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1-between what levels does temperature inversion occur and what does this imply

ID: 290584 • Letter: 1

Question

1-between what levels does temperature inversion occur and what does this imply about the stability of the column? (3 marks)

2-Knowing that lifting condensation level is 770 HPA,what does this imply about the likelihood of rainfall occurring on this given day? (3 marks)

3-Given all of the above information about profile A, what time of day do you think that this is occurring and why? (3 marks)

Profile A Dewpoint Pressure Temperature (Ta) Temperature (Td) 7.0 6.0 8.0 6.0 5.0 2.0 10.0 20.0 21.0 22.0 -24.0 25.0 29.0 33.0 40.0 46.0 25.0 20.0 22.0 19.0 14.0 11.5 9.0 6.0 1000 970 930 900 850 800 750 700 650 600 550 500 450 400 350 300 0.5 5.0 9.5 15.0 22.0 30.0 39.0 Profile B Dewpoint Pressure Temperature (Ta) Temperature (Td) 1000 26.5 29.0 25.5 23.0 20.0 15.5 13.0 9.0 7.5 3.5 1.0 23.0 17.0 17.5 19.0 17.0 14.0 13.0 7.5 6.0 3.5 970 930 900 850 800 750 650 600 550 500 450 400 350 300 -13.0 20.0 30.0 -34.5 -41.0 -15.0 -22.5 30.0

Explanation / Answer

1. Profile A shows that the temperature inversion is occurring between the 970 and 930 hPa level, implying that the air column is stable in the lower troposphere. Profile B shows that the inversion occurs between 1000 and 970 hPa implying the air column is stable near the surface.

2. The LCL is situated at 770 hPa level, implying that the cloud base height is above the inversion layer. This means that there would no significant vertical mixing to produce rainfall on this day.

3. The time of occurrence of such an event is during the day as the temperature initially decreases with altitude due to the warming of the surface and mixing till the height of 970 hPa. This leads to the formation of a weak inversion layer between 970 to 930 hPa.