Physical Formulation

Introduction to Available Potential Energy

CLIM 753
General Circulation of the Atmosphere
David M. Straus
George Mason University
August 26, 2011
CLIM 753 David M. Straus Available Potential Energy
Physical Formulation
References
The material in this section can be found in a number of books:

Grotjan, R., 1992: Global Atmospheric Circulations:

Observations and Theories. Oxford University Press.

Salby, M. L., 1996: Fundamentals of Atmospheric Physics.

Academic Press.

Wiin-Nielsen, A., and T.-C. Chen, 1993: Fundamentals of

Atmospheric Energetics. Oxford University Press.
CLIM 753 David M. Straus Available Potential Energy
Physical Formulation
Total Potential Energy
Kinetic energy, internal energy and potential energy can be dened
for an individual parcel of air. This is not the case for available
potential energy, which is an integral concept that is applicable to
the whole global atmosphere.
A form of energy that can be dened for a given longitude and
latitude, but integrated over the entire atmospheric column, is
called total potential energy

P. This is the vertically integrated
sum of potential and internal energy for an ideal gas:

P(, ) =
_
p=p
s
p=0
dp
1
g
C
v
T +
_
p=p
s
p=0
dp
1
g
gz (1)
where p
s
is the surface pressure.
CLIM 753 David M. Straus Available Potential Energy
Physical Formulation
Total Potential Energy
Introducing the simple identity
dp z = d(p z) p dz
into the second term in the formula for

P gives:
_
p
s
0
(d(p z) p dz) =
_
0
z=
pdz = +
_
p
s
0
p
1
g
dp =
_
p
s
0
RT
g
dp
(2)
where the hydrostatic relationship dz = dp
1
g
and the ideal gas
law p = RT have been used. Using this result for the second
term (potential energy) in P, and remembering that R + C
v
= C
p
for the ideal gas approximation gives:

P =
_
p
s
0
dp
1
g
C
p
T (3)
CLIM 753 David M. Straus Available Potential Energy
Physical Formulation
Global denition
In general, not all the total potential energy is available for
conversion into kinetic energy. In Figure 1 we see the
rearrangement of mass of two uids (immiscible) of dierent
density, starting from a very unstable situation. Potential energy is
converted into kinetic energy, until a conguration of minimum
potential energy is reached.
Figure 1: Rearrangement of mass for two uids of dierent mass.
CLIM 753 David M. Straus Available Potential Energy
Physical Formulation
The Reference State
In this simple two-uid example, the nal state (c) is stable, and
there can be no further conversion of potential to kinetic energy.
In the atmosphere, such a hypothetical reference state would
have each surface of constant pressure also a surface of constant
T. Technically this is called an auto-barotropic state, and is
pictured in the frame (a) of Figure 2. Note that:

Since T is constant along equal pressure surfaces, so is

potential temperature

Adiabatic ow would thus be along surfaces of constant

pressure, so no pressure gradients would be felt

Since pressure gradients are necessary to generate globally

integrated kinetic energy, no further kinetic energy could be
generated
CLIM 753 David M. Straus Available Potential Energy
Physical Formulation
Figure 2: Barotropic and Baroclinic stratications.
CLIM 753 David M. Straus Available Potential Energy
Physical Formulation
Reference state in coordinates
The Reference State associated with any real atmospheric state is
dened as the auto-barotropic state that could be hypothetically
reached under adiabatic displacements of air parcels. This suggests
we work with as a vertical coordinate. is constant on an
isentropic surface.
In any real atmospheric state, isentropic surfaces will deviate from
isobaric surfaces. For large enough the isentropic surface will be
entirely in the atmosphere, but some isentropic surfaces will
intersect the ground.
As will become clear, we need to dene the pressure for those parts
of an isentropic surface that are below the ground. For such
points, we simply dene the pressure to be equal to the surface
pressure p
s
(, ) at that point. Formally,
p(, , ) = p
s
(, ) for <
s
(, )
CLIM 753 David M. Straus Available Potential Energy
Physical Formulation
Reference state in coordinates
This denition for p() will be used even if = 0.
The pressure on any isentropic surface gives the mass (times g) of
the air above that surface. Averaged horizontally over the globe,
the average pressure p is:
p() = S
1
_
S
p(, , )dS (4)
where the increment of surface area dS = a
2
cos() d d. The
reference state is then the state where the constant value of
pressure on any constant surface is the average pressure p
for the same surface in the real atmospheric state.
CLIM 753 David M. Straus Available Potential Energy
Physical Formulation
Denition of Available Potential Energy
It should be clear that in going from the actual atmospheric state
of the reference state, we have re-arranged mass
adiabatically.
Dening the global integral of

