Examination number: _______________________

METE08001
METEOROLOGY: ATMOSPHERE & ENVIRONMENT
2013/2014

Mark %
 .

CONTENTS

General information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Lecture and lab schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Useful equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Table of constants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Interpreting weather charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Stations plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Cloud identification and classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Calculations with the Saturation Vapour Pressure diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Lab 1: Weather observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Lab 2: Plotting observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Lab 3: Wind chill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Lab 4: Passage of a cold front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Lab 5: Convection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Lab 6: The skew T – ln P diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Lab 7: Thunderstorm analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Lab 8: Radiation instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Spare observations sheets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Use of plagarism detection software and ‘Own Work Declaration’. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

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 Meteorology: Atmosphere and Environment
Lab Book Assessment

Lab Mark Comments

Observations and plotting

/ 20

Wind chill

/ 10

Frontal analysis

/ 10

Convection tank

/ 10

Skew T – ln P diagram

/ 10

Thunderstorms

/ 10

Radiation

/ 10

Overall lab-book presentation

/ 20

Total %

2
Course Organizer: David Stevenson (dstevens@staffmail.ed.ac.uk) Crew Building 314
Course Secretary: Meredith Corey (meredith.corey@ed.ac.uk) Crew Building 215

Entrance requirements
There are no specific entry requirements, but a physical approach to the subject is adopted
throughout and some background in physics and maths, for example at SCE Higher grade (or
equivalent), is desirable. Students who anticipate problems in this respect should discuss the matter
with the Course Organizer.

Class locations and times

Lectures are 10:00-10:50 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in the Joseph Black Building
(Chemistry) Lecture Theatre 100. Please collect a clicker from the new Murray Library and
remember to bring it to all lectures; most lecturers will ask clicker questions. Lecture notes and
other information will be posted on Learn.
A large part of meteorology involves measurements, observations and practical experiments. This is
the purpose of the laboratory classes, which commence during the second week of Semester 1 and
are for 1½ hours a week on either Monday 14:00-15:30, Tuesday 10:00-11:30 or Thursday 14:00-
15:30. You need to sign up for one of these sessions on Learn. The lab is room 8216 on the top (8th)
floor of the James Clerk Maxwell Building (JCMB). The lift only goes to the 7th floor, and you need
to ascend an extra flight of stairs. There is a separate lift between floors 7 and 8; let the Course
Organizer know if you need to use this. Lab results should be recorded in this book, which you will
hand in for marking at the end of the course. You will need a ruler, a pencil, a rubber and a
calculator for every lab. Note that the only calculators approved by the College of Science and
Engineering for use in exams are Casio fx82, fx83 or fx85.

Recommended textbooks
The main recommended text is ‘Introducing Meteorology: A Guide to Weather’ by Jon Shonk (2013
£9.99; also available as an e-book). This is a new book, and although the course doesn’t exactly
follow its contents, it covers much of the material at the correct level. There should be good stocks
of this in Blackwell’s, but it may not be in the library yet.
In previous years, we have recommended “Meteorology Today” by C. Donald Ahrens (ISBN
0495555746), however this text has suddenly increased in price (£104 in Blackwells!), so we no
longer recommend students buy this. The 9th edition (2009) is fine, and a free PDF can be easily
downloaded (google: meteorology today 4shared). Second hand or library copies of earlier editions
are fine, but be aware that any page references in lectures will differ between editions.
“Atmospheric Science: An Introductory Survey” by J.M. Wallace and P.V. Hobbs is also
recommended for students keen to take further Meteorology courses; this takes a more detailed
maths/physics approach and goes beyond what is required for this particular course, but it is
nevertheless an excellent book. There are copies ofthese latter two books in the library.

Learning outcomes
By the end of the course you will be able to:
• interpret weather maps in terms of local weather
• recognise cloud types and be able to describe their formation mechanisms
• plot and interpret vertical temperature and moisture soundings
• describe the basic processes occurring in the atmospheric boundary layer
• describe and explain the structure, physics and dynamics of thunderstorms, tornadoes and
hail formation

1
 • describe the layers of the atmosphere from the surface to 100 km +
• explain the basic physics of atmospheric processes, such as radiation at the surface, water in
the atmosphere and its phase changes
• observe and plot weather elements in standard format

Assessment
The course is assessed by coursework (30%) and an exam (70%) in mid-December. The coursework is
divided equally between three components:
 a mid-term assignment (10%)
 a weather observations test in the last lab class (10%)
 this completed lab book, which must be handed in after the last lab class (10%).
In addition, your lab book should be handed in after the third lab and you will be given feedback
on the first three labs – this will not count towards your overall mark, and you can subsequently
revise your lab book for these three labs.
The mid-term assignment will be posted on Learn on 7th October and should be returned by 18th
October. The exam has two sections: Section A consists of 20 multiple-choice questions, together
worth 40% of the paper, and Section B consists of 8 longer questions in 4 groups of 2; you must
answer one question from each group, 4 in total, worth 15% each (NB this exam format was
introduced in December 2012; earlier papers are slightly different). If more than 4 questions are
answered in Section B, the highest marks from each group are counted. You will need an approved
calculator (Casio fx82, fx83 or fx85) in the exam.
To pass the course, you must obtain an overall mark above 40%, and get over 40% in both the exam
and the coursework. There is a resit exam in August if you fail the exam. If you fail the coursework,
your only option is to resit the coursework when it is offered the next year (NB this option requires
the additional permission of the Head of School). The only exception is if you fail the coursework
but have relevant special circumstances, in which case an alternative to the coursework will be
offered.
Past exam papers are available from http://www.exampapers.lib.ed.ac.uk/Meteorology0405.shtml.
Note (i) that the course content has varied slightly from year to year, and (ii) the new exam format.
All items which count towards the degree assessment will be marked anonymously. You should enter
your examination number, and not your name, on all such items (including this lab book). Please
hand in items to the Course Secretary (Merdith Corey, Room 215, Crew Building) by 12 noon on the
due date. There are penalties for late submission of work: a reduction in the maximum possible
mark of 5% per day up to 5 days late, and zero marks for work that is more than 5 days late.
University policies on plagiarism and other forms of cheating will be rigorously enforced for all
assessments.
Class Student Representative(s)
One or more volunteers are sought to act as class representatives. The role of class reps is to help
communicate any problems related to the course between the student group and the course team.
In addition to ad hoc communications, you would be expected to collate any comments from
students and present them at the staff-student liason meeting, held mid-semester. Contact the CO
if you would like to volunteer.

Problems
If you are having problems with any part of the course, there are various things that you can do:
1. discuss it with a class colleague, and/or the class representative;
2. if the query is short, ask after a lecture or in a lab class;
3. arrange a time to see a member of staff.
In the event of illness for more than a few days, or other disruption of study, please inform your
Student Support Coordinator and the Course Organizer promptly.

