Name _________________________

Date __________________________

Meteorology 503

Spring 2005

Lab 4

Paper Calcuations

1. All labs are to be kept in a three hole binder. Turn in the binder when you have finished the Lab.

2. Show all work in mathematical problems. No credit given if only

answer is provided.

Procedure

Row 2

On Thursday February 17, collaborate to compute the speed of the system “c”. Don’t guess! Use trignonmetry and lat-lon coordinates to get the the average phase speed of the system from 12 h (from the history) before your first map to your first map, and use that has the c to compute B. Then use the position of the system at Time 1 and Time 2 to compute the mean c from Time 1 to Time 2, and do the same to obtain the speed for Time 3.

Now get the 500 mb wind speed directly about the surface center for Times 1, 2 and 3.

Now get the vorticity gradient along the flow centered at your analysis point for Map Time 1, 2, and 3. To compute the gradient you can use a centered difference grid that has a total length of 3 degrees of latitude, with the analysis point at the center of the grid.

Substitute everything back into the equation in the first box on Row 2. Remember to multiply by the minus sign.

Rows 3 and 4

Obtain the 1000-500 mb thickness field for each of the analysis times. Draw intermediate contours (remember, the 1000-500 mb thickness field is conventionally drawn at 6 dm intervals. Draw intermediate contours at 3 dm intervals.

Use the same finite difference cross you used in the labs from last semester (the maps you have are at the same scale) and compute the value for the Laplacian of thickness to fill in Row 4.