P as:
P =
_
S

P dS (5)
we are ready to dene the Available Potential Energy:
The Available Potential Energy A is dened as the dierence
between the total potential energy P of an atmospheric state
and the total potential energy P of the reference state:
A = P P (6)
CLIM 753 David M. Straus Available Potential Energy
Physical Formulation
Total Potential Energy in coordinates
P =
1
g
_
S
_
p
s
0
C
p
T dp dS =
C
p
g
_
S
_
p
s
0

_
p
p
00
_

dp dS
=
C
p
g p

00
(1 + )
_
S
_
p
s
0
dp
1+
dS (7)
where = R/C
p
and we have used p
1+
as a vertical coordinate.
In the vertical integral we use: dp
1+
= d( p
1+
) p
1+
d
The limits p = 0 and p = p
s
correspond to = and =
s
.
The vertical integral becomes:
_
p
s
0
dp
1+
= (p
1+
)|
p=p
s
p=0

_

s

d p
1+
=
s
p
1+
s
+
_

s
d p
1+
=
_

s
0
d p
1+
+
_

s
d p
1+
=
_

0
d p
1+
(8)
CLIM 753 David M. Straus Available Potential Energy
Physical Formulation
Exact Denition
We needed to use the denition of p = p
s
when >
s
in the last
step. Finally, the full form of P becomes:
P =
C
p
g p

00
(1 + )
_
S
_

0
p
1+
d dS (9)
By denition of the Reference state, replace p by p:
P
ref
P =
C
p
g p

00
(1 + )
_
S
_

0
p
1+
d dS (10)
so that the so-called exact denition of Available Potential
Energy A is:
A P P =
C
p
g p

00
(1 + )
_
S
_

0
_
p
1+
p
1+
_
d dS (11)
CLIM 753 David M. Straus Available Potential Energy
Physical Formulation
Isobaric Approximation
On any isentropic surface, we write p in terms of the global mean
along that isentropic surface, and a deviation from the global
mean:
p = p + p

(12)
The integrand in equation 11 can then expanded, assuming that p

is relatively small (x = p

/p 1) :
p
1+
p
1+
= p
1+
_
_
p
p
_
1+
1
_
= p
1+
_
_
1 +
p

p
_
1+
1
_
= p
1+
_
(1 + )x +

2
(1 + )x
2
+
_
where we have kept only the two leading terms in the
expansion.
CLIM 753 David M. Straus Available Potential Energy
Physical Formulation
Isobaric Approximation - continued
The leading term in the expansion (proportional to p

) will
integrate to zero when averaged over the surface S for xed in
equation 11, leaving only the quadratic term:
A =
1
2
C
p
g p

00
_
S
_

0
p
1+
_
p

p
_
2
d dS (13)
To transform to isobaric coordinates, we state the following
(proved in Grotjahn, pp. 118-119):

p
p

(14)
where the hat is an average on a constant pressure surface. This
simply states that the deviation of from its isobaric average is
proportional to the deviation of pressure from its isentropic
average.
CLIM 753 David M. Straus Available Potential Energy
Physical Formulation
To change vertical coordinates use:
d =

p
dp (15)
so that we obtain:
A =
1
2
C
p
g p

00
_
S
_

0
p
(1)
_

_
2
_

p
_
2 _

p
_
dp dS (16)
Finally, approximating

p
by

p
, and evaluating p by p on the
isobaric surface:
A =
1
2
R
g p

00
_
S
_
p
s
0
p
(1)
_

_
2
_

p
_
2 _

p
_
dp dS (17)
CLIM 753 David M. Straus Available Potential Energy
Physical Formulation
Log Pressure Coordinates
Approximating the

p
with

p
we obtain:
A =
1
2
R
g p

00
_
S
_
p
s
0
p
(1)
_

_
2
_

p
_
1
dp dS (18)
Putting this in log-pressure coordinates, we dene the new
coordinate Z = H log(
p
00
p
), so that p = p
00
e
Z/H
where H is a
constant scale height. The mass weighted vertical integral is:
_
dp
1
g
=
_
dZ
p
00
gH
e
Z/H
(19)
which can be shown to be the same expression derived as equation
21 in Appendix 2 to the section on the Primitive Equations,
although that derivation followed a completely dierent
path.
CLIM 753 David M. Straus Available Potential Energy