2
Accessibility
We welcome disabled students (including those with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia)
and are working to make all our courses accessible. If you wish to talk to a member of academic
staff about the course requirements and your particular needs please contact the Course Organizer.
You can also contact the Student Disability Service (Main Library, telephone 650 6828, email
disability.service@ed.ac.uk) and an Advisor will be happy to meet with you. The Advisor can discuss
possible adjustments and specific examination arrangements with you, assist you with an
application for Disabled Students' Allowance, give you information about available technology and
personal assistance such as note takers, proof readers or dyslexia tutors, and prepare a Learning
Profile for your School which outlines recommended adjustments. You will be expected to provide
the Student Disability Service with evidence of disability - either a letter from your GP or specialist,
or evidence of specific learning difficulty. For dyslexia or dyspraxia this evidence must be a recent
Chartered Educational Psychologist's assessment. If you do not have this, the Student Disability
Service can put you in touch with an independent Educational Psychologist. If you feel that you
need to use a calculator that is not on the currently permitted list, the Student Disability Service
can assess your needs and suggest what alternative form of calculator may be appropriate as part of
an agreed schedule of adjustments. If you require this document in an alternative format,
such as large print or a coloured background, please contact the Course Organizer.
The Course Team
The course is delivered by three lecturers from the School of GeoSciences:

Weather maps, observations and air pollution – 12 lectures

Prof David Stevenson (dstevens@staffmail.ed.ac.uk)
Crew 314
(Course Organiser)

Air masses, fronts and radiation –8 lectures

Dr Hugh Pumphrey (Hugh.Pumphrey@ed.ac.uk)
Crew 313

Atmospheric processes, clouds, thermodynamic diagrams and storms – 10

lectures
Dr Massimo Bollasina (mbollasi@staffmail.ed.ac.uk)
Grant Institute 303

Course secretary:
Meredith Corey (meredith.corey@ed.ac.uk)
Crew 215

3
Feedback
The University launched new Feedback Standards and Guiding Principles for staff and students in
September 2010 (http://www.enhancingfeedback.ed.ac.uk/). For this course, individual written
feedback and model answers will be provided for the mid-term exercise three weeks after the hand-
in date. Preliminary written feedback on the lab books will be given in Week 5, and overall
feedback on the lab books, weather observations test and exam will be available at the beginning of
semester 2, and there will be an open feedback meeting on 5th February. Lecturers will lead many
of the laboratory classes and a post-graduate demonstrator will be present in all of the labs to give
immediate feedback on work.
Early in the semester, one or more volunteers will be sought to act as class representatives. They
will have meetings with the Course Organizer to consider difficulties, complaints, suggestions etc.
regarding the course. Make use of these representatives as a channel for your comments and
feedback about the course. There will be a staff-student liason meeting mid-way through the course
(date to be announced) to discuss any problems.

4
Lecture and lab schedule

Monday 10am Wednesday 10am Friday 10am Weekly lab class

(Mon, Tue or Thu)
DS DS DS
Week 1 Introduction Weather maps Cloud No lab
16 Sept Satellite images classification

DS DS DS DS
Week 2 Structure of the Temperature Humidity 1. Weather
23 Sept atmosphere measurements measurements observations

DS DS DS DS
Week 3 Precipitation Pressure and wind Gas laws and 2. Station plots
30 Sept measurements measurements thickness charts

HP HP HPAir masses and DS

Week 4 Air masses and Air masses and fronts 3 3. Wind chill
7 Oct fronts 1 fronts 2

MB MB MB HP
Week 5 Condensation of Fog and cloud Precipitation from 4. Weather fronts
14 Oct cloud droplets formation clouds

MB MB MB MB
Week 6 Physics of dry air Atmospheric Atmospheric 5. Convection
21 Oct moisture stability

MB MB MB MB
Week 7 Atmospheric Thunderstorms Hail, lightning and 6. The skew T-ln P
28 Oct inversions tornadoes diagram

MB HP HP MB
Week 8 The Föhn effect Importance and Perfect radiators 7. Thunderstorm
4 Nov Review nature of Kirchhoff's law analysis
radiation
HP HP HP HP
Week 9 Solar radiation Energy balance at Rainbows and 8. Radiation
11 Nov and terrestrial the surface other optical instruments
radiation Diurnal variations phenomena Exam tutorial
DS DS DS DS
Week 10 Air Pollution 1 Air Pollution 2 Review/exam Weather
18 Nov preparation observations test

5
 Useful Equations
The ideal gas law:
pV
 constant
T
relates pressure (p), volume (V) and Kelvin temperature (T) of a gas. Rather than volume, it is more
convenient for meteorological applications to work with air density (ρ = mass/volume) found from …

The equation of state:

p  RT
R is the specific gas constant. The dependence of the gas constant on specific humidity (q) in air is
made explicit by
p  Rd (1  0.61q)T
-1 -1
where Rd = 287 JK kg is the gas constant for dry air.

The hydrostatic equation:

dp
  g
dz
gives the vertical gradient in pressure with height (z), assuming balance between pressure gradient
and gravitational forces. Acceleration due to gravity, g = 9.81 ms-2.
Combining the hydrostatic equation and the first law of thermodynamics gives the dry adiabatic
lapse rate:
 dT  g
     9.8 C km 1
 dz adiabatic cp
This is the rate at which a parcel of air will cool as it is lifted without becoming saturated (“dry”) or
exchanging energy with its surroundings (“adiabatic”). The heat capacity of dry air at constant
pressure is cp = 1004 JK-1kg-1.
Combining the hydrostatic equation with the gas law and integrating over height gives …

The altimeter equation:

 gz   z 
p( z )  p0 exp     p0 exp    ,
 RT   H
which gives the decrease in pressure with height in a column of air with average temperature T .
The scale height H = g / (RT) ≈ 8 km for the lower atmosphere, and p0 is the pressure at height z =0.
Inverting the altimeter equation gives …

The hypsometric equation:

RT  p1 
z 2  z1  ln   ,
g  p 2 
which gives the difference in height (“thickness”) between two pressure levels. For small
differences, this can be approximated by …

The thickness equation:

RT p
z 
g p
Δz is the thickness of a layer and Δp is the pressure drop across the layer.

6
The Clausius-Clapeyron equation:
1 des L
 v2
es dT RvT
relates saturation vapour pressure (es) to temperature. Lv = 2.47 x 106 Jkg-1 is the latent heat of
vapourization for water and Rv = 461 J kg-1K-1 is the gas constant for water vapour.

Integrating the Clausius-Clapeyron equation gives:

  1 1 
es (T )  6.11exp 5.4 103   
  273 T 
for es in hPa as a function of temperature in Kelvin. Amongst other applications, this gives the
curved saturation line on the SVP diagram.
For actual vapour pressure e, the relative humidity is RH = 100 × e / es(T) and the dew point
temperature Td is such that e = es(Td).

The psychrometer equation:

1
Tw  T  Ap [es (Tw )  e]
Wet-bulb temperature Tw is the temperature of a wet surface cooled by evaporation. The
psychrometer “constant” Ap depends on ventilation and pressure: Ap = 0.66 hPa°C-1 at 1000 hPa for
a ventilated surface, and Ap ~ 0.8 hPa°C-1 for an unventilated wet-bulb thermometer in a Stevenson
screen.

Rearranging the psychrometer equation gives

e  es (Tw )  Ap (T  Tw ) ,
which is the equation of the sloping lines on the SVP diagram.

