Virtual temperature

In atmospheric thermodynamics, the virtual temperature () of a moist air parcel is the temperature at which a theoretical dry air parcel would have a total pressure and density equal to the moist parcel of air.[1] The virtual temperature of unsaturated moist air is always greater than the absolute air temperature, however, as the existence of suspended cloud droplets reduces the virtual temperature.

The virtual temperature effect is also known as the vapor buoyancy effect.[2] It has been described to increase Earth's thermal emission by warming the tropical atmosphere.[3][4]

  1. ^ Bailey, Desmond T. (February 2000) [June 1987]. "Upper-air Monitoring" (PDF). Meteorological Monitoring Guidance for Regulatory Modeling Applications. John Irwin. Research Triangle Park, NC: United States Environmental Protection Agency. pp. 9–14. EPA-454/R-99-005.
  2. ^ "Cold air rises—what that means for Earth's climate". phys.org. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  3. ^ Yang, Da; Seidel, Seth D. (2020-04-01). "The Incredible Lightness of Water Vapor". Journal of Climate. 33 (7): 2841–2851. Bibcode:2020JCli...33.2841Y. doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-19-0260.1. ISSN 0894-8755.
  4. ^ Seidel, Seth D.; Yang, Da (2020-05-01). "The lightness of water vapor helps to stabilize tropical climate". Science Advances. 6 (19): eaba1951. Bibcode:2020SciA....6.1951S. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aba1951. ISSN 2375-2548. PMC 7202867. PMID 32494724.