Questions tagged [convection]
The convection tag has no usage guidance.
23
questions
5
votes
0
answers
49
views
How do higher-latitude convection cell currents (Ferrel, Polar) work?
I'm a forest ecologist and college professor who has been teaching about the Earth's convection cell circulation for many years. Explaining Hadley cells is very straightforward with differences in ...
1
vote
0
answers
35
views
Do Self-Aggregation Simulations Depend Crucially on Radiative-Convective Equilibrium (RCE) Initial Conditions?
I've been reading papers on convective self-aggregation, such as Bretherton (2005) and Khairoutdinov (2003), and it's not clear to me why (or whether) self-aggregation depends on the model being ...
- 173
1
vote
2
answers
135
views
If I build a concrete surface on a 1km x 1km area and painted it black, will I create convection (updraft from ground)?
Providing there are low wind conditions and a clear sky, will the 1 km x 1 km black surface create an upward convention?
Let’s say I were to do this at 60$^\circ$ N longitude in march month, the ...
3
votes
1
answer
178
views
What "blobs" of molten material in Earth's interior are responsible for the rapidly moving north pole? Where are these blobs exactly?
IFL Science's Earth's North Magnetic Pole Is Heading Towards Siberia – And Scientists Now Know Why explains that the motion of Earth's north magnetic pole can be understood as follows:
A new study, ...
- 6,942
0
votes
0
answers
403
views
Milankovitch cycles and what?
Observe the vertical green lines in this diagram:
Those events shows when temperature starts to sink when radiance is at top or even before that. If there was a simple connection between radiance and ...
- 321
1
vote
2
answers
225
views
What could cause a turn from global warming to global cooling?
Except a hypothesized orbital forcing! Ice cores shows that there are several irregular sharp temperature peaks in between of the big 100,000 years glaciations. What could cause those peaks?
Almost ...
- 321
4
votes
0
answers
43
views
What is the minimum temperature difference to drive mantle convection?
The condition for convection to cease is that the Rayleigh number $$\mathrm{Ra}=\frac{g\rho\alpha L^3\Delta T}{\kappa\nu}\lessapprox 10^3.$$ For the Earth's mantle I have seen estimates of $\mathrm{Ra}...
- 441
1
vote
0
answers
105
views
Atmospheric pressure and heat convection
If hot air rises due to convection, how does it get colder when we climb mountains?
After some research, I found out that atmospheric pressure affects the temperature of the surroundings. How does ...
- 21
13
votes
1
answer
1k
views
How big does a lake have to be to have its own Sea Breeze?
How big does a body of water need to have a sea breeze? Is there a chart on sea breezes wind speed that include lakes?
Could a circular lake create enough sea breeze to create a wind vortex in the ...
- 1
2
votes
1
answer
116
views
T-phigram satellite derived sounding vs model output question
I have this satellite derived sounding(T-phi gram) of a mountainous area and from what little I can make out it appears that probability of precipitation is almost negligible. Let us assume my model ...
- 6,287
5
votes
0
answers
61
views
Energy Released From Thunderstorms
I'm a flight instructor looking for a better way to drive home the dangers related to flying in and around thunderstorms (TS). The FAA has mountains of operational guidance for airmen regarding TS ...
- 163
6
votes
1
answer
224
views
What are the best maps, if any, we have of the convection cells in the Earth's mantle?
As the title states, what maps, if any, do we have of convection currents inside the Earth's mantle, and which would you suggest to be the most detailed and accurate?
- 435
2
votes
2
answers
55
views
Which equations describe complete (or near complete) behaviour of magma moving through rocks?
Yes this is a bit broader question but I want to know which processes play their role in movement of magma. If one wants to model magma movement through rocks, which processes should one not miss at ...
- 759
7
votes
3
answers
1k
views
How can we have "floating" and convection currents in a non-liquid mantle?
I've always thought the earth's layers were as follows:
Crust, a few dozen KM think in most places
Mantle, completely composed of liquid rock and molten metals, a few thousand KM thick
Outer Core, ...
- 307
6
votes
0
answers
1k
views
What would the climate be like on an Earth-like planet if it had only one convection cell per hemisphere?
Earth has three convection cells per hemisphere. These are the Polar cell, Ferrel cell and Hadley cell. These create the trade winds, westerlies and polar easterlies which control many aspects of ...
13
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Intuitive definition of the Monin-Obukhov length?
The Monin-Obukhov length (L) is defined as:
$$L = - \frac{\rho C_p T_v u^3_*}{kgH}$$
where $\rho$=moist air density; $C_p$=air specific heat capacity; $T_v$=virtual temperature; $u^3_*$=wind ...
- 5,377
7
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Why do the dry and moist adiabatic lapse rates converge with height?
Near the surface, the slope of the moist adiabats are much steeper than dry adiabats due (as I understand it) to the the latent heat released as water vapour condenses. The difference is amplified at ...
- 173
8
votes
1
answer
352
views
Laboratory simulation of the Earth's magnetic field
I remember reading an article where a scientist was able to make a spinning iron tube with liquid nickel inside and it created a magnetic field, providing a laboratory-scale simulation of the ...
12
votes
1
answer
383
views
How can you explain this storm phenomenon?
It's been a while since this happened, so I don't have many details. About 3 years ago, we had a popup storm here in Louisville. It was completely unexpected and unpredicted. That's not the strange ...
- 223
13
votes
1
answer
298
views
Is Mars' mantle homogeneous or heterogeneous and what might this say about mantle convection?
A supervisor of mine made an off-hand comment about the fact that Mars used to have plate tectonics, and there is evidence that Mars used to have plate tectonics, however now it does not. The theory ...
- 1,715
12
votes
1
answer
581
views
Are mantle plumes distributed around the core randomly or in a known pattern?
Background:
The theory of mantle plumes is useful (although controversial) in explaining the occurrence of intra-plate volcanoes. The website here suggests that "hotspots" exist in fixed locations ...
- 7,476
23
votes
1
answer
2k
views
What causes 'positive' lightning to be rarer, higher charged, and longer lasting than 'negative' lightning?
Why is 'positive' lightning rarer, brighter, higher charged, and longer lasting than 'negative' lightning? Are there any other unique characteristics to positive lightning that sets it apart from ...
- 2,608
9
votes
1
answer
602
views
Can overshooting tops enter the stratosphere, or will they rather push the tropopause upward?
Convective overshooting tops
reach above the normally horizontal flat layer of the convective system, a layer that should coincide with the tropopause. If we have such an overshooting top, does this ...
- 11.4k