He points out another interesting meteorological-physics process at play, The compression of gas in a cylinder with a piston in combustion engine is a good 'real world' example of adiabatic compression ( though even it is not a perfect example).ĭr. John Monteverdi is a meteorology professor in the Department of Earth and Climate Sciences at San Francisco State University. This process is referred to as adiabatic warming. As a result, their temperature rises, even though no heat has been added. As it sinks deeper into the atmosphere, the pressure from the weight of the air above it pushes air molecules closer together, causing them to become more agitated and heating them up again. This process is referred to as adiabatic cooling.As the air cools down, it again begins to fall towards the surface of the Earth.

As a result, the temperature of these air molecules drops, despite the fact that no heat has been removed from them. As they do so, they become less agitated and vibrate slower. This is because there is less pressure higher in the atmosphere, allowing the air molecules to spread out more. In order to spread out, these molecules require energy. As it does so, this air continues to expand.

Because it is lighter, it rises upwards above the cooler air. actually does a nice job of simplifying these concepts,Īs air is heated it expands becoming less dense, and as a result, lighter. Now let's apply that to the atmosphere associated with Diablo Winds. Northern California fires in NOAA satellite imagery.

California fires 2017 map