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Atmospheric instability is a condition where the Earth's atmosphere is considered to be unstable and as a result local weather is highly variable through distance and time. [ clarification needed ] [ 1 ] Atmospheric instability encourages vertical motion, which is directly correlated to different types of weather systems and their severity.
A formal definition from the Glossary of Meteorology [3] is: The decrease of an atmospheric variable with height, the variable being temperature unless otherwise specified. Typically, the lapse rate is the negative of the rate of temperature change with altitude change: =
Some atmospheric conditions, such as very warm, moist, air in an atmosphere that cools rapidly with height, can promote strong and sustained upward air movement, possibly stimulating the formation of cumulus clouds or cumulonimbus (thunderstorm clouds). In that situation the potential energy of the atmosphere to cause upward air movement is ...
Atmospheric instability; Atmospheric stratification, the dividing of the upper reaches of the Earth's atmosphere into stably-stratified layers; Atmospheric circulation, caused by the unstable stratification of the atmosphere; Thermohaline circulation, circulation in the oceans despite stable stratification.
Instability results from difference between the adiabatic lapse rate of an air mass and the ambient lapse rate in the atmosphere. [2] If the adiabatic lapse rate is lower than the ambient lapse rate, an air mass displaced upward cools less rapidly than the air in which it is moving. Hence, such an air mass becomes warmer relative to the ...
In a stable atmosphere vertical movement of air is generally difficult, whereas in an unstable atmosphere vertical disturbances can be quite exaggerated, resulting in turbulent airflow and convective activity that may lead to extensive vertical clouds, storms, and severe weather. convective outlooks convective storm detection convergence
A ball on the top of a hill is an unstable situation. In dynamical systems instability means that some of the outputs or internal states increase with time, without bounds. [1] Not all systems that are not stable are unstable; systems can also be marginally stable or exhibit limit cycle behavior.
the atmosphere is unstable to vertical motions, and convection is likely. Situations in which the equivalent potential temperature decreases with height, indicating instability in saturated air, are quite common.