Convective available potential energy

In meteorology, convective available potential energy (commonly abbreviated as CAPE), is the amount of energy a given mass of air (called an air parcel) would have if lifted a certain distance vertically through the atmosphere. CAPE is effectively the positive buoyancy of an air parcel and is an indicator of atmospheric instability, which makes it very valuable in predicting severe weather. It is a form of fluid instability found in thermally stratified atmospheres in which a colder fluid overlies a warmer one. An air mass will rise if it is less dense than the surrounding air (its buoyant force is greater than its weight). This can create vertically developed clouds due to the rising motion, which could lead to thunderstorms. It could also be created by other phenomena, such as a cold front. Even if the air is cooler on the surface, there is still warmer air in the mid-levels, that can rise into the upper-levels. However, if there is not enough water vapor present, there is no ability for condensation, thus storms, clouds, and rain will not form. In meteorology, convective available potential energy (commonly abbreviated as CAPE), is the amount of energy a given mass of air (called an air parcel) would have if lifted a certain distance vertically through the atmosphere. CAPE is effectively the positive buoyancy of an air parcel and is an indicator of atmospheric instability, which makes it very valuable in predicting severe weather. It is a form of fluid instability found in thermally stratified atmospheres in which a colder fluid overlies a warmer one. An air mass will rise if it is less dense than the surrounding air (its buoyant force is greater than its weight). This can create vertically developed clouds due to the rising motion, which could lead to thunderstorms. It could also be created by other phenomena, such as a cold front. Even if the air is cooler on the surface, there is still warmer air in the mid-levels, that can rise into the upper-levels. However, if there is not enough water vapor present, there is no ability for condensation, thus storms, clouds, and rain will not form. CAPE exists within the conditionally unstable layer of the troposphere, the free convective layer (FCL), where an ascending air parcel is warmer than the ambient air. CAPE is measured in joules per kilogram of air (J/kg). Any value greater than 0 J/kg indicates instability and an increasing possibility of thunderstorms and hail. Generic CAPE is calculated by integrating vertically the local buoyancy of a parcel from the level of free convection (LFC) to the equilibrium level (EL): C A P E = ∫ z f z n g ( T v , p a r c e l − T v , e n v T v , e n v ) d z {displaystyle mathrm {CAPE} =int _{z_{mathrm {f} }}^{z_{mathrm {n} }}gleft({frac {T_{mathrm {v,parcel} }-T_{mathrm {v,env} }}{T_{mathrm {v,env} }}} ight),dz} Where z f {displaystyle z_{mathrm {f} }} is the height of the level of free convection and z n {displaystyle z_{mathrm {n} }} is the height of the equilibrium level (neutral buoyancy), where T v , p a r c e l {displaystyle T_{mathrm {v,parcel} }} is the virtual temperature of the specific parcel, where T v , e n v {displaystyle T_{mathrm {v,env} }} is the virtual temperature of the environment (note that temperatures must be in the Kelvin scale), and where g {displaystyle g} is the acceleration due to gravity. This integral is the work done by the buoyant force minus the work done against gravity, hence it's the excess energy that can become kinetic energy. CAPE for a given region is most often calculated from a thermodynamic or sounding diagram (e.g., a Skew-T log-P diagram) using air temperature and dew point data usually measured by a weather balloon. CAPE is effectively positive buoyancy, expressed B+ or simply B; the opposite of convective inhibition (CIN), which is expressed as B-, and can be thought of as 'negative CAPE'. As with CIN, CAPE is usually expressed in J/kg but may also be expressed as m2/s2, as the values are equivalent. In fact, CAPE is sometimes referred to as positive buoyant energy (PBE). This type of CAPE is the maximum energy available to an ascending parcel and to moist convection. When a layer of CIN is present, the layer must be eroded by surface heating or mechanical lifting, so that convective boundary layer parcels may reach their level of free convection (LFC). On a sounding diagram, CAPE is the positive area above the LFC, the area between the parcel's virtual temperature line and the environmental virtual temperature line where the ascending parcel is warmer than the environment. Neglecting the virtual temperature correction may result in substantial relative errors in the calculated value of CAPE for small CAPE values. CAPE may also exist below the LFC, but if a layer of CIN (subsidence) is present, it is unavailable to deep, moist convection until CIN is exhausted. When there is mechanical lift to saturation, cloud base begins at the lifted condensation level (LCL); absent forcing, cloud base begins at the convective condensation level (CCL) where heating from below causes spontaneous buoyant lifting to the point of condensation when the convective temperature is reached. When CIN is absent or is overcome, saturated parcels at the LCL or CCL, which had been small cumulus clouds, will rise to the LFC, and then spontaneously rise until hitting the stable layer of the equilibrium level. The result is deep, moist convection (DMC), or simply, a thunderstorm. When a parcel is unstable, it will continue to move vertically, in either direction, dependent on whether it receives upward or downward forcing, until it reaches a stable layer (though momentum, gravity, and other forcing may cause the parcel to continue). There are multiple types of CAPE, downdraft CAPE (DCAPE), estimates the potential strength of rain and evaporatively cooled downdrafts. Other types of CAPE may depend on the depth being considered. Other examples are surface based CAPE (SBCAPE), mixed layer or mean layer CAPE (MLCAPE), most unstable or maximum usable CAPE (MUCAPE), and normalized CAPE (NCAPE). Fluid elements displaced upwards or downwards in such an atmosphere expand or compress adiabatically in order to remain in pressure equilibrium with their surroundings, and in this manner become less or more dense.