PRESSURE (1)
What is pressure?
– Air has mass -> attracted by gravity -> so has weight -> hence
force
– When exerted onto bodies -> has pressure
What is pressure altitude?
– Height above a standard datum plane (SDP), which is ISA 1013mb
– If altimeter is set for 1013mb, the altitude indicated is the pressure
altitude
– Basis for determining airplane performance, as well as assigning flight
levels to airplanes at or above 18000ft
What is density altitude?
– Pressure altitude corrected for temperature
– Where the aircraft thinks its at
– Decrease in density (higher alt / higher temp) = increase density
altitude
– Increase in density (lower alt / lower temp) = decrease density
altitude
– Higher the density altitude -> lower the aircraft performance
What is high pressure system?
– Clockwise at northern hemisphere
– Area of dry, descending air
– Good weather
What is low pressure system?
– Anti-clockwise at northern hemisphere
– Rising air
– Rain
– Bad weather
What is isobars?
– Lines drawn on the chart to depict lines of equal pressure, result in a
pattern that shows the pressure gradient or change in pressure over
distance
– Closely spaced indicate a steep pressure gradient and strong winds
prevail
– Help identify low and high pressure systems
– A high = area of high press system surrounded by lower pressure
– A low = area of low press system surrounded by higher pressure
– Ridge = elongated area of high press
– Trough = elongated area of low press
What is adiabatic heating and cooling?
– Adiabatic heating = When air descends -> atmospheric pressure
increases -> the air temp increases as it is compressed
– Adiabatic cooling = When air rises -> atmospheric pressure
decreases -> the air expands and temp decreases
Why moist air is less stable than dry air?
– Water vapor is lighter than air -> moisture decreases air density
-> causing it to rise
– Since moist air cools at a slower rate -> it must rise higher before
its temp cools to that of the surround air
– Dry adiabatic lapse rate = 3C per 1000ft
– Moist adiabatic lapse rate = 1.1C to 2.8C per 1000ft
What is inversion?
– Normal = as alt increase, temp decrease
– Inversion = as alt increase, temp increase
– Happens when warm air mass covers cold air mass
– The temp of air increase with altitude to a certain point, which is the
top of inversion
– Air at top of layer acts as lid, keeping weather and pollutants trapped
below
– if relative humidity is high -> can contribute to formation of clouds,
fog, haze, smoke
(Effects)
– Inversion layers = shallow layers of smooth, stable air close to the
ground, The temp of air increase with altitude to a certain point, which
is the top of inversion
– Surface-based temp inversions = clear, cool night -> air close to
ground cooled by low ground temp -> So air within a few hundred feet
of surface becomes cooler than air above it
– Frontal inversions = when warm air spreads over a layer of cooler air /
cooler air is forced under a layer of warmer air
What are the factors which can lead to air rising and cooling?
– Surface heating = The ground is heated by the sun which heats the
air in contact with it causing it to rise. The rising columns are often
called thermals
– Topography = Air forced to rise over a barrier of mountains or hills.
This is known as orographic uplift
– Frontal = A mass of warm air rising up over a mass of cold, dense air.
The boundary is called a 'front'
– Convergence = Streams of air flowing from different directions are
forced to rise where they meet
– Turbulence = A sudden change in wind speed with height creating
turbulent eddies in the air
– Another important factor to consider is that water vapor needs
something to condense onto. Floating in the air are millions of minute
salt, dust and smoke particles known as condensation nuclei which
enable condensation to take place when the air is just saturated