Specific humidity and mixing ratio:

Specific humidity q and mixing ratio w are related by
w
q w
1 w
Specific humidity q, vapour pressure e and air pressure p are related by
e
q  0.622
p

The Stefan-Boltzmann equation:

L   Ts4
gives the longwave radiation (Wm-2) emitted by a surface with emissivity  (dimensionless) and
temperature Ts (Kelvin). Stefan-Boltzmann constant σ = 5.6710-8 Wm-2K-4.

Wien’s displacement law:

2897
max 
T
gives the wavelength for peak emission from a black body at Kelvin temperature T.

7
 Table of Constants
Acceleration due to gravity, g = 9.8 ms-2
Constant in Wien’s displacement law = 2897 μm K = 2.897 ×10-3 m K
Rotation rate of the Earth, Ω = 7.29 × 10-5 rad s-1
Gas constant for dry air, R = 287 J kg-1K-1
Gas constant for water vapour, Rv = 461 J kg-1K-1
Latent heat of vapourization of water, Lv = 2.47 × 106 J kg-1
Latent heat of melting of ice, Lf = 3.35 × 105 J kg-1
Mean radius of the Earth = 6370 km
Solar constant, S = 1370 Wm-2
Specific heat of air at constant pressure, cp = 1004 J kg-1K-1
Speed of light, c = 3 × 108 ms-1
Stefan-Boltzmann constant, σ = 5.6710-8 W m-2K-4
Typical density of air at the Earth surface, ρ = 1.2 kg m-3
Conversion between C and K: 0C = 273.15 K
Conversion between inches and mm: 1 in = 25 mm
Conversion between feet and metres: 1 foot = 0.3048 m
1 mb = 100 Pa = 1 hPa

A table of constants and a list of equations will be supplied in exams.

8
Interpreting weather charts
(based on Met Office Fact Sheet 11: www.metoffice.gov.uk/learning/library/publications/factsheets)
Weather charts consist of curved lines drawn on a geographical map in such a way as to indicate
weather features. These features are best shown by charts of atmospheric pressure, which consist
of isobars (lines joining points of equal sea-level pressure) drawn around depressions (or lows) and
anticyclones (or highs). Other features on a weather chart include fronts, troughs and ridges. These
are drawn to highlight the areas of most significant weather, but that does not mean that there is
nothing of significance elsewhere on the chart.

Figure 1: Isobars, weather systems and fronts on a weather chart.

Low pressure or depression
Depressions are areas of low pressure, usually with a well-defined centre, and are usually
associated with frontal systems and unsettled weather. Winds blow in an anticlockwise direction
around depressions in the northern hemisphere, and clockwise in the southern hemisphere.
High pressure or anticyclone
Anticyclones are areas of high pressure, whose centres are often less well defined than depressions,
and are associated with quiet, settled weather. Winds blow in a clockwise direction around
anticyclones in the northern hemisphere, and this is reversed in the southern hemisphere.

Fronts
Early weather charts consisted simply of station plots and isobars, with the weather being written
as comments, like “Rain, heavy at times”. During the 1920s, a group of Scandinavian
meteorologists, known collectively as the Bergen School, developed the concept of representing the
atmosphere in terms of air masses. Since the air masses could be considered as being in conflict
with each other, the term “front” was used to describe the boundary between them. Three types of
front were identified which depend on the relative movement of the air masses.

9
Cold Front
A cold front marks the leading edge of an advancing cold air mass. On a synoptic chart a cold front
appear as a line with triangles. The direction in which the triangles point is the direction in which
the front is moving.

Warm Front
A warm front marks the leading edge of an advancing warm air mass. On a synoptic chart a warm
front appears as a line with semi-circles. The direction in which the semi-circles point is the
direction in which the front is moving.

Occlusion (or occluded front)

Occlusions form when the cold front of a depression catches up with the warm front, lifting the
warm air between the fronts into a narrow wedge above the surface. On a synoptic chart an
occluded front appears as a line with a combination of triangles and semi-circles. The direction in
which the symbols point is the direction in which the front is moving.

Troughs
Fronts describe thermal characteristics and also happen to be where there is significant
precipitation, but precipitation is not confined to fronts. Drizzle in warm sectors or showers in cold
air occur fairly randomly, but lines of more organized precipitation can develop; these are called
troughs and are shown by lines on a synoptic chart.
Frontogenesis
Development or marked intensification of a cold or warm front

Frontolysis
Disappearance or marked weakening of a cold or warm front

Relationship between isobars and wind

Wind is a significant feature of the weather. A fine, sunny day with light winds can be very
pleasant. Stronger winds can become inconvenient and, in extreme cases, winds can be powerful
enough to cause widespread destruction. The wind can easily be assessed when looking at a weather
map by remembering that:
 closer isobars mean stronger winds;
 the wind blows almost parallel to the isobars;
 in the northern hemisphere, the wind blows round a depression in an anticlockwise direction and
around an anticyclone in a clockwise direction. In the southern hemisphere, the opposite is true;
 winds around anticyclones can sometimes be even stronger than indicated by the isobars;
 in warm air, the wind is relatively steady and tends to blow at about two-thirds the speed that
the chart would suggest, though there are exceptions to this;
 in cold air, the wind is usually as strong as indicated by the isobars and can be very gusty.

10
Station plots
Good quality observations are one of the basic 'tools of the trade' for weather forecasting. The
weather conditions at each individual station for a given time can be represented on a surface chart
by means of station plot. This means that information which would take up a lot of space if written
on a chart can be displayed in a quick and easy to understand format. Figure 2 shows an example of
a plotted chart.

Figure 2: An example of a plotted chart

The land station plot can represent all the elements reported by a station, which typically include:
• Air temperature • Cloud amounts
• Dew-point temperature • Cloud types
• Wind speed • Cloud heights
• Wind direction • Present weather
• Visibility • Past weather
• Atmospheric pressure and three-hour tendency

Traditionally station plots for manned observing sites are based around a central station circle.
Automatic weather observations are increasingly replacing these and being plotted on weather
charts. To differentiate between the two, automatic observations are plotted around a station
triangle. Each element of the observation, with the exception of wind, is plotted in a fixed position
around the station circle or triangle so that individual elements can be easily identified. The
plotting positions and an example are given in Figure 3.
11
 Figure 3: Plotting positions and an example of a manual land station circle
Total cloud amount
The total amount of the sky covered by cloud is expressed in oktas (eighths) and is plotted by the
amount of shading within the station circle for manned observations or station triangle for
automatic stations. The symbols used for manual and automatic observations are shown in Tables 1
and 2, respectively.

Table 1: Symbols for recording manual cloud cover observations

Table 2: Symbols for recording automatic cloud cover measurements

12
Wind speed and direction
The surface wind direction is indicated on the station plot by a line in the direction that the wind is
coming from. Direction is measured in degrees from true North. Therefore a wind direction of 180 is
blowing from the south. The wind speed is given by the number of “feathers” on the arrow. Half
feathers represent 5 knots whilst whole feathers indicate 10 knots. A wind speed of 50 knots is
indicated by a triangle. Combinations of these can be used to report wind speed to the nearest 5
knots. The symbols used are given in Table 3.

