temperature_difference_between_ambient_air_and_air_lifted_adiabatically

This quantity is defined as the temperature difference between a parcel of air lifted adiabatically from a starting air pressure to a finishing air pressure in the troposphere and the ambient air temperature at the finishing air pressure in the troposphere. It is often called the lifted index (LI) and provides a measure of the instability of the atmosphere. The air parcel is "lifted" by moving the air parcel from the starting air pressure to the Lifting Condensation Level (dry adiabatically) and then from the Lifting Condensation Level to the finishing air pressure (wet adiabatically). Air temperature is the bulk temperature of the air. Coordinate variables of original_air_pressure_of_lifted_parcel and final_air_pressure_of_lifted_parcel should be specified to indicate the specific air pressures at which the parcel lifting starts (starting air pressure) and the temperature difference is calculated at (finishing air pressure), respectively. It is strongly recommended that a variable with this standard name should have the attribute units_metadata="temperature: difference", meaning that it refers to temperature differences and implying that the origin of the temperature scale is irrelevant, because it is essential to know whether a temperature is on-scale or a difference in order to convert the units correctly (cf. https://cfconventions.org/cf-conventions/cf-conventions.html#temperature-units).
  • List containing this term version: CF (85) CF (86)
  • Proposls with this term version:
  • Proposal: Jonathan Gregory & Lars Barring [Classification of existing standard name]

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