Assignment 2 Met
1. Is a temperature inversion more likely to form on a calm or a windy night? Why?
A temperature inversion is most likely to form on a calm night. Windy nights are not ideal for an inversion to occur since an inversion is considered a stable layer of atmosphere as well as due to the wind mixing the air to even out the density, remembering cold air is denser than warm air so it will flow downhill and pool in a valley.
2. What are the various methods used to protect sensitive crops from damaging low temperatures? Explain why each method works.
Various methods to help protect sensitive crops include:
a. Orchard heaters – “smudge pots” help warm air around the trees by setting up convection currents close to the ground.
b. Wind machines – power driven fans which resemble plane propellers that mix cold air at ground level and warm air from higher up resulting in increasing the air next to the ground.
c. Irrigation – on potentially cold nights the grounds of orchards will be flooded since water has a high heat capacity; meaning it cools significantly cooler than dry soil will. Wet soil will also conduct heat upward keeping the surface warmer.
d. Sprinkler System – emitting a find spray of water in cold air the water will freeze around the branches and buds which will coat with a very fine layer of ice. If the spray continues the latent heat keeps the ice temperature at 0 degrees Celsius acting as a protective layer to subfreezing temperatures in the air.
3. Would a strong radiation inversion be more likely to form on a winter night or a summer night? Explain your answer. A strong radiation inversion would form on a winter night. Winter nights offer the best conditions for a radiation inversion due to the sun’s angle being very low in the sky, remembering a radiation inversion forms when the lowest levels of the atmosphere cool down via contact with the Earth’s surface therefor emitting radiation.
4. Explain why the dew point temperature provides a better
A temperature inversion is most likely to form on a calm night. Windy nights are not ideal for an inversion to occur since an inversion is considered a stable layer of atmosphere as well as due to the wind mixing the air to even out the density, remembering cold air is denser than warm air so it will flow downhill and pool in a valley.
2. What are the various methods used to protect sensitive crops from damaging low temperatures? Explain why each method works.
Various methods to help protect sensitive crops include:
a. Orchard heaters – “smudge pots” help warm air around the trees by setting up convection currents close to the ground.
b. Wind machines – power driven fans which resemble plane propellers that mix cold air at ground level and warm air from higher up resulting in increasing the air next to the ground.
c. Irrigation – on potentially cold nights the grounds of orchards will be flooded since water has a high heat capacity; meaning it cools significantly cooler than dry soil will. Wet soil will also conduct heat upward keeping the surface warmer.
d. Sprinkler System – emitting a find spray of water in cold air the water will freeze around the branches and buds which will coat with a very fine layer of ice. If the spray continues the latent heat keeps the ice temperature at 0 degrees Celsius acting as a protective layer to subfreezing temperatures in the air.
3. Would a strong radiation inversion be more likely to form on a winter night or a summer night? Explain your answer. A strong radiation inversion would form on a winter night. Winter nights offer the best conditions for a radiation inversion due to the sun’s angle being very low in the sky, remembering a radiation inversion forms when the lowest levels of the atmosphere cool down via contact with the Earth’s surface therefor emitting radiation.
4. Explain why the dew point temperature provides a better