Convective overshoot

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Convective overshoot

Convective overshoot is a phenomenon of convection

Convection

Convection in the most general terms refers to the movement of molecules within fluids . Convection is one of the major modes of heat transfer and mass transfer....
carrying material beyond an unstable region of the atmosphere

Atmosphere

An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, by the gravity of the body, and are retained for a longer duration if gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low....
into a stratified, stable region. Overshoot is caused by the momentum

Momentum

In classical mechanics, momentum is the product of the mass and velocity of an object . For more accurate measures of momentum, see the section Momentum#Modern definitions of momentum on this page....
of the convecting material, which carries the material beyond the unstable region.

Main article: Overshooting top
Overshooting top

File:Overshooting top.jpgAn overshooting top is a dome-like protrusion that shoots out of the top of the anvil of a thunderstorm. When an overshooting top is present for 10 minutes or longer, it is a strong indication that the thunderstorm may be severe thunderstorm....

One example is thermal

Thermal

A thermal column is a column of rising air in the lower altitudes of the Earth's atmosphere. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of the Earth's surface from solar radiation, and an example of convection....
columns extending above the top of the equilibrium level

Equilibrium level

In meteorology, the equilibrium level , or level of neutral buoyancy , is the height at which a rising air parcel of air is at a temperature of equal warmth to it....
(EL) in thunderstorm

Thunderstorm

File:FoggDam-NT.jpgA thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its effect: thunder....
s: unstable air rising from (or near) the surface 'should' stop convecting at the EL (which is near the tropopause

Tropopause

The tropopause is the boundary in the Earth's atmosphere between the troposphere and the stratosphere. Going upward from the surface, it is the point where air ceases to cool with height, and becomes almost completely dry....
) spreading out as an anvil cloud; but in the event of a strong updraft, unstable air is carried past the EL as an overshooting top
Overshooting top

File:Overshooting top.jpgAn overshooting top is a dome-like protrusion that shoots out of the top of the anvil of a thunderstorm. When an overshooting top is present for 10 minutes or longer, it is a strong indication that the thunderstorm may be severe thunderstorm....
or dome.

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Encyclopedia

Convective overshoot is a phenomenon of convection

Convection

Atmosphere

Momentum

Deep, moist convection in Earth's atmosphere

One example is thermal

Thermal

Equilibrium level

In meteorology, the equilibrium level , or level of neutral buoyancy , is the height at which a rising air parcel of air is at a temperature of equal warmth to it....
(EL) in thunderstorm

Thunderstorm

Tropopause

Air parcel

An air parcel is an imaginary volume of air used by meteorologists to conceptualize the thermodynamic fluid motions of the Earth's atmosphere for use in weather forecasting....
of air will stop ascending at the maximum parcel level

Maximum parcel level

The maximum parcel level is the highest level in the Earth's atmosphere that a moist convection rising air parcel will reach after ascending through the free convective layer and reaching the equilibrium level , near the tropopause....
(MPL). This overshoot is responsible for most of the turbulence

Turbulence

In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is a fluid regime characterized by chaotic, stochastic property changes. This includes low momentum diffusion, high momentum convection, and rapid variation of pressure and velocity in space and time....
experienced in the cruise phase of commercial air flights.

Stellar convection

Another example of convective overshoot is at the base of the convection zone

Convection zone

The convection zone of a star is the range of radii in which energy is transported primarily by convection. In the radiation zone, energy is transported by radiation....
in the solar interior

Sun

The Sun , a G V star, is the star at the center of the Solar System. The Earth and other matter orbit the Sun, which by itself accounts for about 98.6% of the Solar System's mass....
. The heat of the Sun

Sun

Radiation

In physics, radiation describes any process in which energy emitted by one body travels through a medium or through space, ultimately to be absorbed by another body....
in the deep interior radiation zone

Radiation zone

The radiation zone is the middle zone in the Sun's interior. Energy travels out of the core into the radiation zone. Energy travels through the radiation zone in the form of electromagnetic radiation....
and by convective circulation in the outer convection zone

Convection zone

The convection zone of a star is the range of radii in which energy is transported primarily by convection. In the radiation zone, energy is transported by radiation....
, but cool sinking material from the surface penetrates farther into the radiative zone than naive theory would suggest. This affects the heat transfer rate and the temperature of the solar interior which can be indirectly measured by helioseismology

Helioseismology

Helioseismology is the study of the propagation of pressure waves in the Sun. Unlike seismic wave, solar waves have practically no shear component ....
. The layer between the Sun's convective and radiative zone is called the tachocline

Tachocline

The tachocline is the transition region of the Sun between the radiative interior and the Differential rotation outer convective zone. It is in the outer third of the sun ....
.