Table 3: Symbols for wind speed

Gust speed
Gust speeds are measured in knots and are plotted as whole knots preceded by the letter G. i.e.
G35 indicates a gust of 35 knots. Gust speeds are normally only recorded if they exceed 25 knots.
Air temperature
Air temperature is plotted to the nearest whole degree Celsius, i.e. 23 would indicate 23C
Dew point temperature
Dew point temperature is plotted to the nearest whole degree Celsius, i.e. 18C.
Pressure
Pressure is recorded in hectopascals and tenths and the last three digits are plotted. Therefore
1003.1 hPa would be plotted as 031 and 987.1 hPa would be plotted as 871.

13
Present weather
In total the Met Office has 100 codes for recording the current weather at the time of the
observation. Different types of weather are represented using different weather symbols, a key to
which can be found in Table 4.

Table 4. Symbols for present weather (continued on next page)

14
15
Past weather

Simplified versions of the present weather symbols, shown in Table 5, are used to indicate weather
in the time since the last observation. No symbol is plotted on the station circle if the past weather
is recorded as codes 0, 1 or 2.

Table 5. Past weather symbols.

Pressure Tendency
Pressure trend shows how the pressure has changed during the past three hours, i.e. rising or
falling, and pressure tendency shows by how much it has changed. The tendency is given in tenths
of a hectopascal, therefore '20' would indicate a change of two hPa in the last three hours. Pressure
tendency is indicated by the symbols in Table 6.

Table 6. Symbols for pressure tendency

16
Visibility
Visibility, which is how far we can see, is given in coded format, in either meters or kilometres.
Visibilities below five kilometres are recorded to the nearest 100 metres, whilst those above five
kilometres are given to the nearest kilometre.

Codes for visibilities of less than five kilometres

Code Distance (km) Code Distance (km) Code Distance (km)
00 <0.0 18 1.8 36 3.6
01 0.1 19 1.9 37 3.7
02 0.2 20 2.0 38 3.8
03 0.3 21 2.1 39 3.9
04 0.4 22 2.2 40 4.0
05 0.5 23 2.3 41 4.1
06 0.6 24 2.4 42 4.2
07 0.7 25 2.5 43 4.3
08 0.8 26 2.6 44 4.4
09 0.9 27 2.7 45 4.5
10 1.0 28 2.8 46 4.6
11 1.1 29 2.9 47 4.7
12 1.2 30 3.0 48 4.8
13 1.3 31 3.1 49 4.9
14 1.4 32 3.2 50 5.0
15 1.5 33 3.3 51-55 Not Used
16 1.6 34 3.4
17 1.7 35 3.5

Codes for visibilities of more than five kilometres

Code Distance (km) Code Distance (km) Code Distance (km)
56 6 68 18 80 30
57 7 69 19 81 35
58 8 70 20 82 40
59 9 71 21 83 45
60 10 72 22 84 50
61 11 73 23 85 55
62 12 74 24 86 60
63 13 75 25 87 65
64 14 76 26 88 70
65 15 77 27 89 >70
66 16 78 28
67 17 79 29

17
Low cloud type symbols Medium cloud type symbols

High cloud type symbols

18
Cloud height
Cloud heights are measured in feet. The way these are plotted varies depending on whether the
station is an automatic or manned observing site.
Cloud heights for automatic stations
Code Height in feet
00 <100
05 500
10 1000
15 1500
20 2000
... ...
50 5000
60 6000
Cloud heights for manned stations
0 0-149
1 150-299
2 300-599
3 600-999
4 1,000-1,999
5 2,000-2,999
6 3,000-4,999
7 5,000-6,499
8 6,500-7,999
9 8,000 or above
/ Cloud height unknown

Example
Type of observation: Manned
Total cloud amount: 8 oktas
Wind Speed: 28-32 knots
Wind direction: South-westerly
Air temperature: 23C
Dew point temperature: 18C
Pressure: 1004.2 hPa
Present weather: Continuous moderate rain
Past weather: Rain
Pressure tendency: Falling 0.5 hPa in past three hours
Visibility: 6 km
Low cloud type: Stratus
Low cloud amount: 6 oktas
Low cloud height: 1000-1999 feet
Medium cloud type: Altostratus
High cloud type: Cirrus
Gust speed: 45 knots

19
Cloud height can be estimated in several different ways: (i) if objects of known altitude are
obscured by clouds (e.g., Arthurs Seat – 250m or 830 ft; Pentland Hills are ~450m or 1500ft); (ii) a
useful ‘rule of thumb’ is Cloud base height (in meters) = 125 (T – Td); (iii) determine the lifting
condensation level using a skew T-ln p chart.

Visibility objects from JCMB

Object Bearing Distance Code

Refectory chimney 355 110 m 01
Royal Observatory 282 1.0 km 10
Commonwealth Pool 005 2.0 km 20
Appleton Tower 343 2.5 km 25
Edinburgh Castle 333 3.3 km 33
Pentland Hills (Caerketten) 215 5.5 km 50
Corstorphine Hill 298 7.0 km 57
(Queen Mary’s Mount) (110) (11.5 km) 61
Cockenzie power station 068 14 km 64
Lufness Point 062 28 km 78
Berwick Law 064 32 km 80
Lomond Hills 348 36 km 81
Bass Rock 063 38 km 82
Ochil Hills 314 45 km 83
May Island 053 49 km 84

The Beaufort Wind Scale

Force Description Speed

(knots)
0 Calm – smoke rises vertically 0
1 Light air – direction of wind shown by smoke drift but not by wind vanes 1-3
2 Light breeze – wind felt on face; leaves rustle; ordinary wind vane moved by wind 4-6
3 Gentle breeze – leaves and small twigs in constant motion; wind extends light flag 7-10
4 Moderate breeze – raises dust and loose paper; small branches are moved 11-16
5 Fresh breeze – small trees in leaf begin to sway 17-21
6 Strong breeze – large branches in motion; umbrellas used with difficulty 22-27
7 Moderate gale – whole trees in motion; inconvenience felt when walking against 27-33
wind
8 Fresh gale – breaks twigs off trees 34-40
9 Strong gale – slight structural damage (chimney pots and slates removed) 41-47
10 Whole gale – trees uprooted 48-55
11 Storm – rarely experienced inland; widespread damage 56-63
12 Hurricane 64-71

20
 Cloud Identification and Classification

Clouds contain large numbers (typically 106-109 m-3) of very small drops (~ 20 m in diameter).
Clouds are continuously in a process of evolution and therefore appear in an infinite variety of
shapes and sizes. Nevertheless it is possible to define a limited number of characteristic types or
genera, each with a Latin name and standard abbreviation, applicable all over the world. The
names are based on five Latin words: cumulus (heap), stratus (sheet), cirrus (lock of hair), altus
(high), nimbus (rain). Each genus is assigned to one of three height bands - low, medium and high -
based on the height of the cloud base.

Low-level clouds (0-2 km)

Stratus (St) - grey, structureless, extensive sheet of cloud, but sometimes in ragged patches.
Stratocumulus (Sc) - grey/whitish patch or sheet of cloud composed of rounded masses or rolls,
usually having an apparent width of 5o or more.
Cumulus (Cu) - detached, dense clouds with sharp outlines, forming mounds or towers with flat
bases. The clouds are brilliant white where lit by the sun.
Cumulonimbus (Cb) - heavy and dark clouds of large vertical extent. Their tops are usually fibrous
and spread out. Precipitation is often seen falling from their bases.

