1. Introduction to Climate and Environmental Physics
HS 2014
Lecture III
Christoph Raible, Markus Leuenberger, Fortunat Joos and Thomas Stocker

2. Open questions of the last lecture
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3. Open questions of the last lecture
Declination
Equinox
with b = 360°/365∙(d-81)

4. Open questions of the last lecture
Ozone effect: Why negative RF?

5. Temperature dependency of the saturation water vapor pressure (red) and the water vapor density in air in equilibrium (blue).
Temperature dependency of the saturation water vapor pressure (red) and the water vapor density in air in equilibrium (blue).

6. Vertical temperature structure of the atmosphere

7. Radiation
Net total (W/m2) top of Atmosphere

8. Geopotential hieght at 500 hPa
Mean annual geopotential height at the 500 hPa level (thickness of the air column from the bottom to a pressure of 500 hPa) (top left) and the mean annual wind speed in the free troposphere at the same pressure level (top right). Annual standard deviation of the geopotential height at the 500 hPa level (bottom left) and the geopotential height at the 500 hPa level (colors) and the surface pressure (contours) for the 26th of October (bottom right) (from NCEP/NCAR reanalysis project and GFS model of the American Weather Service).

9. Latitudinal structure of the typical circulation zones in the atmosphere
from NASA Earth observatory

10. Wind speed at 500 hPa
Mean annual geopotential height at the 500 hPa level (thickness of the air column from the bottom to a pressure of 500 hPa) (top left) and the mean annual wind speed in the free troposphere at the same pressure level (top right). Annual standard deviation of the geopotential height at the 500 hPa level (bottom left) and the geopotential height at the 500 hPa level (colors) and the surface pressure (contours) for the 26th of October (bottom right) (from NCEP/NCAR reanalysis project and GFS model of the American Weather Service).

11. Standard deviation of Z500 SLP for 26th Oct. 2008
Mean annual geopotential height at the 500 hPa level (thickness of the air column from the bottom to a pressure of 500 hPa) (top left) and the mean annual wind speed in the free troposphere at the same pressure level (top right). Annual standard deviation of the geopotential height at the 500 hPa level (bottom left) and the geopotential height at the 500 hPa level (colors) and the surface pressure (contours) for the 26th of October (bottom right) (from NCEP/NCAR reanalysis project and GFS model of the American Weather Service).

12. Latitudinal structure of the typical circulation zones in the atmosphere
from NASA Earth observatory

13. Coriolis force Nordhemisphaere – Ablenkung nach rechts
Suedhemisphaere Ablenkung nach links
Beschleunigtes Bezugssystem

14. Coriolis force Nordhemisphaere – Ablenkung nach rechts
Suedhemisphaere Ablenkung nach links

15. Coriolis force Nordhemisphaere – Ablenkung nach rechts
Suedhemisphaere Ablenkung nach links
Blau Coriolis
Gruen Cenrifugal
Grau total resultierend

16. Coriolis force Nordhemisphaere – Ablenkung nach rechts
Suedhemisphaere Ablenkung nach links

17. Storm Ulli UTC

19. Atmospheric Ekman spiral matching the geostrophic flow caused by the horizontal pressure gradients in the free troposphere
Atmospheric Ekman spiral matching the geostrophic flow caused by the horizontal pressure gradients in the free troposphere

21. Concept of the thermal wind

22. Conceptual view of the cyclogenesis in middle latitudes
. Conceptual view of the cyclogenesis in middle latitudes. Figure from Roedel (1994).