowerthanthat
ofastationlocatedata10mheight.Thereforepressuremeasurementsareallrecalculated
torepresentthevaluethepressurewouldhaveifithadbeenmeasuredatsealevel.
Fivedistinctpressurepatternsareofinteresttometeorologists:highs,lows,ridges,troughs
andcols(seefig.3.2).

10

Fig.3.2Pressurepatterns.

LOWPRESSUREAREAS(L)Thesearealsocalleddepressionsorcyclones.Theyare
closedareasoflowerpressuresurroundedonallsidesbyhigherpressureandare
markedbyanLonsurfacecharts.
HIGHPRESSUREAREAS(H)Thesecanalsobecalledanticyclones.Theyareclosed
areasofhigherpressuresurroundedonallsidesbylowerpressureandaremarked
byanHonsurfacecharts.
TROUGHSTheseareelongatedareasoflowpressurewiththelowestpressure
alongthelineofmaximumcycloniccurvature(counterclockwise).
RIDGESTheseareelongatedareasofhighpressurewiththehighestpressurealong
thelineofmaximumanticycloniccurvature(clockwise).
COLSThesearealsocalledsaddlepointsandareneutralareasbetweentwohighs
andtwolows.
Likewavesintheoceans,thepressuresystemsoutlinedonsurfacechartsarenotconstant,
butratherincreaseanddecreaseinintensityanddriftacrossthecountry.Moreover,air
withinthesesystemsmoveaccordingtopressuregradientandotherforces.
Horizontalpressuregradientsandsurfacewinds
Aswehaveseenabove,airwillhaveatendencytoflowfromahighpressureareatowardsa
lowpressureone.Ifnootherforceswereatplay,highsandlowswouldonlyexistfora
shorttime.Inreality,fourforcescontrolthewindspeedanddirection:thepressuregradient
force,theCoriolisforce,frictionandcurvature.

11
Ifthereisapressuredifferenceacrossanarea,airwillbegintomovefromtheregionof
highpressuredirectlytowardstheareawithlowpressure.Theforcecausingthis
movementisthepressuregradientforce.Itsstrengthisdependentonthepressure
differenceoverthearea.
Onasurfacechart,theextentofthepressuredifferencecanbeestimatedbylookingatthe
spacingbetweentheisobars.Iftheisobarsarespacedcloselytogether,thereissaidtobea
steeporstrongpressuregradient.Iftheyarefarapart,thepressuregradientisdescribedas
weakorflat.
Assoonastheairbeginstomove,itisinfluencedbyanotherforcecalledtheCoriolisforce.
Thisisafictitiousforcethatisduetotheearthsrotation.Itcausesairinmotiontodeflect
totherightinthenorthernhemisphereandtotheleftinthesouthernhemisphere.The
strengthoftheCoriolisforceincreaseswithincreasedairspeed,andalsovariesfromzero
attheequatortoamaximumatthepoles.
Aparcelofairundertheinfluenceofthepressuregradientforcebeginstomovetowardsa
lowerpressure.Asitaccelerates,theCoriolisforcedeflectsittotheright(northern
hemisphere).Underthecontinuedinfluenceofthepressuregradientforce,thespeedofthe
parcelincreasesandthisincreasestheCoriolisforce.Eventually,theCoriolisforcewillraise
toavaluethatjustbalancesthepressuregradientforce.Astateofequilibriumwillbe
reachedwithbothforcesequalandopposite,andtheairmotionsteadyandparalleltothe
isobars.Theresultingwindiscalledthegeostrophicwind.Thestrongerthepressure
gradient,thegreatertheresultinggeostrophicwindspeedwillbe(seefig3.3).
Thismeansthatairflowsclockwisearoundahighandcounterclockwisearoundalow,in
thenorthernhemisphere.Thereverseistrueinthesouthernhemispherewherethe
Coriolisforcecausesairinmotiontodeflecttotheleft.

Fig.3.3Thegeostrophicwindanditsrelationtothe
pressuregradientandtheCoriolisforce.

12
Neartheequator,theCorioliseffectissmallanddoesnotmakeairflowalongisobarsso
much.Asaresult,lowpressureareasarequicklyfilledbecauseairflowsalmostdirectly
intothem.Nearthepoles,theCoriolisforceisamaximumandwillresultinweakerwinds
forthesamepressuregradient.
Ageostrophicflowoccursonlywhentheisobarsarestraight.Whentheisobarsarecurved,
theairmovesinanarcoracircleandthecentrifugalforcecomesintoplay.Inacyclonic
flow,thecentrifugalforceisactinginoppositiontothepressuregradientforce,sothewind
speedislessthanwithstraightisobars.Inanticycloniccirculation,thecentrifugalforceis
actinginthesamedirectionasthepressuregradientforcesothewindspeedisgreaterthan
withstraightisobars.Forthesamepressuregradient,thewindspeedaroundalowisless
thanaroundahigh.Thepressuregradientaroundlows,however,isgenerallyverymuch
strongerthanaroundhighssothatstrongerwindsnormallyoccurwithlows,andthe
curvatureeffectisnotreadilynoticeable.
Topographicalfeaturesontheearthssurfacecausefrictionthattendstoretardair
movementandreducethewindspeedinthelowerlevels(PBL).SincetheCoriolisforce
varieswiththewindspeed,areductionofthewindspeedwillreducetheCoriolisforce.
Withthepressuregradientforceconstant,areductionoftheCoriolisforcewillcausethe
windtoangleacrosstheisobarsintothelowpressurearea(seefig.3.4).Thisanglevaries
withtheamountoffrictionimposedbytheearthssurfaceandwouldbeabout10over
oceansand40oververyroughterrain.

Fig.3.4Thebalanceofthethreeforcesaffectingsurface
winds.
Frictionaleffectsaregreatestneartheground.Airataround500to1000mabovethe
groundcanbeconsideredtobefreeoffriction.Thewindspeedincreasesanditsdirection
veers(turnsclockwiseortowardstheright)withheightuntilitbecomesparalleltothe

13
isobarsintheNorthernHemisphere.ThisiscalledtheEkmanspiral.Thevariationofthe
windspeedanddirectionwithheightwithintheboundarylayerisshownbelow(fig.3.5).

Fig.3.5Verticalprofileofwindspeedand
direction(Ekmanspiral).
Asaresultofverticalfrictionalvariation,asubstancereleasednearthegroundandcarried
upwardswillfollowadifferentpathasitmovesup.Asitispushedaloft,itwillmovefaster
andeventuallyparalleltotheisobars.
Assumingthatthewindiszeroatthegroundduetofriction,andthatitcanreachtensof
kilometresperhourafewmetresupandkeepincreasingwithheight,wecanassumethat
thereisstrongwindshearinthelowerlevelsofthetroposphere.Thestrongerthesurface
wind,thestrongerthewindshear,andthestrongertheassociatedturbulence.Aboundary
layersubjectedtostrongturbulenceduetostrongwindsbecomeswellmixedwithin
minutestohours.Substancesreleaseinsuchconditionswillquicklydisperseandmovefast.
Turbulencecausedbystrongsurfacewindsiscalledmechanicalturbulence.
Inconclusion,fourfactorsaffectsurfacewindspeedanddirection:pressuregradient,
Coriolisforce,friction,andtypeofflow(cyclonic/anticyclonic).Thiswillcausewindsto
flowclockwiseanddivergeinhighs,andflowcounterclockwiseandconvergeinlows.
Windsaloftarenotsubjecttofrictionandwillflowmostlyparalleltotheisobars.
Localeffects
Attimes,topographywillhaveamajoreffectonwinddirection.Forexamplevalleysas
wideanddeepastheSt.LawrenceRiverValleyortheOttawaValleywillhaveatendencyto
channelthewind.Inavalley,theflowwillstarttomovefromthehightothelowpressure
area,butmaynotbeallowedtoreachequilibriumwiththeCoriolisforcebecauseof
physicallimitations:thevalleywalls.Therefore,windwillsimplyhaveatendencytoflow
fromhightolowpressuresalongthevalley.Thisiscalledthechanneleffect.
Ifthevalleyisshapedlikeafunnel,windsenteringthefunnelwithacertainvelocitywill
speedupasthevalleynarrows.Thisiscalledthefunneleffect.TheSt.Lawrencevalleynear
QuebecCitynarrowsandnortheastwindsdoincreaseastheyenterthatfunnellikearea.

14
Inthesummer,airoverrelativelyimportantwaterbodieswillnotwarmasmuchasthe
surroundinglandduringdaytime.Theresultingpressuregradientwillproduceathermal
circulationwithwindscomingfromthelakegenerallybetween10AMand3PM.Thisis
calledalakebreeze,anditisstrongerwhenthesynopticwindiscalmtolight.This
circulationwillbereversedatnight,asthelandcoolsmorethantheadjacentwater.
Atnight,whenasloperadiatesenergy,itcoolstheairjustaboveit.Thatcoldairsinksdown
tothebottomoftheincline,creatingakatabaticwind.Invalleys,thiswillpushany
atmosphericsubstancetothebottomofthevalleyandkeepitthereforthenight.A
substancereleaseundertheseconditionswillnotdisperseunlessstrongsynopticwindsare
atplay.
Verticalpressuregradientsandupperwinds
Windatanylevelisgovernedprimarilybythepressuredistributionatthatlevel.Asseen
previously,pressurealwaysdecreaseswithheightwiththerateofdecreasebeinggreaterin
coldairthaninwarmair(seefig.3.1).
Considertwoareasofequalsurfacepressure.Becausethereisnopressuregradientatthe
surface,thereisnowind.AssumethatcoldairliesaboveAreaAandthatwarmairlies
aboveAreaB.TherateofdecreaseofpressurewithheightforAreaAisgreaterthanthatof
AreaB.Toreachapressureofsay700hPawillrequireashortercolumnofcoldairthanof
warmerair.
Thismeansthatatanyparticularheight,thepressureinthecoldairwillbelessthanitwill
beatthesamelevelinthewarmair,andawindwilldevelopbecauseofthehorizontal
pressuredifference.Ifthetemperaturedifferenceremainsupthroughhigherlayers,the
levelforlevelpressuredifference(thehorizontalpressuregradient)willincreaseandthe
windwillgetcontinuallystrongerwithaltitude(seejetstreaminsection4).
Surfaceconditionswillnotalwaysbecalmasassumedabove.Therewillusuallybeawind
(andapressuregradient)inthelowerlevels.Thewindatanyheightabovewilldifferfrom
thewindbelowitonlybecauseoftheverticalandhorizontaltemperaturestructureofthe
airmass.Thedifferencebetweentheactualwindsattwodifferentlevelsiscalledthe
thermalwindcomponent.Thethermalwindisnotreal;itismerelytheverticaldifference
betweentworealhorizontalwindvectors.Itflowsparalleltotheisothermswithcoldair
ontheleftandwithspeedproportionaltothetemperaturegradient.
Thehorizontalpressurepatternatanyheightiscompletelydefinedbythesurfacepressure
patternandthetemperaturedistribution(ordepthofthelayer)abovetheground(see
fig.3.1andeq.3.1).
Thethermalwindcomponentisthemajorcontrolforhighlevelwinds.Generallyspeaking,
inthetroposphere,coldairliesoverthepolarregionandwarmairoverthetropicalregion.
Thethermalwindblowswithcoldairtotheleft,thereforegenerallyspeakingwindswill
swingwesterlyandincreasewithheight.
However,temperaturedoesnotdecreaseuniformlyfromsouthtonorthovertheworld.As
anexample,inwinteroverlargelandmassessuchasNorthAmericaandEurasia,theairis