Medium-level clouds (2-4, 7, 8 km in polar, mid-latitude and tropical regions)

Altocumulus (Ac) - shallow sheet of cloud composed of rounded masses or rolls, having an apparent
width generally in the range 1 to 5o.
Altostratus (As) - largely featureless, greyish sheet, usually thin enough to reveal sun at least
vaguely, as through ground glass. No halo phenomena.
Nimbostratus (Ns) - extensive sheet of diffuse, precipitating grey cloud, thick enough to blot out
the sun. Often accompanied by ragged low cloud (stratus). The base of nimbostratus may be in the
low-cloud range at times.

High-level clouds (3-8 km polar, 5-14 km mid latitudes, 6-18 km tropical)

Cirrus (Ci) - clouds composed of ice crystals, usually in delicate filaments.
Cirrocumulus (Cc) - thin white patch or sheet of cloud with dappled or rippled appearance, often
fibrous in places and having an apparent width generally less than 1o.
Cirrostratus (Cs) - largely transparent white sheet of cloud of fibrous or smooth appearance,
generally producing halo phenomena.

Genera may be supplemented by adding a description name called a species. Some common species
are:
Fractus (fra) - broken or ragged (applied to Cu and St).
Lenticularis (len) – elements shaped like a lens or almond (applied to Sc, Ac and Cc).

21
 Calculations with the Saturation Vapour Pressure Diagram

e.g. air temperature (T) 15C and wet-bulb temperature (Tw) 11C

esat

Td Tw T
esat = 17 hPa
e = 10 hPa
RH = 100×(10/17) = 59%
Td = 7C

22
Lab 1: Weather observations
Record your observations here and use the SVP diagram on the next page to calculate the humidity
variables. (Do your values have the correct number of significant figures and do they have units?)

Date and time:

Air temperature:
Max. temperature:
Min. temperature:
Wet-bulb temperature:
Dew-point temperature:
Vapour pressure:
Relative humidity:
Total cloud cover:
Low level cloud cover:
Low level cloud type(s):
Middle level cloud type(s):
High level cloud type(s):
Cloud base height:
Wind speed:
Wind direction:
Current weather:
Past weather:
Visibility:
Pressure (measured in lab):
Pressure (corrected to Mean Sea Level):
Pressure tendency:

For this week only, you also have to submit your results on-line; instructions for how to do this will
be sent to your university email. Please submit your results as soon as possible after you have
attended your lab, and by 5pm on Friday 27th September at the latest. It should only take 5-10
minutes. It is important to submit your results, as the data will be used as part of the mid-term
exercise. If you have no values for a particular category, leave it blank. Don't worry if some of your
values appear to be incorrect; just enter what you have recorded.

23
SVP diagram for humidity calculations

Skew-T ln p diagram for predicting cloud base heights; you will learn how to use this in Lab 6

24
 Lab 2: Plotting observations

Decode these station plots

Type of observation:

Total cloud amount:

Wind Speed and direction:

Air and dew point temperatures:

Pressure:

Pressure tendency and trend:

Present and past weather:

Visibility:

Low cloud type, amount and height:

Medium cloud type:

High cloud type:

Gust speed:

Type of observation:

Total cloud amount:

Wind Speed and direction:

Air and dew point temperatures:

Pressure:

Pressure tendency and trend:

Present and past weather:

Visibility:

Low cloud type, amount and height:

Medium cloud type:

High cloud type:

Gust speed:

25
Type of observation:

Total cloud amount:

Wind Speed and direction:

Air and dew point temperatures:

Pressure:

Pressure tendency and trend:

Present and past weather:

Visibility:

Low cloud type, amount and height:

Medium cloud type:

High cloud type:

Gust speed:

Type of observation:

Total cloud amount:

Wind Speed and direction:

Air and dew point temperatures:

Pressure:

Pressure tendency and trend:

Present and past weather:

Visibility:

Low cloud type, amount and height:

Medium cloud type:

High cloud type:

Gust speed:

Plot station circles for these observations

26
Type of observation: Manual
Total cloud amount: 7/8
Wind Speed and direction: 5 knots SW
Air temperature: 13ºC
Wet bulb temperature: 10ºC
Pressure: 1022.5 hPa
Pressure tendency and trend: 2 hPa, rising then steady
Present and past weather: Continuous drizzle, drizzle in last 3 hours
Visibility: 4 km
Low cloud type, amount and height: 1/8 shallow cumulus at 1500 feet
Medium cloud type: Dense altostratus
High cloud type: 
Gust speed: 

Type of observation: Manual

Total cloud amount: 8/8
Wind Speed and direction: Calm
Air temperature: 12ºC
Wet bulb temperature: 11ºC
Pressure: 1018.8 hPa
Pressure tendency and trend: 4 hPa, rising
Present and past weather: Continuous rain, rain in last 3 hours
Visibility: 7 km
Low cloud type, amount and height: 8/8 stratus at 200 feet
Medium cloud type: 
High cloud type: 
Gust speed: 

Type of observation: Automatic

Total cloud amount: 8/8
Wind Speed and direction: 20 knots NW
Air temperature: 13ºC
Wet bulb temperature: 10ºC
Pressure: 998.7 hPa
Pressure tendency and trend: 2.1 hPa, rising then steady
Present and past weather: Continuous rain, more than 50% cloud cover in last 3
hours
Visibility: 40 km
Low cloud type, amount and height: 5/8 at 500 feet
Medium cloud type: 
High cloud type: 
Gust speed: 

27
28
Lab 2 Observations
Use this sheet and the SVP diagram on the next page to record and plot your observations from
Lab 2. More observation sheets are available at the back of this book for practice.

Date and time:

Air temperature:
Max. temperature:
Min. temperature:
Wet-bulb temperature:
Dew-point temperature:
Vapour pressure:
Relative humidity:
Total cloud cover:
Low level cloud cover:
Low level cloud type(s):
Middle level cloud type(s):
High level cloud type(s):
Cloud base height:
Wind speed:
Wind direction:
Current weather:
Past weather:
Visibility:
Pressure (measured in lab):
Pressure (corrected to Mean Sea Level):
Pressure tendency:

Station circle:

29
30
UK surface observations at 11:00 on Sunday 30 September 2007.
Pick a few to decode for practice.

