What affects the stability of an air mass?
What makes air stable or unstable? It is the vertical profile of temperature, or lapse rate of the atmosphere, which determines whether an air mass is stable or not. The temperature can be measured using an electronic thermometer attached to a helium-filled weather balloon released from the ground.
What would decrease the stability of an air mass quizlet?
Clouds with considerable vertical development and associated turbulence. What would decrease the stability of an air mass? Warming from below.
How does air mass become unstable?
Air is considered unstable, in the lowest layers of an air mass when the air is warmer and or more humid than the surrounding air. When this occurs the air will rise, as that air parcel is warmer than the air surrounding it. In an unstable environment, the weather can change suddenly and can be violent.
What determines the stability of air?
16. Atmospheric Stability. Concepts: Atmospheric stability determines whether or not air will rise and cause storms, sink and cause clear skies, or essentially do nothing. Stability is dependent upon the Dry and Saturated Adiabatic Lapse Rates and the Environmental Lapse Rate.
Which condition below would make a layer of air more unstable?
When a layer of air is forced to rise it tends to become more unstable because the top layer cools more rapidly than the bottom. This steepens the environmental lapse rate. This effect is enhanced even more when the lower layer of the lifted parcel is moist and the upper layer is dry.
What is stability of air mass?
Air mass having a stable stratification in its lower layer, and consequently free from convection, having a low degree of turbulence, and containing either stratiform clouds, fog, or no clouds at all.
Which would increase the stability of an air mass quizlet?
Terms in this set (33) Indicates stability: stability of the atmosphere is determined by vertical movements of air. Warm air rises when the air above is cooler. Cooling from below: surrounding air is warmer, which would increase the stability of an air mass.
What are characteristics of an unstable air mass?
Unstable air masses have cumuliform clouds which are clouds that stretch vertically up and down. They have staggering precipitation rather than having steady precipitation. They have rough air that causes turbulence and they have good visibility unless there are blowing obstructions in the air.
What causes absolute instability?
The atmosphere is said to be absolutely unstable if the environmental lapse rate is greater than the dry adiabatic lapse rate. This means that a rising air parcel will always cool at a slower rate than the environment, even when it is unsaturated.
What is stable and unstable air?
Stable air means that the weather is likely to be calm. It may rain or snow slowly and steadily it may be sunny but the weather will not change quickly. Unstable air means that the weather might change quickly with very little warning.
What conditions cause a stable air mass quizlet?
Indicates stability: stability of the atmosphere is determined by vertical movements of air. Warm air rises when the air above is cooler. Cooling from below: surrounding air is warmer, which would increase the stability of an air mass.
What is happening in the air parcels to cause stability or instability?
Stability is the state in which an air parcel finds itself colder than the air surrounding it at the same pressure (elevation). The air parcel will spontaneously sink. Instability is the state in which an air parcel finds itself warmer than the air surrounding it at the same pressure (elevation).
What causes stability and instability in the atmosphere?
An airmass ascends and becomes unstable when it becomes warmer than the surrounding airmass while descending airmass becomes stable. The stability and instability depend on the relationships between 'normal lapse rate' and 'adiabatic change of temperature'.
What are some characteristics of unstable air quizlet?
What are characteristics of unstable air? Turbulence and good surface visibility. Explanation: It is easy to associate turbulence with unstable air.
Which air mass is more stable?
If warm air is over cold air, this is stable. If cold air is over warm air this is unstable. For this reason, tropical air masses are usually less stable than polar air masses.