15
muchcoolerthanovertheadjacentoceans,also,coldandwarmairmassesmigratenorth
andsouthbringingchangesoftemperaturewiththem.Theresultingupperlevelflow,
althoughgenerallymovingfromthewesttowardstheeastinthemidlatitudes,does
meandernorthandsouth.
4.Thegeneralcirculation
Energyhierarchyandcascade
TheWesterlies,planetarywaves,andjetstream
Theglobalwaterbudget
Energyhierarchyandcascade
Letusconsiderahypotheticalexperimentinvolvingtheatmosphereonamythicalplanet
withasmoothsurface,rotatingatthesamerateastheearth.Theentireatmosphereis
initiallyatrestrelativetothesurfaceoftheplanet,andtherearenohorizontalpressure
gradients.Atsomeinstantintime,heatingisabruptlyturnedon.Wewillassumethereare
nolongitudinal(eastwest)variationsinheating,justfromthepolestotheequator.
Intheearlystage,themotionfieldisdominatedbyathermallydrivencirculationwithrising
motioninthetropicsandsinkingmotionatthepoles.Thecrossisobarflowaloftfromthe
equatortothepolesgivesrisetoapoletoequatorflowatthesurface.Thishugeconveyor
beltiscalledaHadleycell.BecauseoftheCorioliseffect,westerlyupperwindsandeasterly
surfacewindsdevelop.Inthisexperiment,potentialenergygeneratedbythedifferential
heatingisbeingconvertedintomotion(kineticenergy).
Afterseveralweeksadramaticeventoccurs.Thezonal(eastwest)symmetryoftheflowis
suddenlyinterruptedbylargescaledisturbances(waves).Thesebegintodevelopinthe
midlatitudeswhenthetemperaturegradientreachessomecriticalvalue,andthisleadsthe
wayforenergytransfer.Thedisturbancesthatstartedtoformwithintheundisturbed
latitudinalflowdrewtheirkineticenergyfromthatflow.
Most(98%)atmosphericfluidmotionsareeitherdirectlyorindirectlydrivenbyheating
gradientsinastableatmosphere.Theremaining2%aredrivenbyconvectiveinstability,
whichwewillstudyinsection7.
Thetermgeneralcirculationisusedbymeteorologiststodenotethetotalityofatmospheric
fluidmotions(someincludethe2%convectivemotion,whileothersdonot).Eitherway,
thegeneralcirculationcanbeviewedinthecontextofakineticenergycycleinwhich
atmosphericmotionsarecontinuallyfedbythereservoirofpotentialenergymaintainedby
thespatialdifferentialheating(coldpoles,warmtropics).Inastatisticalsense,thisactsto
liftthecentreofgravityoftheatmosphere(thewarmcolumnofairistaller).

16

Fig.4.1Scalesofmeteorologicalphenomena.
Theatmosphericheatengineenergyisdissipatedthroughfriction:surfacefrictionandair
friction.LewisRichardson,anEnglishphysicist,hadthistosayaboutfrictionaldissipation:
Bigwhirlshavelittlewhirlswhichfeedontheirvelocity.
Littlewhirlshavelesserwhirls,andsoontoviscosity.
Theenergytransferfromlargescalesofmotiontothesmallerscales,andultimatelytothe
scaleofmolecularmotionsthemselves(seefig.4.1),iscalledtheenergycascadeandisa
consequenceofthe2
nd
lawofthermodynamics:
Intheabsenceofexternalforcing,anysystemmusttend
towardastateofrandomness(ormaximumentropy).
Whichmeansthatallkineticenergyoriginallycontainedinorganizedfluidmotions(wind)
willbetransferredtotherandommolecularmotionandturnedintoheatthatwill
eventuallyberadiatedbackintospace
Intheexperimentabove,thedisturbancesthatdrewenergyfromthelargezonalflow
amplifiedtothepointwheretheyaccountedforhalfthekineticenergy.Asthedisturbances
grow,theHadleycellcirculationretreatstothetropicsandpolesandaweakreverse
Ferrellcellforminthemidlatitude(seefig.4.2).Thisareaisnowundertheinfluenceofa
waveregimethatisnotsteadybutthatcontinuallychangesmassandmotioninwhich
wavesareforminganddecaying,andproducingthemidlatitudeweather.

17

Fig.4.2Hadleycellsandcorrespondingwinds.
Inmoremeteorologicalterms,thesemidlatitudedisturbancesarehighsandlows.They
willdevelopbydrawingenergyfromtheupperwindsandwilldecaybygivingoffenergyto
smallerdisturbancesthatformaroundthem,downtoturbulence,andsoontomolecular
levels.
Thewhirlsproducedatupper(flying)levelsaroundstrongwindsarealsoanexampleof
kinetic(motion)energybeingdissipatedintosmallervorticesandisexperiencedas
turbulenceforairplanetravellers.
TheWesterlies,planetarywaves,andthejetstream
Letusgobacktoourearlierexperiment.Thetemperaturegradientfromthepolestothe
equatorhadsetupaconveyorbeltsubjectedtotheCoriolisforce,whichproducedeasterly
windsatthegroundandwesterlywindsaloft.Thosewindswithapurelyeastwest
componentcalledzonalwindsfollowcirclesoflatitude.However,asthenorthsouth
temperaturegradientremained,thissituationbecameveryunstableandthezonal
circulationbrokedownintodisturbancesorwavesandassumedawavypath(seefig.4.3).
Attheearthssurface,thisleadstoclosedhighsandlowsandwindsofvariousdirections.At
upperlevels,thecirculationisgenerallymorezonalandprimarilyfromthewestbecauseof
themeannorthsouthtemperaturegradientofthelayerbelow.Asseeninsection3,amean
westerlythermalwindcomponentisaddedtothesurfacewindandhasatendencyto
producewesterlyupperwindscalledtheWesterlies.
Theupperflowcanhowevershowanorthsouthormeridionalcomponent:avector
componentthatflowsparalleltothemeridians.Inreallife,theupperflowisnevertotally
zonalnormeridional.Theassociatedpressurepatternlookslikeawavyribbonthat
representsplanetarywaves.Thesewavesareoftheorderofafewthousandkilometresand
mostlylooklikesinewaves.However,sometimestheycanformclosedorcutoffpatterns
(seesection6)calledcoldlows.

18

Fig.4.3Thedevelopmentofplanetarywaves.
Generallyspeakinganupperflowhavingastrongzonalcomponent(smallamplitude
planetarywaves)willproduceweakfastmovingweathersystemsatthesurface,whilean
upperflowshowingastrongmeridionalcomponent(largeamplitudeplanetarywaves,at
timesaclosedcirculation)willbeassociatedwithslowmovingstrongsurfacesystems.We
willlookfurtherintotheinfluenceofuppercirculationonweathersystemsinsection6.
Asseeninsection3,upperwindsareprimarilycontrolledbythetemperaturestructureof
theatmospherebelowthem.Frequently,astronghorizontaltemperaturegradientexists
throughadeeplayeroftheatmosphereand,whenthisoccurs,exceptionallystrongupper
windscalledjetstreamsdevelop.
Jetstreamsarerelativelynarrow,rapidlyflowing,ribbonlikestreamsofairembedded
withinthemainairflow.Ajetstreammaybesomethousandsofkilometreslong,afew
hundredkilometreswideandafewhundredmetresthick.Toqualifyasajetstreamthe
speedmustbeatleast60knots(110km/h),althoughmaximumwindspeedscanbein
excessof200knots(370km/h).Thewindspeeddropsoffabruptlyabove,belowandto
eithersideofthejetcore.

19
Ifthestronghorizontaltemperaturegradientmaintainsanearconstantdirectionthrougha
deeplayeroftheatmosphere,thethermalwindcomponentwillhaveaconstantdirection
throughsuccessivelyhigherlayers.Asthiscomponentisaddedconsecutivelytotheactual
windateachlevel,thewindwillincreasemarkedlywithheight.
Thermalgradientsdonotreachintothestratospheresotheresultingthermalwind
componentceasesatthetropopause.Inthestratosphere,colderairliestothesouthand
warmerairtothenorthcausinganeasterlythermalwindandadecreaseoftherealwind
withfurtherincreaseinheight.Thetropopauseishighoverwarmairandlowovercoldair.
Thejetstreamliesinthewarmair,butataboutthesameheightasthecolderair
tropopause,between8to11km.
Thejetstream,beingtheevidenceofastrongtemperaturegradient,isoftenassociatedwith
strongweathersystemsatthesurface.
Globalwaterbudget
Althoughnotpartofthegeneralcirculationperse,thewaterbudgetispartoftheglobal
energytransferandwillassuchbestudiedhere.
Thetotalmassofwater(gaseous,liquidorsolid)storedintheatmosphereisequivalentto
aboutaweeksworthofprecipitationovertheplanet,anditdoesnotchangemuchfrom
onedaytothenext.Consequently,theremustbeaveryclosebalancebetweenthetotal
precipitation(P)andthetotalevaporation(E)overtheglobe.Notwithstanding,atthelocal
scale,therearelargeimbalancesbetweenthetwo.
Withinthecloudfreeareathatcoversmuchofthesubtropicaloceans(~20to35
o
),
evaporationismuchlargerthanprecipitation.
Withinthewetmonsoons,theequatorialregion(~10
o
Nto10
o
S)andpartsofthe
midlatitudes(~35to60
o
),precipitationislargerthanevaporation.
Forthecontinentsasawhole,precipitationisalsogreaterthanevaporation
Fortheoceansasawhole,evaporationisgreaterthanprecipitation.
Overlandwithnodrainagetothesea,precipitationandevaporationareaboutequal.
Therefore,thesubtropics(~10to~40
o
)areasourceregionofwatervapour.Whileinthe
tropicsandthelatitudesabove40
o
,precipitationexceedsevaporation.
Atmosphericmotionispartofthehydrologicalcycle(thetransportofallformsofwaterin
theearthatmospheresystem).Ittransportswatervapourfromsourceregions(E>P)to
sinkregions(E<P).Groundprocessestransportliquidwaterintheoppositedirection,
fromregionofhighprecipitationtoregionofhighevaporation,thuscompletingthecycle.
Inthesubtropicalandtropicalregions,mostofthetransportofwatervapourisaresultof
thethermallydrivencirculation(Hadleycell)pushingmoistairbacktowardstheequator.
Polewardofabout30
o
,thehorizontalmotionofwatervapourisdonebyweathersystems.
Attheselatitudes,polewardmovingairusuallycontainsmoremoisturethanequatorward
movingair,resultinginanetpolewardfluxofmoisture.

