Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
functions of height. Modify this script to compute the pressure and poten-
tial temperature and plot these in the same format used for temperature
and lapse rate. Hint: to compute pressure, integrate the hydrostatic equa-
tion from the surface upward in increments of δz. Show that if we define
a mean scale height for the layer between z and z
+
δz by letting H
=
δz
H
.
(Note that as you move upward layer by layer you must use the local
height-dependent value of H in this formula.)
δz)]
(2g), then p (z
p (z) exp
−
R [T (z)
+
T (z
+
+
δz)
=
M2.2.
The MATLAB script
thermo profile.m
is a simple script to read in data
giving pressure and temperature for a tropical mean sounding. Run this
script to plot temperature versus pressure for data in the file
tropical
temp.dat
. Use the hypsometric equation to compute the geopotential height
corresponding to each pressure level of the data file. Compute the cor-
responding potential temperature and plot graphs of the temperature and
potential temperature variations with pressure and with geopotential height.
Suggested References
Salby,
Fundamentals of Atmospheric Physics
, contains a thorough development of the basic conserva-
tion laws at the graduate level.
Pedlosky,
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics
, discusses the equations of motion for a rotating coordinate
system and has a thorough discussion of scale analysis at a graduate level.
Curry and Webster,
Thermodynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans
contains an excellent treatment of
atmospheric thermodynamics.
