[BULK] - RE: [pct-l] Campo to Morena Day Hike (was16+mi.drystretches)

[msaenz at mve-architects.com (Mike Saenz)]

hey,  Hey, HEY!
Don't be pinnin' any katabatic, adiabatic, acrobatic catatonic
shenanigans on MY oilcans!
(sheesh. Tough crowd!)

...my precious oilcans.....


M i c h a e l   S a e n z
McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners, Inc.
A r c h i t e c t u r e    P l a n n i n g    I n t e r i o r s
w  w  w  .  m  v  e  -  a  r  c  h  i  t  e  c  t  s  .  c  o  m


-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net
[mailto:pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net] On Behalf Of Jeff
Moorehead
Sent: Monday, February 07, 2005 5:50 PM
To: pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [BULK] - RE: [pct-l] Campo to Morena Day Hike
(was16+mi.drystretches)

wow that was some explanation of katabatic-- although the previous post
(Judson) did correctly point out that Antartica is characterized by
nearly constant katabatic winds. i learned this as i tried to come up
with an explanation that would never have been as lucid as yours... good
thing i didn't try. we can still blame Oilcan for the cold winds??

I'll try 'adiabatic' though and then you can correct me. Adiabatic (as
opposed to isothermal) refers to a disequilibrium in heat transfer
charcterized by the thermodynamic equation PV=nRT where P=Pressure and
T=temperature. The practical effects that we all experience is the
warming of the air as we descend to lower elevations (higher baromaetric
pressure).Conversely, air cools as we gain elevation, which makes for a
normal temperature-elevation profile. So when katabatic conditions
exist, the normal profile is 'inverted'. The 'adiabatic lapse rate'
depends on the moisture contained in the air. The dry lapse rate is
steeper than the wet. 
If you descend into the desert from the dry side (east side in CA) of
mountains, the temperature increases at a rate faster than it was
decreasing as you climbed the west side. That's why the deserts to the
east of the Sierra are not only dry (the rainshadow effect) but so damn
hot!
how can we pin this one on Oilcan?




----- Original Message -----
From: "Brett" <blisterfree@isp01.net>
To: "Judson Brown" <judson@jeffnet.org>; <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, February 07, 2005 5:33 PM
Subject: Re: [BULK] - RE: [pct-l] Campo to Morena Day Hike (was 
16+mi.drystretches)


> >I think katabatic refers to strong, cold winds which occur in polar 
> >regions,
>> especially over ice caps. Antarctic explorers had to deal with them
>> constantly.
>
> Katabatic has nothing to do with acrobatic mountain lions. It's simply
the 
> colder and thus heavier air that sinks into low lying areas, most
commonly 
> in the evening and overnight hours when heat radiates away from the
earth 
> at a faster rate than it is absorbed. It is not a
geographically-specific 
> phenomenon, although it tends to occur most noticeably in mountainous 
> areas where the lower-lying drainages are natural conduits for the
cold 
> air from the heights. Katabatic air acts like a mini-river that, in
fact, 
> often "flows" just above the actual rivers. Or creeks. Climb away from
the 
> creeks before selecting a campsite, even as little as 10 or 20 feet
above 
> them, and avoid much of the katabatic cooling effect. Sleep warmer.
>
> Now who wants to explain "adiabatic"?
>
> - blisterfree
>
>
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