20
5.Meteorologicalobservations
Observationnetworks
Surfaceobservations
Radiosondes
Radars
Satellites
Observationsnetworks
Inordertopredicttheweatheratanyonetime,whetherbyempiricalornumerical
methods,themeteorologistneedstoknowthestateoftheweatheratthepresenttime.
Informationisneededtorepresentthestateoftheatmosphereinawaythatis
understandable.Thisinformationisgatheredthroughtheobservationofcertain
meteorologicalparameters.
Environmentalconditionsarerecordedatthethousandsofweatherstationsthatforma
networkcoveringtheplanet.Eachcountryisresponsibleforitsownnetwork,butmust
followinternationalstandardsandproceduresforrecordingandtransmittingthe
information.TheWorldMeteorologicalOrganization(WMO)overseesthesestandards.
Weatherinformationisdividedintotwomaincategories:surfacedataandupperairdata.
Thesurfacenetworkincludesmanmadeobservationsandautomaticobservations
recordedbysensorsontheground.Thesurfacenetworkhasaboutoneortwolandstation
everyhundredkilometres,butalmostnoneovertheoceans.
Worldwide,therearecloseto900upperairobservationstations.Mostarelocatedinthe
NorthernHemisphere.TheAmericanNationalWeatherServiceoperatesabout100stations
locatedintheUnitedStates,inthePacific,andintheCaribbean.TheMeteorologicalService
ofCanadaoperatesabout40upperairstations.Theyarelocatedhundredsofkilometres
awayfromeachother.
Otherobservationscomefromshipsandairplaneandarenotnecessarilysubjecttoany
schedule.
Synopticnetworkscannotseeeveryphenomenonassomearemuchsmallerthanthe
networkresolution(tornado,thunderstorm,etc.).
Surfaceobservations
Synopticobservationsaremadeatthesurfacefourtimesadayat0000,0600,1200,and
1800UTC(UniversalTimeCoordinated)atallstationsintheworld.Theroutinesurface
observationsinclude:pressure,temperature,dewpointtemperature,cloudiness(amount,
type,heights),windspeedanddirection,currentweather,pressuretendency,andamount
ofprecipitationsincethelastreport.Theseobservationsaretransmittedeverysixhoursin
astandardcodethatincludesthestationidentifierandtheobservedweather.Adescription
oftheseparametersandthewaytheyarerecordedislistedintable5.1.

21
Table5.1Observedandmeasuredparametersofinteresttometeorologist.
Parameter Observationprocedure
Temperature:Theintensityof
heatpresentinasubstanceor
object.ReportedinCelsius.
Measuredwithathermometerplacedinawhite
ventilatedshadedenclosureatabout1.5mfrom
agrassysurface.
Dewpointtemperature:The
temperatureatwhichtheairwould
becomesaturated(withrespectto
water)ifcooledatconstant
pressureandwithouttheaddition
orremovalofwatervapour.
ReportedinCelsius.
Dewpointtemperatureisnotmeasureditis
calculatedfromthetemperature,thewetbulb
temperatureandthestationpressure.
Awetbulbthermometerisanordinary
thermometerforwhichthebulbiswrappedina
wetclothandthenventilated.Itmeasuresthe
humiditycontentoftheair.
Relativehumidity:Theratioofthe
amountofwatervapouractually
presentintheairtotheamountof
watervapourwhichwouldbe
presentiftheairweresaturated
withrespecttowateratthesame
temperatureandpressure.
Reportedinpercentage.
Relativehumidityisnotmeasureditis
calculatedfromthetemperature,thewetbulb
temperatureandthestationpressure.

22
Parameter Observationprocedure
Wind:Thehorizontalflowofair.
Speedreportedinknots(1knot=
1.8km/h)anddirectionreported
intensofdegrees:
36=north(360
o
)
27=west(270
o
)
18=south(180
o
)
09=east(90
o
)
00=calm
Direction:Thewinddirectionisthedirection
fromwhichtheairiscoming*.Itrepresents
theaveragedirectionduringthetwominute
periodendingatthetimeofobservation.
Speed:Thewindspeedistherateofairflowpast
afixedpoint.Itrepresentstheaveragespeed
duringthetwominuteperiodendingatthetime
ofobservation.ThetermCALMisusedto
describewindslessthantwoknots.
Character:Windcharacterisreportedwhen
therearesignificantvariationsinthewind
speed,duringthetenminuteperiodendingat
thetimeoftheobservation.Thecharacterwill
bereportedasaGUSTorSQUALLdependingon
themagnitudeanddurationofthevariation.
Squallsareessentiallygustswithalonger
durationofhigherspeeds.
Thewindismeasuredat10mabovegroundin
anunobstructedarea.
*This convention is very important. A SOUTH
OR SOUTHERLY WIND COMES FROM THE
SOUTH. Likewise, a NORTHEASTERLY
WIND OR NORTHEASTER IS A WIND
COMING FROM THE NORTHEAST.
Pressure:Theforceperunitarea
exertedbytheatmosphereasa
consequenceofitsweight,andthus
isequaltotheweightofavertical
columnofairofunitarea,
extendingfromthelevelin
questiontotheouterlimitofthe
atmosphere.Itisreportedin
hectoPascal(hPa).
Meansealevelpressureiscomputedbyadding
animaginarycolumnofairextendingfromthe
stationelevationtomeansealeveltothe
stationspressure.

23
Weatherstationsalsoreportasmallersetofmeteorologicalinformationeveryhourin
ordertomonitortheweathermorecloselyandtoadjustorproducesmallscaleforecasts.
HourlyobservationsaretransmittedthroughacodedmessagecalledaMETAR
(METeorologicalAirportReport).Asamplemessageisshownbelowinboldcapitals.
METARCYUL131500Z15005KT15SMSCT040SCT060OVC240M07/M13A2983
RMKSC4SC1CI1SLP105=
Thismessagecanbedecodedasfollows:
METAR:PRODUCTIDENTIFICATION
LOCATION:CYULMONTREAL/PIERREELLIOTTTRUDEAUINT
DATETIME:131500Z13FEBRUARY20111500UTC
WIND:15005KT150TRUE@5KNOTS
VISIBILITY:15SM15STAT.MILES
RUNWAYVISUALRANGE:notreported
WEATHER:none
CLOUDINESS:SCT040SCATTEREDCLOUDS(3/84/8)4000FT
SCT060SCATTEREDCLOUDS(3/84/8)6000FT
OVC240OVERCAST24000FT
TEMP/DEWPOINT:M07/M137C/13C
ALTIMETER:A298329.83INHG
RECENTWEATHER
WINDSHEAR
REMARK:RMKSC4SC1CI1SLP105STRATOCUMULUS4/8
STRATOCUMULUS1/8
CIRRUS1/8

Onaweathermap,meteorologicalinformationisplottedincodeformasshowninfigs.5.1
and5.2.

Fig.5.1Meteorologicaldataplot.

24
CC:Cloudcover
Pressure: 182=1018.2hPa
964=996.4hPa
Temperature:8=8
o
C
21=21
o
C
Winddirection:Indicatedbythearrow.
Windspeed:Shortbarb=5knots(9km/h);
Longbarb=10knots(18km/h)
Blacktriangle=50knots(90km/h)
Valuesareaddedtoindicatetotalwindspeed

Fig.5.2Plotsonaweathermap.
Radiosondes
Theupperairobservationsofthetroposphereandlowerstratospherearegenerallymade
twotimesaday(0000and12000UTC).Theyaremadeprincipallywithradiosondes,which
areprobescarriedaloftbylargehydrogenorheliumballoons.Astheradiosondeiscarried
aloft,sensorsmeasureprofilesofpressure,temperature,andrelativehumidity.The
informationissentbacktoafixedreceiverandthedisposableprobefallsbacktoearth
whentheballoonexplodes.Bytrackingthepositionoftheradiosondeinflight,information
onwindspeedanddirectionaloftisalsoobtained.
Theradiosondeflightcanlastinexcessoftwohours,andduringthistimetheradiosonde
canascendtoover35kmanddriftmorethan200kmfromthereleasepoint.Whenthe
balloonhasexpandedbeyonditselasticlimitandbursts(about6mindiameter),asmall
parachuteslowsthedescentoftheradiosonde,minimizingthedangertolivesandproperty.

25

Fig.5.3MapofupperairstationsoverNorthAmerica
Radiosondedataistooscarcetomanuallyplotonweatherchartsateverylevel(seefig.5.3).
Itisdirectlyinputtedintonumericalmodelsandcombinedwiththelatestupperair
forecasttoproducearealisticmap.
Upperairdataisalsoplottedasaverticalprofileoftheatmosphereonagraphcalleda
tephigram.Thenameofthegraphcomesfromthefactthattemperature(T;xaxis)is
plottedagainsttheentropy(;yaxis).Infacthowever,thediagramisrotatedabout45
o
so
thattheisobarsaremoreorlesshorizontalandthetemperatureanddewpoint(T
d
)are
plottedalongskewedlinesagainstheight.
Seefiguresoftephigramsissection7.
Thelinesareisotherms(constanttemperature),isobars(constantpressure),wet(or
pseudo)anddryadiabats,etc.Wewillseehowtousethetephigramwhenwereach
section7onstability.

26
Radars
EnvironmentCanada'sradarnetworkof31sitescovers98%ofthemostpopulatedareas
inCanada.Itsprimarypurposeistheearlydetectionofdevelopingprecipitation,
thunderstormsandhighimpactweather.Theradarhasarangeof250kmaroundthesite.
CurrentradarimagesaredisplayedontheWeatherofficewebsite
(www.weatheroffice.gc.ca)andhistoricalimagesareavailableattheNationalClimateData
andInformationArchivewebsite(http://www.climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca).
Weatherradarsystemsgenerallyuseaparabolicantennamuchlikeasearchlightrevealing
objectscaughtinitsbeam.Fromthetransmitter,anarrowbeamsweepstheskyasthe
antennaslowlyrotateswhilepointingatdifferentelevationanglesabovethehorizon.When
theenergyemittedbytheradarantennastrikesparticlesofprecipitation,suchasdropsof
water,snowflakes,icepelletsorhail,itisreflected(echoed)withintensityproportionalto
thenumberandsizeoftheparticles.
Simplyput,radarimagesshowechoesoftheprecipitationdistributionanditsintensity.
Radarechoesarerepresentedbyaseriesofcolouredpixelsasillustratedonthescaletothe
rightoftheradarimage(showninblackandwhiteinfig.5.4).Theintensityscaleonthe
rightisreflectivityindBZ(unitofreflectivity)andthescaleontheleftisthecorresponding
precipitationrateoffall.Inthewintertimethereflectivityiscorrelatedtosnowfallratein
centimetresperhourandinthesummertimethereflectivityiscorrelatedtorainfallratein
millimetresperhour.

