Assume that a parcel of air coming off the Pacific Ocean is forced to rise up Mt. Olympus (elevation approximately 2500 m) on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. Assume that, at sea level, the parcel has a temperature of 16°C and a dew point of 10°C. Further assume that the environmental temperature at the top of Mt. Olympus is 0°C.
At what elevation would you expect a cloud to form? Assume that the dew point remains constant as the parcel ascends. Show your work.
Assume that the parcel is forced to rise all the way to the top of the mountain. What will its temperature be when it gets there (rounded to the nearest degree)? For simplicity, use 6°C/km as the moist adiabatic lapse rate. Show your work.
Assume the parcel, now unsaturated, descends into Puget Sound, east of Mt. Olympus and west of Seattle (essentially sea level again). Compute the temperature of the parcel once it arrives at Puget Sound. Remember that a sinking, unsaturated parcel will warm at the same rate that a rising unsaturated parcel cools, 10°C/km. Is the parcel’s final temperature the same as its initial temperature? If not, why not?