31
32
 Lab 3: Wind chill
The purpose of this experiment is to investigate the effect that wind and evaporation have on
heat loss from an object. This is related to wind chill in humans and the measurement of wet-
bulb temperature. Wind chill is the apparent temperature, if the air were still, felt on the
exposed human body due to a combination of air temperature and wind speed. Wind chill does
not affect inanimate objects, only warm-bodied humans and animals.
A recent version of a wind chill table was derived from extensive studies by the meteorological
services of Canada and the U.S. and is appropriate for heat loss from an exposed human face,
taking account of physiological changes which occur when a person is exposed to cold stress. The
wind speed in this table is appropriate to face level rather than normal anemometer level of 10
metres (see the section Air Temperature and Human Comfort in Ahrens).
WIND
SPEED AIR TEMPERATURE (C)
(ms-1)
calm 0 -2 -4 -6 -8 -10 -12 -14 -16 -18 -20 -22 -24 -26 -28 -30
2 -3 -6 -8 -11 -13 -16 -18 -20 -23 -25 -28 -30 -32 -35 -37 -40
4 -5 -8 -11 -13 -16 -18 -21 -23 -26 -28 -31 -33 -36 -38 -41 -44
6 -7 -9 -12 -15 -17 -20 -22 -25 -28 -30 -33 -36 -38 -41 -43 -46
8 -8 -10 -13 -16 -18 -21 -24 -26 -29 -32 -35 -37 -40 -43 -45 -48
10 -9 -11 -14 -17 -19 -22 -25 -28 -30 -33 -36 -39 -41 -44 -47 -50
12 -9 -12 -15 -17 -20 -23 -26 -29 -31 -34 -37 -40 -42 -45 -48 -51
14 -10 -12 -15 -18 -21 -24 -27 -29 -32 -35 -38 -41 -43 -46 -49 -52
16 -10 -13 -16 -19 -22 -24 -27 -30 -33 -36 -39 -42 -44 -47 -50 -53
18 -10 -13 -16 -19 -22 -25 -28 -31 -34 -37 -39 -42 -45 -48 -51 -54
20 -11 -14 -17 -20 -23 -26 -28 -31 -34 -37 -40 -43 -46 -49 -52 -55
22 -11 -14 -17 -20 -23 -26 -29 -32 -35 -38 -41 -44 -47 -50 -53 -55
24 -12 -15 -18 -21 -24 -26 -29 -32 -35 -38 -41 -44 -47 -50 -53 -56
26 -12 -15 -18 -21 -24 -27 -30 -33 -36 -39 -42 -45 -48 -51 -54 -57
28 -12 -15 -18 -21 -24 -27 -30 -33 -36 -39 -42 -45 -48 -51 -54 -57
30 -13 -16 -19 -22 -25 -28 -31 -34 -37 -40 -43 -46 -49 -52 -55 -58
Frostbite in >> 30 min 10 min 5 min
What to do
Spend a few minutes reading these notes in full before you start so you know what to do. Ask if
you are confused.
In this experiment we will look at the rate of heat loss from a metal cylinder in air at various
wind speeds in order to investigate the cooling effect of wind. Get into groups of 2 or 3 people
(we only have 10 fans to go around).
First determine the air temperature (Tair) in the lab using the temperature probe. Use a ruler to
measure the (inner) dimensions of the tube you are using, and calculate the volume of water it
will hold.
Fill the tube with water from the hot tap (it should be 35-40°C). Insert the cork and
thermocouple in the top, locating the tip of the thermocouple as close to the middle of the tube
as possible. Make sure the outside of the tube is dry. Make sure that the water is well-mixed
before you take a temperature measurement by quickly inverting the tube. With the fan OFF,
observe the water temperature (Twater) at regular intervals (~30 seconds) as it cools towards
room temperature. About 7-8 minutes of measurements should be sufficient. Plot a graph of how
Twater varies with time.

33
Now repeat the experimental procedure three more times, but with the fan switched on. Try to
start from the same temperature and keep the tube at the same distance from the fan (about 50
cm). The three extra experiments are:
 Tube exposed to a low wind-speed (about 0.5 m s-1)
 Tube exposed to a high wind-speed (about 2 m s-1)
 Tube exposed to a high wind-speed and wrapped in a wet paper towel
Plot your results on the same graph as the first experiment (use a different colour or symbol for
each one).
Calculate how the cooling rate (C s-1) evolves in each experiment. Plot the cooling rate against
time. Use your results to determine by what factor the cooling rate at low and high speeds
exceeds that in still air.
For specific heat capacity of water 4200 J kg-1 K-1 and density 1000 kg m-3, what is the cooling
rate expressed in J s-1 (equal to Watts, W)? (You will need to use the volume of water to
calculate this). Add another axis to the cooling rate graph that shows the cooling rate in Watts.
Lastly, but most importantly, write down a physical explanation of the range of results.

Notes and calculations

Room temperature = (you should record this at least twice)

Volume of tube =

Conversion factor between C s-1 and Watts =

Physical explanation of results:

Attach any additional pages securely

34
 Temperature variation with time

Time Experiment 1 Experiment 2 Experiment 3 Experiment 4

35
 Cooling rate with time

Time Experiment 1 Experiment 2 Experiment 3 Experiment 4

36
37
 Lab 4: The passage of a cold front
On Saturday 4th October 2008 a cold front passed the UK sometime in the afternoon. Met Office
surface pressure charts at 12 noon and 6 pm and station plots from 9 am until 8 pm on the 4th of
October are shown on the next two pages. Examine each of the 12 station plots and enter data
values on five graphs for the following variables at Leuchars in Fife:
a) surface pressure (to nearest hPa)
b) air temperature (C)
c) wind direction (to nearest 45)
d) wind speed (knots – plot only the central value of the range)
e) cloud amount (fraction of 8ths) and low, medium and high cloud types
Then answer the following questions:
Q1) At what time did the cold front pass over Leuchars (to the nearest hour)? What other station
symbol (not one of the variables in the graphs) would enable you to determine that time?

Q2) Describe the temperature change between the hour that the front passed and the hour
after.

Q3) At what other time of day was there a similar variation in temperature between two
consecutive hours and how do you explain this?

Q4) Describe the wind direction change between the hour that the front passed and the
following hour. Did the wind veer or back? Is this to be expected?

Q5) Describe the variation in wind speed in the hours proceeding, at the time of, and the hour
following the passage of the cold front.

Q6) At what time did the sky begin to clear (reduced cloud amount by 5/8 oktas or less) after
the passing of the front?

Q7) What other cloud types appeared when the overall cloud amount reduced substantially (to
1/8 oktas) and what might this suggest?

38
39
40
41
 Lab 5: Convection
The atmosphere is, in general, notably stable with respect to the dry-adiabatic lapse-rate, but
sunshine heats the Earth’s surface and this heating is communicated upwards by turbulent
convective motions in the atmospheric boundary layer. We can simulate this in the laboratory
using a tank of water with a heating plate at its base. A stable stratification in the tank
(increasing temperature with height) can be set up using an immersion heater and the
temperature profile can be determined using thermistors. The motion of the fluid is made visible
by introducing a potassium permanganate solution at the bottom of the tank. After switching on
the heating, thermals will be seen to rise from the base, overshoot the level at which they have
zero buoyancy (the level where the temperature of the thermal is equal to that in its
surroundings) and sink back. Successive thermals rise higher as the warmed layer deepens.

Preparation
 Heat the upper layer of the water carefully so as not to disturb the lower layers.
 Pour the potassium permanganate solution down the funnel carefully so that it spreads
evenly across the bottom of the tank without mixing upwards.
 Note heights of thermometers above the base and initial temperature readings.
 Turn the heater dial to the voltage marked to give a 1 W cm-2 heat flux and start timing.

Observations
 Take temperature readings every minute.
 When thermals start to rise, sketch their structure.
 Sketch convection cells viewed by looking down into the tank.
 Record temperatures and heights of the mixed layer as it develops; this will happen quickly,
so take measurements more frequently.
 Switch off the heating as the mixed layer approaches a constant height. Note the structure
of the layer top.

