Describe adiabatic temperature changes and explain why the wet adiabatic lapse rate of cooling is less than the dry adibatic rate
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Adiabatic temperature changes occur when air expands or contracts and consequently undergoes a pressure change. Adiabatic temperature changes require that no energy exchange takes place with the surrounding environment. Air that is not saturated will cool at 10°C/km, known as the dry adiabatic lapse rate, as it rises and expands in the atmosphere. Once the air becomes saturated, however, water vapor in the parcel will begin to condense. This condensation releases latent heat energy into the parcel that becomes sensible heat, partially counteracting the adiabatic cooling that occurs as the parcel continues to expand. For this reason, the wet adiabatic lapse rate is lower than the dry adiabatic lapse rate (about 5°C at its lowest).
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