Meteorology core concepts

1. Thermal Energy and Heat: Thermal energy is the total internal energy of the molecules in a substance due to their motion.
   In the atmosphere, it represents how much energy air molecules possess because of their temperature. Heat is the transfer of thermal energy from one object or substance to another due to a temperature difference. Higher temperature = more thermal energy. All weather starts from the uneven distribution of thermal energy. Examples in Weather:

• Sun heats land → thermal energy increases → warm air rises → convection currents.
• Air masses with different heat contents meet → fronts and storms form.
• Latent heat released during condensation powers cyclones and thunderstorms.

2. Conduction: Conduction is the process of heat transfer through direct contact between molecules — without the movement of the substance itself., How Conduction Works in Weather:

• The sun heats the Earth's surface (land or water).
• The air in contact with the surface warms up through conduction.
• This warm air can then rise, leading to convection currents.

Examples in Meteorology & Aviation:

• Surface Heating: During the day, the ground heats up and transfers heat to the bottom layer of the atmosphere by conduction.
• Fog Formation at Night: At night, the ground cools quickly, and the adjacent air also cools by conduction, which can lead to radiation fog if air becomes saturated.
• Runway Heat Impact: Heated runways can warm the nearby air, leading to thermal turbulence, especially noticeable during takeoff.

3. Convection: Convection is the transfer of heat by the movement of air (fluid). In meteorology, convection is one of the most important processes that drives weather patterns like clouds, storms, and turbulence.

What is convection?

• When air near the ground is heated, it becomes lighter and rises.
• Cooler, denser air sinks to replace it.
• This vertical movement of air is called convection.

4. Radiation: Radiation is the transfer of energy through electromagnetic waves, without needing any medium (like air or water). It's a key process in meteorology because it explains how the Earth receives energy from the Sun and how it cools down at night.

How Radiation Works in Weather:

• The Sun emits shortwave radiation → Earth absorbs it during the day.
• The Earth then emits longwave radiation back into the atmosphere (infrared).
• Radiated heat can travel even if there is no atmosphere, even through the vacuum of space.

5. Advection: Advection is the horizontal movement of air (or other atmospheric properties) from one place to another. Unlike convection (which is vertical), advection moves heat, moisture, or pollutants sideways through the atmosphere, usually due to wind. Wind blowing warm air from one region to another: that's advection.
6. Latent Heat: Latent heat is the hidden heat involved when a substance changes its state (like from liquid to gas or solid to liquid) without changing its temperature. In meteorology, latent heat is crucial to cloud formation, weather systems, and storm development.
7. Specific Heat: Specific heat is the amount of heat energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of a substance by 1°C. In meteorology, it helps explain why land and sea heat up and cool down at different rates, affecting winds, weather patterns, and local climates. Specific heat is a measure of how much heat is required for a substance to change its state.

• Rocks and sand have very low specific heat. So when the heat source is removed, it gets cooled easily. Hence, deserts are desperately hot during the day but freezing cold at night.