Fig.5.4Radarimageandtechnicalinformation(source:
http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/radar/aboutradar_e.html)

27
Asagoodruleofthumb,thehigherthereflectivityvalue,theheaviertheprecipitationrate.
Inthewinter,forexamplethedarkpurplecolourwouldbetheheaviestprecipitation
(snowfallrateof20cm/h)whiletheaquacolourwouldbethelightestprecipitation
(snowfallrateof0.1cm/h).
Reflectivitynotonlydependsontheprecipitationintensitybutalsothetypeof
precipitation.Snowgenerallyreflectslessradarenergythanrain.Consequently,moderate
toheavysnowcanappearlightinintensity.Meanwhile,icepelletsandhailarehighly
reflectivethuslighticepelletsorhailcanappearasheavyprecipitation.Inthesummer
monthsthereflectivityscaleischangedtorainratesormm/h.
Insomecases,theradardoesnotdistinguishbetweenrealechoes(precipitation)andfalse
echoes.Youwillneedtounderstandsomecommoninterpretationerrorstoaccurately
interprettheradarimages.Appendix2describesandillustratestheseerrors.
TherearetwotypesofimagesproducedinCanada:PRECIPandCAPPI.ThePRECIPimageis
designedtoshowtheprecipitationclosetothegroundbyusingDopplertechnology
processingforechoeswithin128kmfromtheradarsite.Beyondthislimit,theechoesare
displayedfromasingleelevationangleusingCAPPIprocessing.
ThreefactorsdistinguishthePRECIPproduct.Weatherradarscanreceivefalseechoesfrom
groundobjectssuchasbuildingsandtowers.ThePRECIPproductusesDopplerprocessing
toeditoutmostofthesefalseechoes.ThisDopplercorrectionstopsatabout110km.
Becauseofthecorrection,thePRECIPproductisgenerallybetter.
Treesandhillsaroundradarscanblocksomeoralloftheradarbeam,resultingin
decreasedechoesreturnedatlowangles.ThisisparticularlyvisibleonthePRECIPproduct
inwinterwhenverylowanglesareusedtodetectprecipitationatcloserange.
ThePRECIPradarproductcanappeartobelesssensitiveinDopplermode.Aringof
discontinuitymayappearatthetransitiontothenonDopplerprocessing(CAPPI).Thisis
especiallyevidentifweakprecipitationisoccurringwheretheDopplerprocessingends.
Beyondthispoint,echoesmaysuddenlyappearstrongerastheradar'sabilitytodetect
themincreases.
Therelationshipbetweenprecipitationintensityandreflectivitydiffersforsnowandrain
andsotwotypesofPRECIPimagesareproduced.The"Rain"imagecorrelatesreflectivityto
rainfallrate(inmm/h)andthe"Snow"imagecorrelatesreflectivitytosnowfallrate(in
cm/h).Bothimagesareproducedfromthesamedataanddonotindicatewhetherthe
precipitationisactuallyrainorsnow.
TheCAPPI(ConstantAltitudePlanPositionIndicator)radarimageshowsprecipitationata
nearlyconstantaltitudeaboveground.Inthecaseofthe1.5kmCAPPIimage,itdisplays
precipitationthatislocatedapproximately1.5kmabovetheground.
IntheprocessingofaCAPPIimage,thereceivedradarsignalisdigitizedwithrespecttothe
antennapositionandthenprocessed.WhiletheCAPPIproductisbesttoseehorizontal

28
patterns,itismorelikelytobecontaminatedbynonmeteorologicalechoesfromthe
ground.
Aradarbeamcanbeweakenedinthreeways:
Spreadingoutthebeamwithrange;
Absorptionofradarenergybyairandmoisture;
Interceptionbyprecipitation.
Thismeansthatradarscannotseefurtherthanacertaindistance(afewhundred
kilometres)dependingonbeamstrength.Thealgorithmcorrectsforbeamattenuationwith
respecttodistancesothatclosetargetarenotseenasmoreintensethanremotetarget.
Attenuationduetointerceptionbyprecipitationcannotbecorrectedandappearsascones
withnoreflectivitybehindintensereflectivityareas.
Sometimeswhatyouseeisnotnecessarilywhatyouget.Becausesomethinglookscolourful
ontheradarscreendoesn'tmeanthereisrainorsnow.Similarly,justbecausetheechoes
onthescreenappearweakordonotappearatalldoesnotmeansomeplaceisnotgetting
significantprecipitation.
SomeofthemorecommonradarinterpretationmistakesarepresentedinAppendix2of
thismanual.
Satellites
Satellitesareusedtocollectinformationaboutthesurfaceoftheearthandtheearths
atmosphere.EnvironmentCanadaoperatesanetworkofsatellitereceptionstations,which
continuallyreceivedatathatisbroadcastbyvariousweathersatellitesoperatedbyother
countriesandorganizations.Thedataisthenprocessedintoavarietyofimageproducts.
ThelatestanimatedandfixedsatelliteimagescanfoundontheWeatherofficewebsite
(http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/satellite/index_e.html.Theimages,someofwhichare
updatedevery30minutes,canbeviewedonaninternationalscaleallthewaydowntoa
regionallevel.
Weathersatellitescircletheearthinoneoftwoorbitpatterns:
Geostationarysatellites,whichorbithighabovetheearthsequator(35,800km)at
thesamerotationspeedastheearthitself,henceremainingconstantlyoverthe
samelocation;
Polarorbitingsatelliteswhichorbitabout850kmabovetheearthssurface,passing
overthepolarregionseachtimetheycircletheearthwhilepassingovermid
latitudelocationstwiceperday.
Mostweathersatellites,includingthoseweuseforimagesofsouthernCanada,arein
geosynchronousorbit.Thesesatellites,therefore,remainoverafixedpointoftheearth(in
SouthAmerica).Becausegeosynchronoussatellitesstayovertheequator,thehigherthe
latitudeoftheareawewanttoobserve,theworsetheview.Asaresult,togetuseful
picturesatthehigherlatitudes(northof60),weneedtouseapolarorbitingsatellite.

29
Imagesofareasnorthof60lookdifferentbecausetheycomefromadifferentsatellite.
Insteadofstayinghighoveroneplace,apolarorbitingsatellitemovesveryquickly(orbits
inlessthantwohours),atmuchloweraltitude(around800km).Whilegeosynchronous
satellitestakeapictureofanentirehemisphere(adiskshowingtheplanetearth),polar
orbitingsatellitesaresolow,theyonlytakeinasmallswathbelowthesatelliteateach
orbit.Sotogetafulldisk,onemust,usingsoftware,stitchtheswathstogether.Because
thestripsarephotographedatdifferenttimes,theresultisnotatrueimage,buta
composition.
Themeteorologicalsensorsfoundonsatellitescandetectavarietyofthings,includingthe
locationandmovementofcloudsandcloudsystems;snowandicecover;particlesfrom
fires,pollution,andsandandduststorms;oceancurrents;andmanyothertypesof
environmentalinformation.Howeverforthepurposeofweatherforecasting,twotypesof
imagingsensorsareused:infrared(IR)andvisible(VIS).Figure5.5showstheheaderfor
theGOESsatellites.

Fig.5.5Satelliteimageryheaders.
Onanimage,thetagIR,whichstandsforinfrared,maybefollowedbyawavelengthin
micrometres(e.g.10.7)orberepresentedbyachannelnumber(e.g.CH4).IntheIR
spectrum,cloudsatdifferentheightsshowupverywellasdifferencesinradiances
(quantityoflightenergydetected)sinceradiancevarieswithcloudtoptemperature,hence
cloudheight.Radiancescanthenbeconvertedintotemperatureswithsomecalculation.So
whatweseeonanIRimageisthedistributionoftemperaturesasdetectedbythesatellite's
sensor,andthetemperatureinthelegendcorrespondstothetemperatureofwhateverthe
satellitesensorsees(cloudsatdifferentheights,seasurface,earthsurface),dayornight.
VISstandsforvisible.AVISsatelliteimage(takeninthevisiblespectrum)isapictureofthe
earthfromspace,justasyouwouldseeitifyouwerelookingoutthewindowfroma
spacecraftinorbit.Duringthelocalnighttime,thepictureisdark.
Usually,onIRsatelliteimagesthecolderthearea,thehighertheclouds.Onvisibleimages,
thehairy,wispycloudsarecalledcirrusandarethin,highclouds;theverybrightlargeand
flatareasarethickerstratiformclouds;andthepuffycloudsareconvectiveclouds.Forthe
untrainedeye,verycoldgroundcanpassforhighcloudsonanIRimage,andlargesnow

30
coveredareascanbemistakenforcloudsonvisibleimages.Bothimagesshouldbeusedin
conjunctionwhenpossible.
Themostremarkablefeaturethatisseenonasatellitepicture,whethervisibleorinfrared,
isthecommashapedcloudformationassociatedwithlowpressuresystems(seefig.5.6).

Fig.5.6Commashapedcloudassociatedwithacyclone,asseenbya
weathersatellite,inthevisiblewavelength.
Wewillseeinthenextsectionhowthesecloudsareorganizedaroundalowandwhattype
ofweathercanbeexpectedwithinweathersystems.
6.Weathersystems
Weathermapsandmeteorologicalfeatures
Thedevelopmentofweathersystems
Verticalmotion
Theclimatologyofweathersystems
Blockedcirculation
Weathermapsandmeteorologicalfeatures
Weathersystemsareorganizedpressurepatternswithnotablefeatures:cloudareas,clear
areas,thunderstorms,temperaturediscontinuity,etc.Inordertorecognizethepatternsand
followtheirmovementanddevelopment,meteorologistsneedtoplotthemona
geographicalmap.

31
Wehaveseeninsection3whatlowsandhighslooklikeonamap.Letusnowlookat
anotherimportantfeature:thefront.Whentwodifferentairmassescollide,e.g.acolddry
northernairmassandawarmmoistsouthernairmass,aregionoflargehorizontalchange
intemperatureandhumidity,calledabarocliniczone,isformed.Thewarmsideofthat
zoneisreferredtoasafront(seefig.6.1).
Awaveformingonthefrontmayincreasethetemperaturegradientbypushingthetwo
airmassestogether.Asthewavegrows,alowmayeventuallyform.Thecoldairmasswill
moveintothewarmairmass(coldfronttriangles),andthewarmairmasswillmoveinto
thecoldairmass(warmfronthalfcircles)aroundthelow(L).Seefig.6.1.

