GEOPITENTIAL HEIGHT

The height of a given point in the atmosphere in units proportional to the potential energy of unit
mass (geopotential) at this height relative to the sea level.
(http://tigge.ecmwf.int/tigge/d/show_object/table=parameters/name=geopotential_height/levtype
=pl/)

Geopotential height approximates the actual height of a pressure surface above

mean sea-level. Therefore, a geopotential height observation represents the height
of the pressure surface on which the observation was taken.
Since cold air is more dense than warm air, it causes pressure surfaces to be lower
in colder air masses, while less dense, warmer air allows the pressure surfaces to be
higher. Thus, heights are lower in cold air masses, and higher in warm air masses.
A line drawn on a weather map connecting points of equal height (in meters) is
called a height contour. That means, at every point along a given contour, the values
of geopotential height are the same. An image depicting the geopotential height field
is given below.
Source: http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/cyc/upa/trgh.rxml

Geopotential Height
height of a given pressure

Geopotential height approximates the actual height of a pressure surface above mean sealevel. Therefore, a geopotential height observation represents the height of the pressure
surface on which the observation was taken. A line drawn on a weather map connecting
points of equal height (in meters) is called a height contour. That means, at every point along
a given contour, the values of geopotential height are the same. An image depicting the
geopotential height field is given below.

Height contours are represented by the solid lines. The small numbers along the contours are
labels which identify the value of a particular height contour (for example 5640 meters, 5580
meters, etc.). This example depicts the 500 mb geopotential height field and temperatures
(color filled regions). The height field is given in meters with an interval of 60 meters.
Geopotential height is valuable for locating troughs and ridges which are the upper level
counterparts of surface cyclones and anticyclones.
(http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/%28Gh%29/guides/mtr/cyc/upa/hght.rxml)

Geopotential is the potential energy acquired by unit mass on being raised through unit
distance in a field of gravitational force of unit strength. The Geopotential meter is related to
the Dynamic meter by the expression one geopotential meter=0.98 dynamic meter. It is
roughly the height of a pressure surface in the atmosphere above mean sea level.
The equation which defines the relationship between geopotential height (Z) and geometric
height (z) is Z=gz/980. Thus when gravity g has its near average value of 980 cm/sec2,
heights in geopotential meters and and geometric meters are the same; for g < 980 cm/sec2
the height in geopotential meters is the smaller, for g > 980 cm/sec2 it is bigger.
Geopotential (from the dynamic point of view) is a better measure of height in the
atmosphere than is geometric height since energy is in general lost or gained when air moves
along a geometrically level surface but not when it moves along an equigeopotential surface.
(http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/data-holdings/PIP/geopotential_height.shtml)

( Holton, J.R., 1992, An Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology Academic Press, 166-175

Singh & Rathor, 1974, Reduction of the Complete Omega Equation to the Simplest Form,
Pure and Applied Geophysics, 112, 219-223)

Omega
A term used to describe vertical motion in the atmosphere. The "omega equation"
used in numerical weather models is composed of two terms, the "differential
vorticity advection" term and the "thickness advection" term. Put more simply, omega
is determined by the amount of spin (or large scale rotation) and warm (or cold)
advection present in the atmosphere. On a weather forecast chart, high values of
omega (or a strong omega field) relate to upward vertical motion (UVV) in the
atmosphere. If this upward vertical motion is strong enough and in a sufficiently moist
airmass, precipitation results.
(http://w1.weather.gov/glossary/index.php?letter=o)

Vertical velocity
A measure of the upward motion of air in the atmosphere. Vertical velocities are in general
around 1 cm.s-1 (compared to 10 m.s-1 for horizontal velocities), but can reach several m.s-1
in thunderstorm updrafts. Often the vertical velocity is displayed in hectopascals per hour.
Since pressure decreases with height, negative values of the vertical velocity indicate rising
motion in the atmosphere, and positive values indicate sinking air). Large values of the
vertical velocity on these charts can (when combined with high moisture level) indicate the
potential for heavy rainfall.
(http://www.weatherzone.com.au/help/glossary.jsp?l=v)

Wind flows in the horizontal at a much higher average wind speed than in the vertical. Vertical
motion is roughly two orders of magnitude smaller than horizontal motion. Wind speeds in the
horizontal are commonly over 50 knots at some point in the atmosphere above a location. The
average vertical wind speed is only a few centimeters per second! This seems unusual considering
thunderstorm updrafts can have vertical velocities over 100 miles per hour. The deal is,
thunderstorms only encompass a tiny surface area of the earth compared to regions not having
thunderstorms. Well less than 1% of the time are vertical velocities greater than 1 mile per hour

above any point location. All the uplift from low pressure and fronts only produce vertical upglide
of a few to sometimes greater than 20 centimeters per second on the synoptic scale. That's it. Why
then does it rain? Well, an uplift of 6 centimeters per second leads to a pretty significant distance
given enough time. In fact, moving 6 centimeters per second in one hour produces 216 meters of
vertical distance. Give it a few hours, and that parcel of air can rise in the vertical over a kilometer.
An upward vertical velocity of just 6 centimeters per second can produce a large volume of
precipitation if the moisture is present to be condensed. Let's apply upward vertical velocity to
interpreting the synoptic scale forecast models (NAM,GFS etc.). Upward vertical velocity is plotted
on the 700-mb prog. Go ahead and look at a 700 mb forecast panel on your computer. This prog is
available on UNISYS weather at:
http://weather.unisys.com/nam/700.php