Technical note: A noniterative approach to modelling moist thermodynamics

Formulation of noniterative mathematical expressions for moist thermodynamics presents a challenge for both numerical and theoretical modellers. This technical note offers a simple and efficient tool for approximating two common thermodynamic relationships: temperature, T, at a given pressure, P, along a saturated adiabat, T(P, θw), as well as its corresponding inverse form θw(P, T), where θw is wet-bulb potential temperature. Our method allows direct calculation of T(P, θw) and θw(P, T) on a thermodynamic domain bounded by −70 ≤ θw < 40 °C, P > 1 kPa and −100 ≤ T < 40 °C, P > 1 kPa, respectively. The proposed parameterizations offer high accuracy (mean absolute errors of 0.016 and 0.002 °C for T(P, θw) and θw(P, T), respectively) on a notably larger thermodynamic region than previously studied. The paper includes a method summary and a ready-to-use tool to aid atmospheric physicists in their practical applications.

A noniteratiave approach to modelling moist thermodynamics

Formulation of noniterative mathematical expressions for moist thermodynamics presents a challenge for both numerical and theoretical modellers. This technical note offers a simple and efficient tool for approximating two common thermodynamic relationships: temperature T at a given pressure P along a saturated adiabat T(P,θw), as well as its corresponding inverse form θw(P,T), where θw is wet-bulb potential temperature. Our method allows direct calculation of T(P,θw) and θw(P,T) on a thermodynamic domain bounded by −70 ≤ θw < 40°C, P > 1 kPa and −100 ≤ T < 40°C, P > 1 kPa, respectively. The proposed parameterizations offer high accuracy (mean absolute errors of 0.017°C and 0.002°C for T(P,θw) and θw(P,T), respectively) on a notably larger thermodynamic region than previously studied. The paper includes a method summary, as well as a ready-to-use tool to aid atmospheric physicists in their practical applications.

Saturated Pseudoadiabats—A Noniterative Approximation

Two noniterative approximations are presented for saturated pseudoadiabats (also known as moist adiabats). One approximation determines which moist adiabat passes through a point of known pressure and temperature, such as through the lifting condensation level on a skew T or tephigram. The other approximation determines the air temperature at any pressure along a known moist adiabat, such as the final temperature of a rising cloudy air parcel. The method used to create these statistical regressions is a relatively new variant of genetic programming called gene-expression programming. The correlation coefficient between the resulting noniterative approximations and the iterated data such as plotted on thermodynamic diagrams is over 99.97%. The mean absolute error is 0.28°C, and the root mean square error is 0.44 within a thermodynamic domain bounded by −30° < θw ≤ 40°C, P > 20 kPa, and −60° ≤ T ≤ 40°C, where θw, P, and T are wet-bulb potential temperature, pressure, and air temperature.

Time, change, and sociocultural communication: A chronemic perspective

The temporal orientations of any sociocultural grouping are major factors comprising its central identity. The manner in which the past (memories), the present (perception), and the future (anticipation/expectation) are commonly articulated also concern cultural identity. The identity of a cultural group is altered by developmental changes in time keeping and related objective, scientific temporalities. Three modes of temporality, objective, narrative, and transcendental, congruent with different kinds of brain processes, are common throughout our planet. Objective temporality tends to alter and replace traditional narrative and transcendental (spiritual) time, timing, and tempos. Objective temporality is concerned with what is transitory, modern and “progressive”. Objective time is not a traditional form of cultural time; it is a derived Westernized scientific imposition, rather than any cultural formation. This essay develops a new conception of how semiosis occurs. All information is essentially rhythmic, transduced through sensory systems as signals in a space-time domain, but deposited for use into a spectral thermodynamic domain in the human cortex. A “chronemic” perspective, (temporality as it is based in semiotic processes related to human communication) is assumed throughout. Such a perspective appears to be somewhat novel in both communication and semiotic studies.