AF 447 Search to resume

[Chris Scott]

Thanks, mm43,

I've got a few queries on Tim Vasquez's nice profile-graphic.

(1) The isotherms are all perfectly straight, horizontal lines, which seems simplistic.

(2) The tropopause is not shown, although there are a couple of clues in:
(a) the northerly anvil-top at about 45000ft amsl/-69C, and
(b) the average lapse rate between -70C and -75C of only 1C/1000ft.

(3) The altitude axis is annotated "MSL", and the aircraft is shown tracking at 35000ft. It would be interesting to calculate the disparity between that and FL350, i.e., 35000ft pressure altitude, and plot a line for FL350.


The word "tropopause" appears about three times in his piece, but only in the context of cloud-top overshoot; he does not discuss the lapse rate characteristics, or its altitude within or to the north edge of the bigger Cb - which may well represent the ITCZ frontal face. North of that build-up, the isotherms remain perfectly horizontal.

Chris

PS: Those great pictures take me back, PJ2...