Analysis
 Plot temperatures against thermometer height for at least the starting and finishing times on
the same graph.
 Plot the depth of the mixed layer against time.
 Calculate the average surface heat flux from the area between initial and final temperature
profiles using the equation
c z
H0 
t
 Ti
c is the volumetric heat capacity of water (4.2 JC-1cm-3), δz is the distance between
thermistors (2 cm), Δt is the time between the initial and final measurements (in seconds),
ΔTi is the difference between initial and final temperatures for one thermistor, and Σ
denotes the sum over all the thermistors. How well does your result compare with the
expected 1 W cm-2? Why might they differ?

42
 Temperature profiles

Time Temp. 1 Temp. 2 Temp. 3 Temp. 4 Temp. 5 Plume

height

43
Plume height / mixed layer depth with time

Notes, calculations and sketches

Attach any additional pages securely

44
 Lab 6: The skew-T ln p diagram
In this lab, we explore the make-up of the skew T – ln p diagram, and use it to plot and analyze
vertical temperature and dew point measurements.
There are blank charts in this book, but extra copies will be handed out in the lab; make sure
you stick/staple these securely into your lab book if you use them for plotting. You can also find
a pdf of this chart to print off yourself on WebCT, or here:
http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/homes/dstevens/TeachingMaterials.html

1. First, let’s try and identify what the different lines are on this complicated chart.
On the first blank skew T – ln p diagram:
(a) Colour and label three isobars (lines of constant pressure, p): 1000, 500 and 200 hPa.
(b) Using a different colour, label three isotherms (lines of constant temperature, T): -20, 0 and
+20°C.
(c) Similarly, label dry adiabats with potential temperatures (θ): -20, 0 and +20°C.
(d) …and wet adiabats with wet-bulb potential temperatures (θw): -20, 0 and +20°C.

(e) Finally, label three lines of constant saturation mixing ratio (ws) (1, 2, 5 g kg-1).

2. Now let’s look at a set of measurements from Lerwick, Shetland, on 17 October 2009:

Pressure (hPa) 1000 950 930 850 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100

Temperature (oC) 8.4 5.1 1.8 5.8 4.9 -1.7 -8.0 -19.3 -30.9 -42.9 -63.3 -55.5

Dew-point (oC) 3.4 2.5 1.4 -36.2 -26 -24.7 -34.3 -22.9 -37.9 -64.2 -74.3 -87.5

(a) Plot these data on the second blank chart - both dew point (Td) and temperature (T).
Connect the points for each quantity with straight lines, ideally in different colours (if your lines
cross, something went wrong: by definition Td must always be less than or equal to T).
(b) What is the moisture content (or saturation mixing ratio, ws) of the air at 930 hPa and 850
hPa? Estimate the range in moisture content of air near to the surface (1000-930 hPa) and
compare this to the moisture content of air between 850-500 hPa. Why do they differ?

45
(c) Describe the main features of the temperature profile (you should find four distinct height
ranges which show different behaviours). What do each of these layers correspond to? Estimate
the potential temperature (θ), and thickness (in metres) of air in the lowermost layer.

(d) Replot the 1000 hPa points on the expanded diagram above (first label some pressures and
heights on the vertical axis), and use Normand’s Law to estimate the lifting condensation level.
Lifting condensation level in hPa:
In m:

This level is approximately where rising surface air would condense and form a cloud. You can
use this method to estimate cloud base height if you know T and Td.

(e) Finally, use the enlarged diagram to determine the wet-bulb temperature at 1000 hPa.

Wet-bulb temperature:

46
Chart for question 1

47
Chart for question 2(a)

48
 Lab 7: Analysis of a typical thunderstorm in Edinburgh, 7th June 2011
On 7th June 2011, in mid-afternoon, I was looking out my office window and observed the sky
blacken quickly; there was a sudden onset of torrential rain, then hail, accompanied by thunder.
Shortly afterwards, the rain rapidly stopped. It was a typical example of a ‘single cell’
thunderstorm. In this lab, we will take a look at some meteorological data gathered on that day,
and try and understand what conditions led to this thunderstorm.

The figure below shows measurements from the University of Edinburgh weather station (on the
roof of JCMB), for ~24 hours from 0800 on 7th June 2011. The first plot shows air temperature
(from two different sensors in slightly different locations: one on the roof, one in the Stevenson
screen); next shows rainfall amount (mm per 1 minute time interval); next shows solar flux;
lowermost shows windspeed.

Air temperature (black line WS sensor, grey line Stevenson screen)

1. Exactly (to the nearest ~5 minutes) when was the thunderstorm? Using the data above,
quantitatively describe what happened over the hour or so before the storm, during the storm,
and in the hour or so afterwards.

49
2. The table below shows temperature and dew-point data from a vertical sounding taken near
Newcastle (the nearest available station to Edinburgh) at 12Z (closest to the time of the storm).

Vertical sounding data from Albemarle (Northumberland) for 12Z 07 Jun 2011
Pressure, p (hPa) Temperature, T (°C) Dew-point, Td (°C)
983 15.2 5.2
968 12.2 4.3
925 8.6 3.6
887 5.4 2.8
850 2.6 0.1
811 -0.3 -1.8
755 -3.6 -5.9
700 -7.5 -9.7
657 -9.3 -24.8
590 -13.3 -44.3
550 -15.9 -38.9
500 -21.1 -38.1
400 -33.1 -43.1
300 -47.7 -57.7
200 -45.7 -80.7

(a) Plot the data on a skew T-ln p chart (make sure you give the chart a sensible title, and
clearly label the two curves).

(b) Apply Normand’s Law and graphically calculate the lifting condensation level (LCL) and the
surface wet-bulb temperature (just like in the last lab).

LCL (hPa) =

Tw =

50
51
(c) Draw a saturated adiabat upwards from the LCL and shade the area of convective available
potential energy (CAPE) – this is an indication of the likelihood of a thunderstorm, as it identifies
unstable air. You should find that this profile has some CAPE, suggesting that thunderstorms may
occur. Indicate the equilibrium level (EL) on the chart and note it below (in both hPa and m).

EL (hPa) =

EL (m) =

(d) Let us suppose that surface temperature increases above that seen in the profile (but that
the rest of the profile stays the same), for example due to strong solar heating of the surface.
Show on your chart what would happen to CAPE and the EL if the surface temperature increased
to 20°C, and then 25°C.

Estimate the increase in CAPE relative to the value from the observed profile for each of the
higher temperatures.

(e) Now go back and look at what happened to surface temperature during the Edinburgh storm.
Again, estimate what happens to CAPE for the observed change in temperature. Why do think
the storm was short-lived?

