Air

Temperature
 DAILY WARMING AND COOLING AIR
NEAR THE SURFACE
• In a way, each sunny day is like a tiny season as the air
goes through a daily cycle of warming and cooling.
• However, somewhat surprisingly, noontime is usually
not the warmest part of the day.
 DAILY WARMING AND COOLING AIR
NEAR THE SURFACE
Daytime Warming
• There is difference in temperature between the air at
ground level and the air above it.
• Near the surface, convection begins, redistributing
heat.
• Large vertical temperature differences can exist.
 DAILY WARMING AND COOLING AIR
NEAR THE SURFACE
Daytime Warming
• On windy days, however, turbulent eddies can mix
hot, surface air with the cooler air above.
• Forced convection – helps the thermals to transfer
heat away from the surface more efficiently
 DAILY WARMING AND COOLING AIR
NEAR THE SURFACE
Daytime Warming
• warmest part of the day is usually in the afternoon
• Incoming solar radiation decreases in intensity after
noon, but for a time it still exceeds outgoing heat
energy from the surface.
 DAILY WARMING AND COOLING AIR
NEAR THE SURFACE
Daytime Warming
• Where the summer sky remains cloud-free all
afternoon, the maximum temperature may occur
sometime between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
• In winter, atmospheric storms circulating warm air
northward can even cause the highest temperature to
occur at night.
 The daily variation in air
temperature is controlled by
incoming energy (primarily from
the sun) and outgoing energy from
Earth’s surface. Where incoming
energy exceeds outgoing energy
(orange shade), the air temperature
rises. Where outgoing energy
exceeds incoming energy (gray
shade), the air temperature falls.
 DAILY WARMING AND COOLING AIR
NEAR THE SURFACE
Daytime Warming
• The highest summer temperatures usually occur over
desert regions, where clear skies coupled with low
humidity and meager vegetation permit the surface
and the air above to warm up rapidly.
 DAILY WARMING AND COOLING AIR
NEAR THE SURFACE
Nighttime Cooling
• Nights are cooler than daytime because, as the
afternoon sun lowers, its energy is spread over a larger
area, which reduces the heat available to warm the
ground.
 DAILY WARMING AND COOLING AIR
NEAR THE SURFACE
Nighttime Cooling
• Both the ground and air above cool by radiating
infrared energy, a process called radiational cooling.
• Ground – better radiator than air; able to cool more
quickly
 DAILY WARMING AND COOLING AIR
NEAR THE SURFACE
Nighttime Cooling
• As the night progresses, the ground and the air in
contact with it continue to cool more rapidly than the
air a few meters higher.
• The warmer upper air does transfer some heat
downward (air is poor thermal conductor).
 DAILY WARMING AND COOLING AIR
NEAR THE SURFACE
Nighttime Cooling
• However, by late night or early morning, the coldest
air is next to the ground, with slightly warmer air
above.
• This measured increase in air temperature just above
the ground is known as a radiation inversion /
nocturnal inversions.
 DAILY WARMING AND COOLING AIR
NEAR THE SURFACE
Cold Air Near the Surface
• A strong radiation inversion occurs when the air near
the ground is much colder than the air higher up.
• the air is calm, the night is long, and the air is fairly
dry and cloud-free
 DAILY WARMING AND COOLING AIR
NEAR THE SURFACE
Cold Air Near the Surface
• In a windless night, a stiff breeze tends to mix the
colder air at the surface with the warmer air above.
• This mixing causes a vertical temperature profile that
is almost isothermal.
 DAILY WARMING AND COOLING AIR
NEAR THE SURFACE
Cold Air Near the Surface
• Generally, the longer the night, the longer the time of
radiational cooling and the better are the chances that
the air near the ground will be much colder than the
air above.
 DAILY WARMING AND COOLING AIR
NEAR THE SURFACE
Cold Air Near the Surface
• Radiation inversions are more likely with a clear sky
and dry air.
• Also, on humid nights, condensation in the form of
fog or dew will release latent heat, which warms the
air.
On a clear, calm night, the
air near the surface can be
much colder than the air
above. The increase in air
temperature with
increasing height above
the surface is called a
radiation temperature
inversion.
 DAILY WARMING AND COOLING AIR
NEAR THE SURFACE
Cold Air Near the Surface
• On cold nights, plants and certain crops can be
damaged by the low temperatures. If the cold occurs
over a widespread area for a long enough time to
damage certain crops, the extreme cold is called a
freeze.
On cold, clear nights, the settling of cold air into valleys makes them colder than surrounding hillsides. The region along the side of the hill where the
air temperature is above freezing is known as a thermal belt.
