Hydrostatic Balance in Meteorology

Abstract

Meteorology is a branch of geophysics that studies the properties of the atmosphere that “cushions” the Earth and all the phenomena that happen within it. The hydrostatic balance occurs when the pressure at any point in the fluid equals the weight of an air column of the unit section from above the point, and in these ideal conditions, we have the hydrostatic equation for the fluid in hydrostatic balance. The hydrostatic equation is viewed as the hydrostatic equilibrium condition, which provides an accurate approximation for the vertical dependence of the pressure field in the real atmosphere. In this talk, we manipulate a mathematical model describing the variation of pressure to altitude in the atmosphere using partial differential equations, and we will show how realistic charts based on real data are obtained, and compare them to charts obtained by using a climate change scenario when the temperature at sea-level is warmer by 2℃ than the one used in current charts. Work done in collaboration with Anneliese Ansorger, Cory Efird, Cassandra Lisitza, Ghristopher Macyk, Tarig Mergani, Adam Reeves, Rebecca Walton, Yaying Zhong, and Jett Ziehe, MacEwan University.

Presented in absentia on April 27, 2020 at "Student Research Day" at MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta. (Conference cancelled.) Exhibition held in the Gray Gallery at MacEwan University.

Faculty Mentor: Ion Bica

Department: Mathematics & Statistics