Fig.6.1Horizontalandverticalprofilesofcoldandwarm
fronts.
Themeasuredorcalculatedvaluesofimportancetometeorologists(seetable6.1)are
plottedonamapcoveringusuallyafewthousandkilometresaroundtheregionofinterest
(seefig.6.2).Meteorologiststhenanalyzethedatabydrawinglinesofconstantpressure
every4hPafromthe1000hPaisobarandnotingareasofsharphorizontaltemperature
difference(seefig.6.2).Theyalsodraworganisedcloudareasandprecipitationlocation
andtypes,includingthunderstorms.
Table6.1Typicalvaluesforvariousmeteorologicalparameters.
Parameter Fromdaytoday Rarely
Pressure 990to1030hPa Downto960orupto
1050
Temperature 20to30
o
C Downto40orupto40
o
C
Relativehumidity 40to100% Downto20%
Windspeed Calmto40km/h Upto100km/h

32

Fig.6.2Samplesurfaceanalysis.
Onsuccessiveweathermaps,meteorologistswilllookforthedevelopmentandmovement
ofthefollowingpressurefeatures:
Highandlows
Troughsandridges
Thesefeaturesareimportantbecausetheyareassociatedrespectivelywithtwobroad
weathercategories:dryweatherandwetweather.Iftheyintensify,therelatedweatherwill
alsointensify.
Upperairdataisalsoplottedonmaps.TheupperairchartsavailablethroughEnvironment
Canadashowupperairdatamappedatthe850,700,500and250hPalevels.The
importantfeaturesarealsolows,highs,troughsandridges.
However,thecontoursplottedareactuallytheheightsindecametres(540dm=5400m)
ofeachofthosepressurelevelsoveraregion.Thepatternstheyformareinterpretedjust
likesurfacepressurepatterns.Theclosertheheightcontours,thestrongerthewind.Low
heightsareareasofcyclonicflowandheightridgesarelikepressureridges.Otherthan
heights,differentparametersareanalyzedonthesecharts(seeAppendix1forsample
maps):
250hPa:windspeedcontours(isotachs).
500hPa:contoursofthicknessofthe1000500hPalayer(equivalentto
isotherms).
700hPa:isothermsandhumiditycontours.
850hPa:isotherms.

33
Thedevelopmentofweathersystems
Thegenesis,intensification,anddecayofweathersystemsaregovernedbythetemperature
structureoftheatmosphereandbyvorticity(theamountofrotationinafluid).Ifafluidhas
vorticity,apaddlewheelplacedinitwillrotatewithaspeedproportionaltotheamountof
rotationcontainedinthatfluid(seefig.6.3).Horizontalvorticityispresentwhenthe
isobarsshowacurvedflow,andinareasofwindshear(thehorizontalvariationofwind
velocity).

Fig.6.3Typesofvorticity.
Wecanthusdeductthattheareasaroundjetstreamsandclosedpressuresystemswillhave
highvorticity.Vorticitycanbepositive(cyclonic/counterclockwiserotation)ornegative
(anticyclonic/clockwiserotation).Notethatinthesouthernhemisphere,cyclonicrotation
isclockwise,andanticyclonicrotationiscounterclockwise.
Tointensify,asurfacelowpressuresystemneedstobefedcyclonicvorticityandheat.This
isdonebyadvecting(transportingairanditspropertieshorizontally)thesetwoelements
intothelowsstructure(seefig.6.4).
Thetransportofheatintoacolumniscalledwarmairadvection.Wehaveseeninsection3
howheatingacolumnofairwillcreatehorizontalpressuregradientsaloftandsettheairin
motionfromthehightothelowpressurearea.
Airleavingthecolumnneedstobereplaced.Underatmosphericpressureand
correspondingwindspeeds,theatmospherebehaveslikeashallowandincompressible
fluid.Thismeansthattheairleavingthecolumnaloftwillneedtobereplacedbyaninflux
ofairneartheground,becauseitisassumedthatairflowhasnovoidinit(conservationof
massprinciple).Therefore,divergencealoftwillcausesurfaceconvergenceandupward
verticalmotion.Assurfaceairconvergesintothelow,therotationalspeedincreases,justas
askaterspinsfasterashebringsinhisarms.Advectingcyclonicvorticityintothecolumn

34
willmuchinthesamewayproducedivergencealoft,convergenceatthesurfaceand
upwardverticalmotionandthusincreasetherotationofsurfacelows.

Fig.6.4Verticalstructureofdevelopingweathersystems.
Theprocessissimilar,butinverted,forhighpressuresystems.Heatisremovedfromthe
columnandanticyclonicvorticityisadvectedintoit.Convergencealoftwillbringabout
surfacedivergenceanddownwardairmotion(alsocalledsubsidence),thusdecreasing
cyclonicvorticityatthesurface.
Thedecayofcycloneswillbetheresultofremovingheatandadvectinganticyclonic
vorticityintothesystem.Asdivergencealoftweakens,itcannolongercompensateforthe
effectoflowlevelconvergenceassociatedwithfrictionandthereforethelowwillfill.Atthe
surface,thecoldandwarmfrontwillmeetandthecyclonewillbeleftinthecoldairasthe
frontalribbonmovesaway.

35
Thedecayofananticyclonewillbetheresultofaddingheatandcyclonicvorticityintothe
system.Similarly,asconvergencealoftweakensitcannolongercompensatefortheeffect
oflowleveldivergenceassociatedwithfrictionandthereforethehighwillweaken.
Becauseoftheprocesses(advectionoftemperatureandvorticityaloft)involvedinthe
developmentofweathersystems,wemayinferthatthelowsandhighswillgenerallymove
alongtheupperflow(usually500hPa).Thismeansthatiftheflowat500hPaisstrongand
zonal,asurfacelowwillmovequicklyeastward.Ontheotherhand,iftheupperflow
presentsatrough(meridionalflow),thesurfacelowwillmoveeithernorthwardor
southward,dependingonitspositionwithrespecttothattrough.Lightorclosedupper
flowswillcausethesystemstostall.Seethelatersectiononblockedsystemsformore
information.
Verticalmotion
Aswehaveseenabove,lowsandtroughsareareasofupwardverticalmotion.Letusfollow
asurfaceparcelofairpushedupwardintoalowerpressureareaabove.
Sinceatmosphericpressurediminisheswithheight,arisingairparcelwillbesubjecttoless
andlesspressure.Itwillthenexpandandthiswillcausetheairtocooldown.Astheair
coolsdown,itwillsaturatebecausecoldaircannotholdasmuchwatervapouraswarmair.
Theextrawatervapourwillcondenseintoclouddroplets.Eventually,theseclouddroplets
willgrowintoraindropsorsnowflakesandfallbacktotheground.Thisiswhylow
pressureareasandtroughsareusuallyassociatedwithcloudyskiesandprecipitation.
Section8explainsindetailtheprocessesleadingtoprecipitationformation.
Inversely,highsandridgesareareasofdownwardverticalmotion(subsidence).Aparcelof
airbroughtdownfromalofttowardsthegroundwillbesubjecttoincreasedpressure.Its
temperaturewillriseandthiswillallowahighermoisturecontent.Ifclouddropletsorice
crystalsarepresentinthecolumn,theywillevaporateinthewarmerairanddisappear.If
theairisalreadyunsaturated,itwillwarmupquickly(lessheatwillbeabsorbedbywater
intheevaporationprocess)anditsrelativehumiditywilldrop.Therefore,anticyclonic
areasaremostlyassociatedwithlittlecloudandlittleornoprecipitation.
Theclimatologyofweathersystems
Thelargeareaaheadofawarmfrontiswherenimbostratusclouds(widespreadandtall)
formandwherecontinuouslighttomoderateprecipitationisfrequentandcanlastoneor
twodaysoveraregion(seefig.6.5).Inthewinter,itcanbeassociatedwithfreezingrain
andicepelletsnearthefront,butmostlycontinuoussnowfall,orifthewindisstrong,
snowstorm.

36

Fig.6.5Typicalfrontalweather.
Therelativelythinareaalongthecoldfrontismostlywhereorganizedconvectiveclouds
forminthesummer.Itiswheremoderatetoheavyshowersandthundershowersoccur,but
theywillonlytypicallylastafewhoursoveragivenregion.Inthewinter,shortlasting
snowshowerswilloccuralongthecoldfront.
Inthesummer,thewarmsectorcanproducescatteredunorganizedshowersor
thundershowers.Itisanareaofhot,humid,butgenerallysunnyweather.Theareabehind
thecoldfrontisusuallyclear,dryandwarm.Inthewinter,thewarmsectorissomewhat
humidandcool,whiletheareabehindthecoldfrontcanbeverycoldanddry,withclear
blueskies.
MajorweathersystemsaffectingOntarioandQubeccomefromthesouthorsouthwest
especiallyinthesummer,andbringwiththemwarmmoistairfromtheGulfofMexico.In
thewinter,systemsoriginatemostlyfromthewestandcarrycolder,drierair.However,
systemscarryingheavysnowwillalsocomefromthesouthwest.TheMaritimesmaybe
affectedbythesesystemsaswellandalsofromdecayingtropicalcyclonesmoving
northwardalongtheAtlanticcoast.
Blockedcirculation
Aswehaveseeninsection3,thepressurepatternaloftistheresultofthesurfacepressure
distributionandthetemperatureofthecolumnofairabove.Ifthetemperatureofthe
atmospherewereeverywherethesame,thesurfacepressurepatternandtheupper
pressurepatternwouldbesimilar.However,thetemperaturedistributionaloft(generally

37
decreasingfromtheequatortothepoles)actsinawaythatmakestheupperpressure
patternmorezonal(lesswavy)andmakesurfacesystemsgenerallydrifteastwards.
However,attimes,theupperpatternswillshowawarmhighthatiscutofffromthezonal
circulation(seefig.6.6).Itisoftenflankedbydeeptroughsorcutofflows(coldlows)and
produceaverymeridionalcirculationcalledanomegablockorblockingpattern,because
theplacementoftheisobarsresembletheGreekletteromega().Anomegablockwill
usuallycovermostofCanadaandlastsforseveraldays.Thiskindofpatternleadstothe
stagnationofsurfacesystems,anditisnotalwayseasytopredictwhenitwillsnapback
intoamorezonalflow.