52
 Lab 8: Radiation Instruments
The purpose of this short lab session is to familiarise you with
some radiation instruments and with the nature of solar and
terrestrial radiation.
Campbell-Stokes Sunshine Recorder
This sunshine recorder has been used, and continues to be used,
at many locations for measuring sunshine hours. It employs a
glass sphere to focus the sun's rays to an intense spot, which will
char a mark on a curved card mounted concentrically with the
sphere. As the Earth rotates, the position of the spot moves
across the card. When the sun is obscured, the trace is
interrupted. At the end of the day the total length of the trace,
less gaps, is proportional to the duration of sunshine.
The record cards are made from a special card which produces a
clearly visible trace even in weak sunlight. The cards are treated
to char rather than burn to ensure clarity of the trace. Different
cards are used for different seasons. Each card is marked with
hourly intervals. We have one of these instruments for you to
inspect. In the unlikely event that it is sunny, we may even be
able to show it in action.
Solarimeter
The solarimeter (or Moll-Gorczynski pyranometer)
measures the intensity of solar radiation and gives a
voltage output which can be measured with a
multimeter. Use the solarimeter provided to measure
the albedo of the surfaces provided. The albedo of a
surface is the fraction (or percentage) of incident solar
radiation that is reflected.
We have one of these instruments available which will
be set up as a demonstration, with two different
surfaces at which it can be pointed. Record the
downward and upward radiation readings for each
surface in the table and calculate the albedo for each
surface.
Surface Downward radiation Upward radiation Albedo

Thermal Radiation primer

In addition to the direct and scattered sunlight that surrounds us, we are also surrounded by a
similar amount of radiation at much longer wavelengths. This is emitted by absolutely every
object. The flux density, F, that leaves the surface of a body is given by Stefan's law: F = εσT4,
where T is the temperature of the body in KELVIN. The constant σ is a fundamental constant
called the Stefan-Boltzmann constant: it has the value 5.6704 × 10-8 Wm-2K-4. The emissivity ε is a
property of the surface; it is a number lying between 0 and 1. A body whose emissivity is exactly
1 is called a perfect radiator or a black body. Note: To convert from Degrees Celsius to Kelvin,
add 273.15.

53
Radiation Thermometers
We have three sorts of radiation thermometers: the large digitron
instruments, a new pistol-style instrument and the small “palm-of-
the-hand” ones (see picture). All of these instruments receive
thermal radiation from the object they are pointed at and display
this as the temperature of a black body that would emit the same
amount of radiation.
The little instruments have a rather wide beam; the large ones
(despite their clunky appearance) are better instruments for
observing a small area from a large distance. The pistol-style
instrument (if it is available) has an even narrower beam.
Take a radiation thermometer and measure the radiative temperature of a variety of objects.
Calculate the flux density that the object is emitting, and record the results below.
Make sure that your test objects include the sky vertically above you and the roof of the building
(or some other horizontal surface in the open air). What is the difference between the flux
density leaving the roof and the flux density coming downwards from the sky?

Make sure that one of your objects is a kettle of boiling water, which you know has a
temperature of 100°C. We should have a kettle available with a black side and a polished metal
side. Comment on the radiative temperatures that you observe from both sides:

Surface Radiative temperature Flux density

WARNING: The small radiation thermometers contain a laser pointer to help you aim the
thermometer at a target. When using this BE VERY CAREFUL to ensure that you are not aiming
anywhere near anyone else's eyes.
NOTE: If your radiation thermometer seems to be giving odd results, check with one of your
colleagues. If you are getting very different results, your instrument may have a flat battery, OR
it may be set to assume an emissivity less than one. Ask a demonstrator for assistance.

54
 Observation Sheet (extra blank copies)
Date and time:
Air temperature:
Max. temperature:
Min. temperature:
Wet-bulb temperature:
Dew-point temperature:
Vapour pressure:
Relative humidity:
Total cloud cover:
Low level cloud cover:
Low level cloud type(s):
Middle level cloud type(s):
High level cloud type(s):
Cloud base height:
Wind speed:
Wind direction:
Current weather:
Past weather:
Visibility:
Pressure (measured in lab):
Pressure (corrected to Mean Sea Level):
Pressure tendency:

Station circle:

55
56
 Observation Sheet
Date and time:
Air temperature:
Max. temperature:
Min. temperature:
Wet-bulb temperature:
Dew-point temperature:
Vapour pressure:
Relative humidity:
Total cloud cover:
Low level cloud cover:
Low level cloud type(s):
Middle level cloud type(s):
High level cloud type(s):
Cloud base height:
Wind speed:
Wind direction:
Current weather:
Past weather:
Visibility:
Pressure (measured in lab):
Pressure (corrected to Mean Sea Level):
Pressure tendency:

Station circle:

57
58
Use of plagiarism detection software

Note that computers may be used to detect plagiarism, whether by using something as
simple as a search engine such as Google (it is as easy for a marker to find online sources
as it is for you) or something more complex for specialized comparisons of work. Some
courses will use the JISC plagiarism detection service.
The plagiarism detection service is an online service hosted at www.submit.ac.uk that
enables institutions and staff to carry out electronic comparison of students' work against
electronic sources including other students' work. The service is managed by The
University of Northumbria on behalf of the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)
and is available to all UK tertiary education institutions by subscription.
The plagiarism detection service works by executing searches of the world wide web and
extensive databases of reference material, as well as content previously submitted by
other users. Each new submission is compared with all the existing information. The
software makes no decisions as to whether a student has plagiarised, it simply highlights
sections of text that are duplicated in other sources. All work will continue to be reviewed
by the course tutor. As such, the software is simply used as a tool to highlight any instance
where there is a possibly case of plagiarism. Passages copied directly or very closely from
existing sources will be identified by the software, and both the original and the potential
copy will be displayed for the tutor to view. Where any direct quotations are relevant and
appropriately referenced, the course tutor will be able to see this and will continue to
consider the next highlighted case.
Once work has been submitted to the system it becomes part of the ever growing
database of material against which subsequent submissions are checked. The copyright in
each work submitted remains with the original author, but a non-exclusive, non-
transferable, licence is granted to permit use of the material for plagiarism detection
purposes.
There is an on-line demonstration of the system available at
http://www.submit.ac.uk/

Own Work Declaration

When you submit your work to the Teaching Office in Crew, please sign the ‘Own Work
Declaration’ form at the submission box to indicate that you have adhered to the
University’s policies.

An example of what this form is on the next page.

59
 OWN WORK DECLARATION
By signing below, you indicate that you have adhered
to the University of Edinburgh’s Own Work Declaration
I confirm that all this work is my own except where indicated, and that I have:
1. I have read and understood the Plagiarism Rules & Regulations in the course sections and
Programme Handbooks;
2. I have clearly referenced / listed all sources as appropriate;
3. I have referenced and appropriately indicated all quoted text of more than three words (from books,
web, etc);
4. I have given the sources of all pictures, data etc that are not my own;
5. I have not made any use of the essay(s) of any other student(s) either past or present;
6. I have not submitted for assessment work previously submitted for any other course, degree or
qualification;
7. I have not incorporated any work from or used the help of any external professional agencies other
than extracts from attributed sources;
8. I have acknowledged in appropriate places any help that I have received from others (e.g. fellow
students, teachers in schools, external sources);
9. I have complied with any other plagiarism criteria specified in the course and Programme handbooks;
10. I understand that any false claim for any of the above will mean that the relevant piece of work will be
penalised in accordance with the University regulations

I understand that any false claim for this work will be penalised in accordance with the University regulations.

Course Name [Course Code]

Assignment Title Office Use
Matric
Number Name Signature

s0000001 Last, First

s0000002 Last, First

s0000003 Last, First

s0000004 Last, First

s0000005 Last, First

s0000006 Last, First

s0000007 Last, First

s0000008 Last, First

s0000009 Last, First

s0000010 Last, First

s0000011 Last, First

60