What does conditional instability mean?

Atmospheric condition in which otherwise stable air, on being forced to rise (e.g. over an orographic barrier), cools at a rate less than that at which the temperature drops with height in the surrounding air. The rising air therefore becomes warmer than the surrounding air, and so continues to rise.

How does lapse rate affect stability?

The atmosphere is considered to be stable if a rising parcel cools faster than the environmental lapse rate. This causes the air parcel to be cooler and more dense than its surroundings and, therefore, lose its buoyancy. Vertical motions tend to be restricted when the atmosphere is in stable equilibrium.

What is the criterion for conditional instability?

The state of a layer of unsaturated air when its lapse rate of temperature is less than the dry-adiabatic lapse rate but greater than the moist-adiabatic lapse rate. This definition does not require that such a parcel be obtained by adiabatic displacement from any level. …

What lapse rate is unstable?

Values less than 5.5-6.0 C km-1 (“moist” adiabatic) represent “stable” conditions, while values greater than 9.8 C km-1 (“dry” adiabatic) are considered “absolutely unstable.” In between these two values, lapse rates are considered “conditionally unstable.” Conditional instability means that if enough moisture is …

What does conditional stability mean in meteorology?

conditional stability. In meteorology, it is that condition when the observed lapse rate is between the dry and wet adiabatic lapse rates.

What does conditional stability mean for webmasters?

For webmasters: conditional stability. In meteorology, it is that condition when the observed lapse rate is between the dry and wet adiabatic lapse rates.

What is the log k of conditional stability?

Its conditional stability constant (log K) is 7.98. The author discussed some inverse source problems for parabolic equations in 1D case (see [36-38] for instance) and gave conditional stability estimates for determining the source term or source coefficient using the variational identity method.

What are the dry and wet adiabatic lapse rates?

Dry and wet adiabatic lapse rates are the rates of fall of the temperature of a mass of dry and saturated air with height when these are lifted adiabatically. The values for DALR (dry adiabatic lapse rate) and SALR (saturated adiabatic lapse rate) are 3°C/5.4°F and 1.5°C/2.7°F per thousand feet, respectively.