Fig.6.6Omegablock.
Coldlows(lowswithcoldcores)withinablockingpatternareassociatedwithcool,cloudy
weatherthatmaylastforseveraldays.Basically,thesurfacelowjuststaysputandclouds
andrainrotatearoundituntilitiskickedoutofplaceordecays.
Letusnowgodownintotheenergycascadeandlookintosmallerscalewaystodissipate
energy.
7.AtmosphericStabilityanddispersion
Typesofequilibrium
Airparcelbuoyancy
Effectsofstabilityonmixinganddispersion
Estimatingstability
Theconceptswehaveseensofar:divergence,convergence,verticalmotion,werestudiedin
thecontextoflargescaleorsynopticsystems.Theyaretheresultsofboththermaland
dynamicalfactors.Smallersystems,calledmesoscalesystems,aremainlygovernedbythe
verticalandhorizontaltemperaturepatterns.Onasmallerscale,temperaturegradients
producedirectcirculationsnotaffectedbytheCoriolisforce.
Theweatherfeaturesformingfromsmallscaletemperaturegradientsdevelopfaster,do
notlastlong,andaffectasmallerarea.Nonetheless,theycanalsobemoreintense,as
evidencedbytheexistenceofseverethunderstormsortornadoes,Thesephenomenaare
oftentheresultofinstability,aconditioninwhichasmallperturbationinasystemin
equilibriumwillproduceforcesthatwillmovethesystemfartherfromequilibrium.

38
Typesofequilibrium
Letuslookataconcreteexampleofhowasmallperturbationcanleadtothreedifferent
results.
Figure7.1showsthree(A,B,andC)systemsinequilibrium.
IftheballofsystemAispushedupthesideofthebowl,itwillgobacktoitsinitial
position.Thisisanexampleofstableequilibrium.
IftheballofsystemBispushedtoanewlocation,itwillremainatthatnewlocation.
Thisiscalledneutralequilibrium.
IftheballofsystemCispushedawayfromthetop,itwillkeeprollinguntilitfindsa
newequilibriumawayfromitsinitialposition.Thisrepresentsunstableequilibrium.

Fig.7.1Typesofequilibrium.
Similary,ifleftalone,airparcelswillbeinequilibriumwiththeirenvironment.However,at
times,thesurroundingenvironmentortheparcelchangesinawaythataffectstheparcels
equilibrium.Forinstance,liftcausedbysynopticverticalmotion(seesection6)canprovide
theinitialpushupwards,andparcelsofaircanbeforcedupamountainside(orographic
lifting).Moreover,warmpocketsofairwillforminthesummeroverlandthatisheatedby
strongradiation.Thewarmgroundwillheatuptheairaboveitbyconductionandsendthe
warmer(lighter)parcelsupintotheatmosphere.
Instableandneutralenvironments,displacedairparcelswillnotresultinthedevelopment
ofimportantweatherphenomena.Forexample,atnight,underclearskies,andlittlewind,
theairnearthegroundwillcoolmorethantheairaboveit,anditstemperaturewill
eventuallybecomeless.Acoldsurfacelayerofairunderneathawarmerlayer(a
A

39
temperatureinversion)makesforaverystableenvironment.Ontheotherhand,unstable
environments(coldairsurroundingoraboveawarmerparcelofair)willleadtoconvective
weatherandthermalturbulence,whicharecausedbytheatmospheretryingtodissipate
localtemperaturegradients.
Twoprocessescandestabilizetheenvironment:thewarmingoftheairnearthegroundand
thecoolingofcloudtops.Incloudlessareas,especiallyinthesummer,thesunheatsupthe
ground.Thisheatistransferredtoairparcelsnearthesurface.Asanairparcelgetsheated
up,itbecomeswarmer(lessdense)thanitssurroundings.Anetupwardpressuregradient
forcewillmaketheparcelshootupuntilitbecomesasdenseastheairaroundit.Thiscould
leadtoshowersandthundershowerswhentheairparcelreachesgreatheights.
Atnight,wheretherearecloudsthatextendfromsaythetopoftheboundarylayertonear
thetropopause,radiativecoolingtakesplaceatthetopofthecloudmassandwarming
takesplaceatcloudbase(duetolongwaveradiationfromtheearth).Thecoolingofthetop
andthewarmingofthebasewilldestabilizethecloudandsetupconvectivecurrents.This
canleadtoearlymorningshowersorthundershowers.Itoccursinareaswhereconvective
cloudsfromthedaybeforedidnotdissipateorinareasofrainaheadoffronts,or,less
frequently,onverywarmwintermornings.Moregenerally,anykindoflowerlevelheating
andhigherlevelcoolingwillcausethedestabilizationoftheenvironment.
Letusseehowtheverticalandhorizontaldistributionoftemperature,andmoistureaffects
thebuoyancyofanairparcel.
Airparcelbuoyancy
Ifamoistunsaturatedparcelofairispushedupward,itwillcoolatacertainrate
(10
o
C/km)calledthedryadiabaticlapserate(seefig.7.2).Adiabaticmeansthatnoheat
fromtheoutsideisaddedtothesystem.Whiletheairsurroundingtheparcelremains
colder,theparcelwillkeeponrising.Atonepoint,itwillbecomesaturatedandwater
vapourwillstarttocondense.Condensingwatervapourgivesofflatentheatthatwill
reducetherateofcoolingtoabout6
o
C/km.Thisnewrateiscalledthepseudoadiabatic
lapserate.
Iftheparcelisverybuoyant(parceltemperaturemuchhigherthansurroundings),itwill
riseuptogreatheights.Adryparcelwillproduceverylittlecloud,butthebuoyancyofthe
parcelwillallowbirdsandgliderstosoarinwhatarecalledthermals(localupwardair
motion).Amoistandbuoyantparcelwillproducethetoweringcloudsassociatedwith
showersandthunderstorms.Allthismotionandalltheseenergytransfers(byconduction,
absorption,convection)arepartofthecascadeandwillleadtogreaterentropy.
Thestabilityandmoisturecontentoftheatmosphereisassessedthroughtheuseofthe
tephigram.

40

Fig.7.2Liftedparcelalongdryandwetadiabatsontephigram

Thetemperature(amountofenergy)anddewpointtemperature(amountofmoisture)ofa
parcelofaircanbeplottedagainstpressure(height).Onthetephigramabove,T=~25
o
C

41
andT
d
=~15
o
Catthesurface(1000hPa).Assumingthattheparcelofairisliftedbysome
means,onecanevaluatethesaturationheightby:
Movingthetemperaturepointupalongthedryadiabat
Movingthedewpointupalongthelineofconstantmoisture(q
s
)
Wheretheymeetisthelevelatwhichthecloudbasewouldforminthoseconditions.Once
youreachthatpoint,continueonupfollowingthepseudoadiabat(alsocalledwetadiabat).
Ifatanypointthetemperatureoftheparcelisorbecomeswarmerthanthesurroundingair,
theparcelwillkeeponmovingupandproduceconvectiveclouds.Thetopofthecloudwill
beslightlyabovewheretheparceltemperaturebecomescolderthanitssurroundings.This
isrepresentativeofanunstableatmosphere.Ifontheotherhand,thetemperatureofthe
liftedparcelremainsbelowthatofthesurroundingair,itmeanstheatmosphereisstable
andnoconvectivecloudsshouldform.
Effectofstabilityonmixinganddispersion
Inaratherstableatmosphere,exchangesofairbetweentheplanetaryboundarylayer
(PBL)andthefreeatmospherearemuchslowerandmorelimitedthanwithintheboundary
layeritself.However,whentheenvironmentbecomesunstable,exchangesdotakeplace
betweenthePBLandthefreeatmosphere.Thestrongturbulentflowcarriesairparcelsup
tothetopofthePBLandabove,andbringsthembackdown.AsthePBLairmixeswiththe
lowerfreeatmosphereair,momentumfromtheupperlayeristransferredtothePBL:in
otherwords,theusuallystrongerandmoregeostrophicwindsofthefreeatmosphereare
carrieddown.
Thiscanbeexperiencedonwarm,sunnysummerdays:themorningwindsarelightand
fromagivendirection;thenasthesurfaceairwarmsandmixes,thewindsgetstrongerand
changedirectiontomimicwindsaloft.Whenthesunsenergydiminishesattheendofthe
day,sodoesmixing,andtheresultingconvectivewindabates.
Inastableboundarylayer,airwillnotmixverticallyverymuch,unlessstrongwindscreate
mechanicalturbulenceduetowindshearandfriction.Thesameappliestoaneutral
atmosphere.
Ifasubstanceisreleasedintheboundarylayer,itspathandconcentrationwilldependon
stability,windspeed,andwinddirection.Dispersionistheprocessofspreadingout
pollutionoveralargeareaandthusreducingitsconcentration.Windspeedand
environmentallapserates(verticaltemperatureprofile)directlyinfluencethedispersion
patterns.Fivetypesofplumebehaviour,whichmayoccurundersomecommonly
encounteredmeteorologicalconditions,areshowninfig.7.3(a)to(e)anddescribedbelow.

42

Fig.7.3Typesofplumeswithrespecttostability
Looping:Underunstableconditions,bothupwardanddownwardmovementoftheplumeis
possible.Largeeddiescausealoopingpattern,fig.7.3(a).Althoughthelargeeddiestendto
dispersepollutantsoverawideregion,highgroundlevelconcentrationsmayoccurcloseto
thesource.

