Wet-bulb potential temperature, sometimes referred to as pseudo wet-bulb potential temperature, is the
temperature
Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer.
Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied on ...
that a parcel of air at any level would have if, starting at the
wet-bulb temperature
The wet-bulb temperature (WBT) is the temperature read by a thermometer covered in water-soaked (water at ambient temperature) cloth (a wet-bulb thermometer) over which air is passed. At 100% relative humidity, the wet-bulb temperature is equal ...
, it were brought at the
saturated adiabatic lapse rate to the standard pressure of 1,000 mbar.
This temperature is conservative with respect to
reversible adiabatic changes.
See also
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Wet-bulb temperature
The wet-bulb temperature (WBT) is the temperature read by a thermometer covered in water-soaked (water at ambient temperature) cloth (a wet-bulb thermometer) over which air is passed. At 100% relative humidity, the wet-bulb temperature is equal ...
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Potential temperature
The potential temperature of a parcel of fluid at pressure P is the temperature that the parcel would attain if adiabatically brought to a standard reference pressure P_, usually . The potential temperature is denoted \theta and, for a gas well-a ...
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Atmospheric thermodynamics Atmospheric thermodynamics is the study of heat-to- work transformations (and their reverse) that take place in the earth's atmosphere and manifest as weather or climate. Atmospheric thermodynamics use the laws of classical thermodynamics, to des ...
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Equivalent temperature
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Equivalent potential temperature
External links
AMS Glossary
Oxford Index
Atmospheric thermodynamics
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