 DAILY WARMING AND COOLING AIR
NEAR THE SURFACE
Diurnal Temperature Variations
• The difference between the daily maximum and
minimum temperature—called the daily (diurnal)
range of temperature—is greatest next to the ground
and becomes progressively smaller as we move away
from the surface.
• Larger on clear days than on cloudy ones
 DAILY WARMING AND COOLING AIR
NEAR THE SURFACE
Diurnal Temperature Variations
• Occurs on high deserts (air is dry, cloud-free, little
water vapor)
• Day – quick warming of the ground (38°C)
• Night – rapid cooling by radiation (7°C)
• Clouds – have large effect
 (a) Clouds tend to keep daytime temperatures lower and nighttime temperatures
higher, producing a small daily range in temperature. (b) In the absence of clouds,
days tend to be warmer and nights cooler, producing a larger daily range in
temperature.
 DAILY WARMING AND COOLING AIR
NEAR THE SURFACE
Diurnal Temperature Variations
• Humidity – humid regions: small temp range
• Haze and clouds – lower the temp (day)
• Moist air – keep the temp high (night)
• Cities near large bodies of water have smaller diurnal
temp range
 DAILY WARMING AND COOLING AIR
NEAR THE SURFACE
Diurnal Temperature Variations
• nighttime temperatures in cities tend to be warmer
than those in outlying rural areas
• Urban heat island
• sun’s energy is absorbed by urban structures and
concrete; during the night, this heat energy is slowly
released into the city air
 APPLICATIONS OF AIR
TEMPERATURE DATA
• heating degree day – people will begin to use their
furnaces when the mean daily temperature drops below
65°F
• As the mean daily temperature climbs above 65°F,
people begin to cool their indoor environment.
 APPLICATIONS OF AIR
TEMPERATURE DATA
• Cooling degree day is used during warm weather to
estimate the energy needed to cool indoor air to a
comfortable level.
• High values indicate warm weather and high power
production for cooling.
 APPLICATIONS OF AIR
TEMPERATURE DATA
• plan the size and type of equipment that should be
installed to provide adequate air conditioning
• Forecasting of cooling degree days on summer –
power companies predict the energy demand during
peak energy periods
 APPLICATIONS OF AIR
TEMPERATURE DATA
• Farmers – growing degree days (dates of planting and
harvesting crops)
• a day on which the mean daily temperature is one
degree above the base temperature
 AIR TEMPERATURE AND
HUMAN COMFORT
• The human body’s perception of temperature— called
sensible temperature—obviously changes with
varying atmospheric conditions.
• Stabilization of temperature through metabolism
• Heat absorbed = heat lost
• Emitting and absorbing infrared energy
 AIR TEMPERATURE AND
HUMAN COMFORT
• Conduction and convection
• There is an insulating layer of warm air close to the
skin
• How cold the wind makes us feel is usually expressed
as a wind-chill index (WCI).
 AIR TEMPERATURE AND
HUMAN COMFORT
• The freezing of the skin, called frostbite, usually
occurs on the body extremities first because they are
the greatest distance from the source of body heat.
• Wet skin can be a factor on how cold we feel (water on
skin conducts heat away)
 AIR TEMPERATURE AND
HUMAN COMFORT
• Hypothermia – rapid loss of body heat can lower the
body temperature below its normal level
• Constriction of blood vessels, cutting off blood flow in
the outer layers of the skin
 MEASURING AIR TEMPERATURE
• A very common thermometer for measuring surface air
temperature is the liquid-in-glass thermometer.
 The maximum thermometer looks A minimum thermometer measures
like any other liquid-in-glass the lowest temperature reached during
thermometer with one exception: It has a given period.
a small constriction within the bore just
above the bulb.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cpcwd-x-MI
 MEASURING AIR TEMPERATURE
• Highly accurate temperature measurements can be
made with electrical thermometers. One type of
electrical thermometer is the electrical resistance
thermometer.
• It measures the resistance of a wire, usually platinum
or nickel, whose resistance increases as the
temperature increases and is calibrated to represent air
temperature.
 MEASURING AIR TEMPERATURE
• Thermistor – used in radiosonde
• Electrical resistance thermometers – used in ASOS at
airports and military facilities
• Radiometers (infrared sensors) – measure emitted
radiation (intensity and wavelength)
• Bimetallic thermometer – two metals with different
reactions to temperature; part of thermograph
 Assessment Task – ESSAY
• Explain why the warmest time of the day is usually in the afternoon,
even though the sun’s rays are most direct at noon.
• On a calm, sunny day, why is the air next to the ground normally
much warmer than the air several feet above?
• Explain how incoming energy and outgoing energy regulate the daily
variation in air temperature.
• Explain how radiational cooling at night produces a radiation
temperature inversion.
• Explain why thermal belts are found along hillsides at night.