43
Coning:Aconingplume,showninfig.7.3(b)occursunderessentiallyneutralstability,
whentheenvironmentallapserateisequaltoadiabaticlapserate,andmoderatetostrong
windsoccur.Theplumeenlargesintheshapeofacone.Amajorpartofpollutionmaybe
carriedfairlyfardownwindbeforereachingground.
Fanning:Afanningplumeoccursinthepresenceofanegativelapseratewhenvertical
dispersionisrestricted,fig.7.3(c).Thepollutantsdisperseatthesourceheight,
horizontallyintheformofafanningplume.
Lofting:Whenthesourceissufficientlyhighandtheemissionisaboveaninversionlayer,
fig.7.3(d),mixingintheupwarddirectionisuninhibited,butdownwardmotionis
restricted.Suchloftingplumesdonotresultinanysignificantconcentrationatgroundlevel.
However,thepollutantsarecarriedhundredsofkilometersfromthesource.
Fumigation:Asshowninfig.7.3(e),whentheemissionfromthesourceisunderan
inversionlayer,themovementofthepollutantsintheupwarddirectionisrestricted.The
pollutantsmovedownwards.Theresultingfumigationcanleadtoahighgroundlevel
concentrationdownwindofthestack.
Estimatingstability
Inordertoestimatetheconcentrationofpollutantsdownwindofasource,thestabilityof
theatmospherecanbeclassifiedasfollows:
A=Extremelyunstable D=Neutral
B=Moderatelyunstable E=Slightlystable
C=Slightlyunstable F=Stable
Theseclassificationsarebasedonwindspeed,daytimeinsolationandnighttimecloud
cover(seetable7.1)
Table7.1PasquillStabilitycategories
Surface
DaytimeInsolation Nighttimecover
windspeed
(km/h)
Strong Moderate Slight
Mostly
Cloudy
Mostly
Clear
<7 A AB B
711 AB B C E F
1118 B BC C D E
1821 C CD D D D
>21 C D D D D
Therefore,asubstancereleaseinanunstableatmospherewillfilltheboundarylayerwithin
minutestohours,butwillalsobedilutedasitmixeswithfreshair.Iftheairisveryunstable
exchangeswilltakeplacebetweenthePBLandthefreeatmosphere.Thesubstanceisthen
likelytoalsoreachthefreeatmosphereandbecarriedhorizontallybyupperwinds.A

44
substancereleasedinastableatmosphere,atnightoronawinterday,forexample,will
remainclosetothegroundandwillnotbedispersedasmuch,unlesstherearestrong
surfacewinds.
Precipitationwillalsoaffecttheconcentrationofanatmosphericpollutant,unlessthe
substanceishydrophobicorinsolubleinwater.Short,strong,localconvectiveprecipitation
willhaveadifferentimpactonconcentrationthanwidespread,light,stratiform
precipitation.Theformerwillonlyactlocallyandbeofshortduration,thuscleaningtheair
temporarily,thelatterwillbemoreefficientatscavengingoverlargeareasandforalonger
time.Thenextsectionexplainshowcloudandprecipitationform.
8.Thedevelopmentofclouds,precipitation,andsevereweather
Cloudsandprecipitation
Convectiveandstratiformprecipitationprocesses
Severeweather
Cloudsandprecipitation
Undernormalatmosphericpressuresandtemperatures,waterispresentunderitsthree
states:gaseous(watervapour),liquid,orsolid(ice).Thecoexistenceofthesethreestatesis
whatmakesweatherpossible.Normallyatground,whenthetemperatureisabovezero,
wateriseitherliquidorvapour;atzero,thethreestatescancoexist;belowzero,water
vapourandicearepresent.
Forwatertocondenseandeventuallyfreeze,itneedsdustorcloudcondensationnuclei
(CNN).Purewatervapourmaynotcondenseat100%saturation,andpurewaterwillnot
freezeatzerodegreesCelsius.Inthefirstcase,wesaythatairissupersaturated;inthe
second,thatwaterissupercooled.Purewaterwillfreezeinstantlyat40
o
C.
Inthewellmixedboundarylayer,thereareplentyofaerosolsthatcanserveas
condensationnuclei.Wecanthenassumethatinsaturatedair,watervapourwillcondense
immediately.Athigherlevels,therearefewerCNNandsupercooleddropletsarecommon.
Infact,icecrystalsstarttoformwhenthetemperaturedropstoabout15
o
Candwill
eventuallyactascondensationnucleithemselves.
Thewaterdropletsoricecrystalsthatformacloudareverysmall.Althoughtheyhave
weight,theydonotfalltothegroundbecausetheyaresuspendedintheupdraftthat
cooledandsaturatedtheairinthefirstplace.Toformbigger,heavierdropletsor
snowflakesorhailthatfalltowardstheground,thesetinyhydrometeorshavetogrow
throughsomemechanism.
Therearetwosuchgrowthmechanismsinwarmclouds(T>0
o
C):growthbycondensation,
andgrowthbycollisionandcoalescence;therearethreegrowthmechanismsincoldclouds
(T0
o
C):growthfromthevapourphase,growthbyriming,andgrowthbyaggregation.
Table8.1summarizesthegrowthprocessesofprecipitation.

45
Table8.1Precipitationprocesses.
Warmcloudprocesses(T>0
o
C) Coldcloudprocesses(T0
o
C)
Condensation:Adropletcangrowby
watercondensinguponitundercertain
conditions.
Notveryefficient.
Watervapourphase:Inamixedcloud
(icecrystalsandwaterdroplets)
dominatedbysupercooleddroplets,the
airisclosetosaturationwithrespectto
liquidwaterandissupersaturatedwith
respecttoice.Therefore,icecrystals
growfromwatervapourfreezing
directlyonthem.
Efficientuptoacertaindropsize.
Collisionandcoalescence:Biggerdropsfall
fasterthandropletsandmaycollidewith
thelatter.Someofthecollisionsresultin
coalescenceandgrowth,otherswilljust
resultinthedropletsbouncingbackinto
theair.
Efficientinwarmclimatesonly.
Aggregation:Iceparticlesgrowinclouds
bycollidingandaggregatingwithone
another.
Veryefficientoncethecrystalshave
gonethroughgrowthbyvapourphase.
Riming:Inamixedcloud(icecrystals
andwaterdroplets),iceparticles
increaseinmassbycollidingwith
supercooleddropletswhichthenfreeze
ontothem.
Produceshailstones.
Inalltheseprocesses,thelongerthedropstayswithinthecloud,thebiggeritgets.Strong
upwardcurrentswillkeepdropsfromfallingandenhancetheirgrowth.Whenthedropis
heavyenough,gravitypullsonitmorethantheupdraftpushesitup.Thedropthenreaches
itsterminalvelocity,asitisalsosubjecttofrictionwiththesurroundingair,andfallstothe
ground.
Inthemidlatitudes,precipitationformsincoldclouds,wherethetemperaturealoftis
belowzero,eveninthesummer.Oncebigenough,icecrystalsthathaveformedaloftfallto
thegroundintheformofsnowinwinter.Inthesummer,astheicecrystalsfallbelowthe
freezinglevel(around3km),theystarttomeltandfallasrain.Raincanalsooccurinthe
winterandmoreover,ifathinlayerofbelowzeroairliesneartheground(nearawarm
front),thewinterrainwillfallasfreezingrain,solidifyingonimpactonbelowzeroobjects.
Ifthecoldlayerisdeepenoughtheraindropswillfreezecomingdownandassumetheform
ofsmallclearicepellets.

46
Inthunderstorms,hailstonesthatformaloftandfallquicklytothegroundmaynothave
timetomeltonthewaydown,iftheyarebigenough.Iftheairbelowsomecloudsisdryor
iftheraindropsaresmall,theymayevaporatebeforetheytouchtheground.Precipitation
thatfallsbelowcloudbasebutevaporatesinmidairiscalledvirga.
Convectiveandstratiformprecipitationprocesses
Therearebasicallytwoclassesofprecipitation:convectiveandstratiform.Convective
precipitationformsinverticalcurrentsresultingfromthermalinstability.Thesecurrents
canbequitestrong,allowingforbiggerdropsandhailstones,butaregenerallyshortlived.
Inthewinter,convectivecloudscangivesnowshowers:shortdurationprecipitationwith
moderatetoheavysnowfallrates.
Inconvectiveclouds(toweringcumulusandcumulonimbus),althoughaggregationand
rimingplayamajorrole,coalescencemayoccurwhenthecloudtophasnotreachedcold
enoughtemperatures.However,inmidlatitudes,acloudtopbelowthe15
o
Clevelis
unlikelytoproduceprecipitation.
Stratiformprecipitationsforminsynopticsystems(lowsandtroughs)orinupslopeflow.
Theupwardverticalcurrentsresultfromthenormaldevelopmentofcyclonicareas.The
upwardmotioniswidespread,canlastafewdaysandislighttomoderate.Mosttimesit
willproducelighttomoderaterainorsnow.Iftheupwardcurrentsarelightandthe
moisturecontentislow,onlydrizzle(smalldrops)orsmallicecrystalswillform.
Intallstratiformclouds(nimbostratus),thetopofthecloud(T20
o
C)generatesice
particles.Lowerinthecloud(T15
o
C),theicecrystalsfromabovewillgrowthrough
watervapourcondensingonthem.Lowerstillinthecloud(10
o
Cto0
o
C),aggregationwill
takeoverandformheavyicecrystals(snow).Theotherprocessesarenotefficientenough
toproduceprecipitationintheseconditions.
Severeweather
Severeweatherisweatherthatcancausedamagetolifeandproperty.Inthesummer,it
typicallytakestheformofstrongwinds,heavyrain,hail,lightning,andisusuallyassociated
withstrongthunderstorms,tornadoesandhurricanes.Summersevereweatheristheresult
ofstrongthermalinstability,usuallycoupledwithdynamicfactorslikealocalshortwave
(increasingvorticity)enhancingupwardverticalmotion.Althoughwintersevereweather
canbedamagingwithitsstrongwindsandheavyfreezingrain,forexample,itisnotusually
theresultofthermalinstability,butofstrongsynopticcyclonicactivityleadingtostrong
verticalcurrentsandsurfacewinds.
Anindividualshortlivedthundershowerisnotconsideredsevereweather.Themajorityof
severethunderstormsthatproduceflooding,largehail,highwinds,andtornadoesform
onlyinaconvectivelyunstableenvironmentinwhichthereisconsiderablewindshear
betweenthelowandhighlevels.Theseconditionsallowthestormtodevelopandpersist
foralongtimeintheirmaturestage(seefig.8.1).

47

Fig.8.1Verticalprofileofaseverethunderstorm.
Severestormsgenerallyshowsomeleveloforganizationandtakeontheformofsquall
lines,multicellstormsandsupercellstorms.
Table8.2Typesofconvectivesevereweather
Squallline Multicell Supercell
Cumulonimbustowers
arrangedinalonglinein
whichelementsareclose
together.Theyproduce
strongwinds.Theyare
associatedwithsmall
uppertroughs(short
waves)enhancingvertical
lift.
Convectivecellsarrangedin
aclusterbutstillretaining
theirindividual
updraft/downdraft
characteristics.Theyare
associatedwithmoistlow
levelsoutherlyflowfromthe
GulfofMexicoanddryhigh
levelwesterlyflow.
Thisconvectiveactivityis
sowellorganizedthatit
behavesasasingleentity
ratherthanagroupofcells.
Supercellsaccountformost
tornadoesanddamaging
hail.Verticalwindshear
maintainsthesupercells
strongupanddowndrafts.
Thunderstormcellscanproducetornadoes.Thestrongupanddowndraftsofconvective
cellsandtheverticalwindshearfromthesynopticcirculationcanproduceatightvortex
(withdiameterofafewhundredmetres)withcentralpressureaslowas900hPaand
windsthatcanreach200km/handmore.Damageiscausedmainlybywindspeedbutit
wasthoughtthatlargepressuredifferencesbetweenthetornadocoreandarelativelyair
tightenclosurecouldcausesomekindofanexplosion,butthismythwasdispelled.
Thehurricaneischaracterizedbyastrongthermaldirectcirculation:warmairrisingnear
thecentreandcoldairsinkingoutside.Theinflowatlowlevelsisdirecteddowntheradial

