The winds are westerly off the Pacific Ocean and flowing into and up the Sierra
ID: 159072 • Letter: T
Question
The winds are westerly off the Pacific Ocean and flowing into and up the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The air flowing off the ocean has a pressure of 1000 mb, a temperature of 25°C, and a dew point of 15°C. The top of the Sierra Nevada Mountains is approximately 2.2 km above sea level. a. Assuming adiabatic lift, what will be the temperature of the sea level air parcel after it rises to the top of the mountain? Explain how you arrived at your answer. b. Will the lifted air parcel be saturated by the time it reaches the top of the Sierra Nevada Mountains? Why?
Explanation / Answer
a) Assume that the air parcel cools at a dry adiabatic lapse rate of 10 Celsius degree per 1Km( or 1000m ). Given, the temperature is 25 C and the dew point is 15 C. From adiabatic lapse rate, for 2.2 Km ( or 2200 m), the air parcel cools by 22 C. Therefore the temperature of the air parcel at the top is = 25 - 22 = 3 C
b)Assume that the air parcel cools at a dry adiabatic lapse rate of 10 Celsius degree per 1Km( or 1000m ). Given, the temperature is 25 C and the dew point is 15 C. Hence the parcel is only needs to cool by 10 C.
Hence a 1000m lift in air is needed to become saturated. Therefore, the lifted air parcel will be saturated by the time it reaches the top of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
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