Atmospheric physics Definition and 17 Threads

I love weather and atmospheric physics! So when I recently read Dune, I couldn’t stop thinking about the “Coriolis Storm”, wondering if such a crazy storm could really exist, ripping around an Earth-like planet at 700 km/h. For me, this became a worldbuilding exercise: What makes the windiest...

That question has been puzzling me recently. But I know there is a simple answer to it.

Hi! I would be interested in properly referenced data about the most powerful / energetic lightning bolts on Earth to get a good idea about their maximum possible order of magnitude (maybe depending on location?) Both direct measurements or indirect but well-founded estimates (e.g. satellite...

Hello everyone! I'm currently an Aerospace major student entering my third year of college, studying in northern Mexico. After enrolling in a summer school by Mexico's national space weather lab, I have been offered an opportunity to participate in the development of an ionosonde antenna in my...

In a book on atmospheric physics I'm reading, the author begins a derivation by examining a fluid element of volume V = δxδyδz. In this context, what purpose is delta δ serving? Is it just a placeholder for an unspecified volume in the x, y, and z directions, or is it referring to an...

Homework Statement For an atmospheric physics class, we are given this problem that I and a classmate have been struggling with for days. Reaching out here for some help. Full Problem statement in the image attached. We have a balloon at 293 K and 101,300 Pa. How much fuel is needed to raise...

Is there a guide, based on existing evidence, that I could use to infer realistically how color would be affected on alien worlds due to factors like star class, luminosity, atmospheric composition, etc? I'm planning to develop a not-too-too-distant future scenario where all the stars in...

Can you suggest possible master thesis topics relating to atmospheric physics? I have a bachelor's degree in physics and I mostly comfortable in numerical and theoretical physics. Since this field is somewhat new to me, I need to have a number of options on what topics to choose from. Thank you...

Homework Statement Gravity Waves. Consider a pattern of motion in which fluid elements move at an angle θ to the vertical. Show that for an atmosphere where the Brunt-Vaisala frequency is ωB the elements will oscillate with a frequency ν = N cos θ. Homework Equations , -Brunt Vaisala...

I do know this is very vague and maybe a little bit dumb. But are there languages that are ,generally,used much more than others in atmospheric physics?Excluding meteorology. I put this thread in Academic Guidance because this question is translated to "What computer languages should I focus on...

Homework Statement Suppose ##10^{14} kg## of carbon dioxide was released into the atmosphere and absorbed completely, what is the percentage change of carbon dioxide concentration? Take initial atmospheric mass mixing ratio to be ## 5.7 \times 10^{-4} kg/kg##. Homework EquationsThe Attempt at...

I'm studying Modelling of Low Latitude Ionospheric Irregularities by A. K. Singh et al., at a research level. I really need help on the explanation of this paper as several messages to the authors has left no replies. Link to the paper...

I'm interested in rainbows. I'm talking about good old fashioned arc/halo rainbows like those you see in the sky. Sometimes you see rainbows from lawn sprinklers. How small would the smallest rainbow arc conceivably possible to view be? Could I make a rainbow at night using a sprinkler with a...

Homework Statement Is there any way we can measure the thickness of an exposed PTFE membrane air sampling filter? An unexposed filter (from the filter datasheet) has a thickness of 40μm. We have 5 ambient air exposed filters with the following mass concentrations: 1μg/m3 (filter 1), 20.1 μg/m3...

I'm a 2nd year applied physics student in university and I'm wondering if anyone has advice on careers in atmospheric physics / geophysics. Although it is controversial I would like to go into the field of research of climate control by injecting volcanic ash into the atmosphere. Does...

Homework Statement Consider a layer of unsaturated air on Earth, 2000 m thick, whose base is at a height of 4000 m above sea level. The layer sinks and is compressed till its base is at 350 m and its top is at 1650 m. If the layer now provides a subsidence inversion, calculate the maximum...

"A parcel of air is lifted slowly from the ground, where the temperature is 295K, to an elevation of 5km, and then returned rapidly to the ground. Estimate the air parcel temperature at 5km and after it returns to the groundm explanation any assumptions." I assumed an adiabatic process both...