Orographic lift

Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains.[1]: 162  As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and create clouds and, under the right conditions, precipitation.[1]: 472 

Orographic lifting can have a number of effects, including precipitation, rain shadowing, leeward winds, and associated clouds.

  1. ^ a b Stull, Roland (2017). Practical Meteorology: An Algebra-based Survey of Atmospheric Science. University of British Columbia. ISBN 978-0-88865-283-6.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.