48
gradientfromhighertolowerpressures.Theoutflowtakesplaceathigherlevelswherethe
radialpressuregradientisweak.
Thehurricanehastheabilitytogenerateandmaintainawarmcore,withoutpriorheating
gradients.Theheatandmoisturefeedingthesystemcomesfromtheinfluxofwatervapour
andsensibleheatfromthedisturbedseasurfacebelowandfromthereleaseoflatentheat
fromthedeepcumulusconvectionaroundtheeye.Thewarmcoreiscontinually
transformedintokineticenergybythethermallydirectcirculation.
Thesupplyofenergybeingverylargeandthesurfaceoftheoceanhavinglittlefriction,
windscanbuilduptoveryhighspeeds.Thestrongupwardcurrentsallowtheformationof
precipitationbycollisionandcoalescence.
HurricanesintheAtlanticformbetweenJuneandNovemberinregionswherethesea
surfacetemperatureexceeds26
o
C.Maturehurricanescanbemuchsmallerthansynoptic
systemsandhavediametersrangingfrom100to1500km.Theircentralpressureisusually
below970hPaandtheyproducewindsof120km/horgreater.
Whenhurricanesmovenorthwardtheygraduallylosetheirinflowofwarmmoistairfrom
thetropicalwaters.Whentheyhitland,theynotonlylosetheirheatandmoisturesources,
buttheirenergyisdepletedbyfriction.
9.AirQuality
Pollutantsources
Formationprocesses,transport,anddispersionofpollutants
AirQualityHealthIndex
Pollutantsources
EmissionsofatmosphericpollutantsarenotevenlyspreadoverCanada.Citiessuchas
MontralandTorontoaccountforalargeportionoftheemittedfineparticles(PM
2.5
),
nitrogenoxides(NO
x
),sulphurdioxides(SO
2
)andanthropogenicvolatileorganic
compounds(VOC),becauseofthesizeandthedensityoftheirindustries.
RuralandforestedareasaccountforalargeportionofbiogenicVOCbecauseofallthe
surroundingvegetation,whileagriculturalareasreleasethemostammonia.Smallercities
addtotheindustrialandtransportationemissionstoalesserdegree,butmaybeaffectedby
residentialwoodburningorlocalindustries.Remoteareasmaybeaffectedbythesetwo
activities,butthesewillmainlycauseairqualityproblemsinandaroundtheirhostlocality,
aspollutantswoulddisperseandmixquicklywiththecleansurroundingair.
Formationprocesses,transportanddispersionofpollutants
Smogiscertainlyoneofthebiggestairqualityproblemsaffectingurbanareasnowadays.It
iscomposedmainlyofozone(O
3
)andfineparticles(PM
2.5
).Particulatematterandozone
arebothpollutantsthatcanbetransportedbytheprevailingairflows(i.e.wind)overlong
distances.Thismeansthattheycanaffectairqualityatlocationsclosetotheirsourcesand

49
alsoatlocationswithinthousandsofkilometres,whetheritbeanothercommunityinthe
sameprovince,anotherprovince,countryorevencontinent.
Particulatematterrepresentstheairbornemicroscopicliquidandsolidsubstancesthatare
presentintheaireitherassinglesubstances,orasacomplexmixtureofsubstances.On
mostsmogdays,whatisperceivedassmogismostlythehazecreatedbytheparticles,
sinceozoneisacolourlessgas.
Particlescanbeemitteddirectlytotheair(primaryparticles)fromvariedsources,andthey
canalsoformintheair(secondaryparticles)fromprecursorgases.PrimaryPMincludes
sootandflyash;metals;resuspendedsoildust;seasaltspray;andpollen.Precursors
includethegasessulphurdioxide(SO
2
),oxidesofnitrogen(NO
x
),ammonia(NH
3
)and
volatileorganiccompounds(VOC).SO
2
,NO
x
andNH
3
canleadtosecondaryPMsuchas
ammoniumsulphateandammoniumnitrate;VOCcanleadtosecondaryPMcontaining
variousorganiccarbon(OC)substances.Manyparticlesalsocontainwater.
Ozone(O
3
)iswhatwecallasecondarypollutant.Itisnotemitteddirectlybutformsby
combiningelementaloxygen(O)withmolecularoxygen(O
2
),seeeq.9.1andfig.9.1.
Elementaloxygenismadeavailablenearthesurfacewhensolarradiation(h)breaks
nitrogendioxide(NO
2
)intoNO(nitrousoxide)andO.

eq.9.1
NO +O
3
NO
2
+O
2
NO
2
+hv NO +O
O +O
2
+M
x
O
3
+M

TheformationofozonefromNO
2
issignificantlyenhancedifotherpollutantssuchas
volatileorganiccompounds(VOC)arealsopresentintheair.VOCallowtheconversionof
NO(emittedthoughcombustion)toNO
2
(mostlyformedafterNOemissions)without
consumingozoneintheprocess,therebyallowingozonetoaccumulatetomuchhigher
levelsthanwouldotherwiseoccurfromNO
2
alone.Assuch,NO
x
andVOCareknownasthe
mainozoneprecursors,andtheseareemittedbybothanthropogenic(humanrelated)and
naturalsources.Ozoneisasummer,daytimepollutant.Itusuallystartsforminginthe
morningonsunnydaysandincreasesuntilabout2to3PM.Asthesunenergydecreases,so
doozonelevels.

50

Fig.9.1Ozoneformationprocesses
Mostpollutantsarereleasedatgroundlevelwithintheplanetaryboundarylayer.Onwindy
daysorwhentheinstabilityisimportant,thethermalandmechanicalturbulencemixthe
airefficiently,andpollutantsarequicklydispersedoverthewholelayerandtakenaway
fromthesource.Theseconditionsareusuallypresentinthesummer,onsunnydays.On
stabledays,windlessdaysornights,thepollutantswillnotmixefficientlywiththe
surroundingairandwillnotbecarriedaway.Concentrationwillremainhighuntilthe
pollutionsourceiscutofforturbulentflowkicksin.
If,throughmixing,thepollutantsgetintothefreeatmosphere,theymaybecarriedawayby
strongupperwindsfordays.Theywillthendispersefurtherandmaybetakenbackdown
intotheboundarylayerseveralhundredsofkilometresaway.
Throughgravityandthecirculationofair,particulatematterandozonewilleventually
reachthegroundorbedepositedonobjects.Thisremovalmechanismiscalleddry
deposition.Precipitation,throughwetdeposition,willdissolveorbringdownparticulate
matterandcleantheatmosphereaswell.Ozone,ontheotherhand,isnotsolubleinwater
andwillnotbeaffectedbyprecipitation.
AirQualityHealthIndex
Pollutionisharmfultohumanandproperty.Therefore,EnvironmentCanadaandHealth
Canadahavedevelopedanindexwarningthepopulationaboutpollutionrisks.TheAir
QualityHealthIndex(AQHI)isascaledesignedtohelppeopleunderstandwhattheair
qualityaroundthemmeanstotheirhealth.Itpaysparticularattentiontopeoplewhoare
sensitivetoairpollutionandprovidesthemwithadviceassociatedwithlow,moderate,
highandveryhighhealthrisks.

51
TheAQHIiscalculatedbasedontherelativerisksofacombinationofcommonair
pollutantsthatareknowntoharmhumanhealth.Thesepollutantsinclude:
Ozone(O
3
)atgroundlevel,
ParticulateMatter(PM
2.5
/PM
10
)
NitrogenDioxide(NO
2
).
TheAQHIismeasuredonascalerangingfrom110+.Itsvaluesarealsogroupedintohealth
riskcategoriesasshownbelow.
13 Lowhealthrisk
46 Moderatehealthrisk
710 Highhealthrisk
10+ Veryhighhealthrisk
Thissectionconcludestheshortcourseonbasicmeteorologythathasledyoufromthe
basicstateoftheatmospheretoitsinnerworkings.Equippedwiththisknowledge,youwill
beabletoappreciatethecomplexityoftheatmosphereandthewayitproducesweather
dayafterdaytodissipatethesunsenergy.Moreoveryouwillhaveabetterunderstanding
ofwindpatternsandconditionsthataffectthemixinganddispersionofatmospheric
pollutants.

a
APPENDIX1
Sampleupperairanalyses

250hPaheightandjetstreamanalysis

500hPaheightandthicknessanalysis

700hPaheightandtemperatureanalysis

850hPaheightandtemperatureanalysis

APPENDIX2
Interpretingradarimagery
BlockingBeam
Hillsandmountainscanblockaradarbeamandleavenoticeablegapsinthepattern.
ThissituationisverycommonintheRockiesandNewfoundlandduetothehilly
terrain.

BeamAttenuation
Stormsclosesttoaradarsitereflectorabsorbmostoftheavailableradarenergy.
Onlyareducedamountofthisenergyisavailabletodetectmoredistantstorms.
Stormsinthecircledareawerequiteintensebutwerenotbeingdetected
appropriatelybytheradar.Strongstormsoccurringclosertotheradarkeepthe
radarenergyfromreachingfurther.

OvershootingBeam
Intenseprecipitationsuchaslakeeffectsnowsquallscanbeassociatedwithclouds
closetotheground.Insuchcases,theradarbeammayovershootmostoftheareaof
precipitationandwillthereforeindicateonlyweakechoeswheninfactsignificant
precipitationisoccurring.
TheimageatrightshowslinesofprecipitationonthePrairies.Althoughitwas
raininginsidetheradarcoveragearea,theradarovershootsatlongrangeandthe
bandsarenotseen.

Virga
Precipitationthatisoccurringaloftbutnotreachingthegroundiscalledvirga.It
happenswhentherearedryconditionsatlowlevels.Thedryairabsorbsallthe
moisturebeforeitreachestheground.
Noprecipitationwashittingthegroundinthepicturetotheright.

AnomalousPropagationAP
Strongtemperatureinversionslowintheatmospherecanhavestrangeeffectson
radar.Whenalayerofwarmairliesoveralayerofmuchcoolerair,theradarbeam
cannotpassbetweenthelayersandgetsbenttotheground.Afalsestrongsignalis
reflectedbacktotheradarsite.
Thisphenomenonismostcommonduringtheearlymorninghourswhenitisclear.
Thefalseechoesgenerallydissipatebymidday.
Therewasnoprecipitationoccurringintheimageattheright.

GroundClutter
Theseechoesarecalledgroundclutterandtheyoccurwhenaportionoftheradar
beamcomesintocontactwithtallbuildings,treesorhills.
Learnthecommongroundcluttersignatureinyourareasoyoucandistinguishit
fromrealprecipitation.

(A)UsualGroundClutterPattern(B)LightPrecipitationwithGroundClutterPattern