Skip Navigation Links weather.gov 
NOAA logo-Select to go to the NOAA homepage
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's   
  Select to go to the NWS homepage
National Weather Service   
 
 
Local forecast by
"City, St"
USA.gov is the U.S. government's official web portal to all federal, state and local government web resources and services.

  Home > Glossary

 
Adiabatic
Changes in temperature caused by the expansion (cooling) or compression (warming) of a body of air as it rises or descends in the atmosphere, with no exchange of heat with the surrounding air.
Adiabatic Lapse Rate
The rate of decrease of temperature experienced by a parcel of air when it is lifted in the atmosphere under the restriction that it cannot exchange heat with its environment. For parcels that remain unsaturated during lifting, the (dry adiabatic) lapse rate is 9.8°C per kilometer.
Adiabatic Process
A process which occurs with no exchange of heat between a system and its environment.
Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate
The rate at which the temperature of a parcel of dry air decreases as the parcel is lifted in the atmosphere. The dry adiabatic lapse rate (abbreviated DALR) is 5.5°F per 1000 ft or 9.8°C per km.
Dry-adiabatic
1. An adiabatic process in a hypothetical atmosphere in which no moisture is present. 2. An adiabatic process in which no condensation of its water vapor occurs and no liquid water is present.
Moist Adiabatic Lapse Rate
(abbrev. MALR)- The rate at which the temperature of a parcel of saturated air decreases as the parcel is lifted in the atmosphere. The moist adiabatic lapse rate (abbreviated MALR) is not a constant like the dry adiabatic lapse rate but is dependent on parcel temperature and pressure.
Moist-adiabatic
(Also known as saturation-adiabatic process.) An adiabatic process for which the air is saturated and may contain liquid water. A distinction is made between the reversible process, in which total water is conserved, and the pseudoadiabatic or irreversible moist adiabatic process, in which liquid water is assumed to be removed as soon as it is condensed.

You can either type in the word you are looking for in the box below or browse by letter.

Search:

Browse by letter:

#  A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  

 

 

    US Dept of Commerce
    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
    National Weather Service
    1325 East West Highway
    Silver Spring, MD 20910
    Page Author: NWS Internet Services Team
Disclaimer
Information Quality
Credits
Glossary
Privacy Policy
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
About Us
Career Opportunities
     Page last Modified: 25 June, 2009 1:01 PM