Air Pollution -2
Temperature Profile with altitude
Why does temperature fall with elevation
• When we move up a hill, we notice a fall in temperature. Why?
• With increase in elevation, the atmospheric pressure falls. Fall in pressure implies that the temperature
also falls [Pressure is directly proportional to Temperature and vice versa]
• With increase in elevation, the concentration of greenhouse gases decrease (Water vapor and carbon
dioxide fall sharply with elevation). Hence the heat absorption capacity of atmosphere will also decrease.
• This sort of fall in temperature with elevation is called Temperature Lapse and the rate at which it happens
is called Temperature Lapse Rate or simply Lapse rate.
Adiabatic Lapse rate
• Lapse rate is the rate of fall in temperature of the atmosphere with elevation.
• Adiabatic Lapse Rate is the rate of fall in temperature of a rising or a falling air parcel adiabatically.
• Adiabatic or adiabatically: Heat doesn’t enter or leave the system. All temperature changes are internal.
• Adiabatic Lapse rate is governed by Gas law.
Adiabatic Lapse rate
• Lapse rate is the rate of fall in temperature of the
atmosphere with elevation.
• Adiabatic Lapse Rate is the rate of fall in temperature of a
rising or a falling air parcel adiabatically.
• Adiabatic or adiabatically: Heat doesn’t enter or leave the
system. All temperature changes are internal.
• Adiabatic Lapse rate is governed by Gas law.
Environmental Lapse Rate
The environmental lapse rate refers to the rate of temperature decrease with increasing altitude in the
Earth's atmosphere under calm, stable conditions. On average, the temperature decreases about 6.5 degrees
Celsius per 1000 meters (or 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit per 1000 feet) of ascent in the lower atmosphere. This
rate can vary due to factors like humidity, cloud cover, and air movement.
Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate:
It's the rate at which a dry parcel of air cools or warms as it ascends or descends in the atmosphere without
exchanging heat with its surroundings. It's approximately 9.8°C per kilometer (5.4°F per 1000 feet).
Wet Adiabatic Lapse Rate:
This rate occurs when a parcel of air contains moisture and reaches its dew point, leading to condensation.
It's around 5-9°C per kilometer (2.7-4.9°F per 1000 feet) and varies due to the release of latent heat during
condensation.
Sub-adiabatic Lapse Rate:
When the actual lapse rate (the rate at which temperature changes with altitude) is less than the dry
adiabatic lapse rate due to the influence of factors like radiation or local conditions, it's termed as sub-
adiabatic. It might lead to temperature inversions where the air near the surface is warmer than higher up.
Super Adiabatic Lapse Rate: In contrast to sub-adiabatic, a super-adiabatic lapse rate means the actual lapse
rate is higher than the dry adiabatic lapse rate, indicating rapid cooling with altitude. This scenario can lead to
instability and convective processes, often seen in thunderstorms.
Inversion: An inversion occurs when the usual decrease in temperature with altitude is inverted, resulting in an
increase in temperature with height. It often happens when a layer of warm air traps cooler air near the surface,
leading to stable atmospheric conditions, sometimes causing air pollutants to be trapped near the ground.
Relation Between ELR and ALR
Case 1: ELR > ALR (Super adiabatic condition)
An air parcel going up will continue to go up as the air parcel becomes warmer.
An air parcel going down will continue to go down as the parcel becomes colder than the surrounding air.
The air parcel is highly unstable.
This condition can be compared with a ‘ball on the concave down surface’. The ball on the surface tends to move in
either direction.
Case 2: ELR < ALR (Sub adiabatic condition)
It can be inferred from the plot that the ALR is steeper than the ELR. So,
If the parcel of air rises up, it becomes colder than the surrounding air. Hence, comes down to the original
position.
If the parcel of air goes down, it becomes warmer than the surrounding air. Hence, rises up to the original
position.
The air parcel is highly stable under this condition.
This condition can be compared with a ‘ball on the concave upward surface’. The ball on the surface tends to
come back to the central original position.
Let us assume the ELR has a negative sign(temperature increases with elevation). It happens rarely in the
atmosphere, so-called an extreme case. This is also called the case of temperature inversion, which we already
have seen. The air parcel undergoing this condition is extremely stable.
Case 3: ALR = ELR (Neutral condition)
As the environmental air has the same temperature as the air parcel, the parcel does not go up or down. This is a
neutral condition.
Inversion Condition
Favorable Conditions for Temperature Inversion
• Long winter nights: Loss of heat by terrestrial radiation from the ground surface during night may
exceed the amount of incoming solar radiation.
• Cloudless and clear sky: Loss of heat through terrestrial radiation proceeds more rapidly without any
obstruction.
• Dry air near the ground surface: It limits the absorption of the radiated heat from the Earth’s surface.
• Slow movement of air: It results in no transfer or mixing of heat in the lower layers of the atmosphere.
• Snow covered ground surface: It results in maximum loss of heat through reflection of incoming solar
radiation.
Plume Behaviour
A factory emits 100 pounds of particulate matter per day. Compute
the concentration of particulate matter in the air at a distance of
100 yards from the factory?
To compute the concentration of particulate matter (PM) in the air at a distance of 100 yards from the
general formula for the ground-level concentration 𝐶C at a certain distance 𝑑d downwind from the
factory, we can use a basic air dispersion model, assuming a uniform distribution and steady state. The
source is:
Where: Q is the emission rate of the pollutant (in mass per unit time), 𝑢 is the wind speed (in units of
distance per unit time), 𝑑 is the downwind distance from the source (in the same units as the wind
speed).
𝑄=100 pounds per day (converted to pounds per second for consistency with wind speed units),
Given:
𝑑=100d=100 yards (converted to meters),
Typical average wind speed 𝑢=5 m/s (as an example; specific local data would be needed for a precise
calculation).