meteorology-conversion

The meteorology-conversion Python package provides robust utilities for meteorological and atmospheric science calculations, including temperature conversions, humidity, air density, and pressure estimations.

Gregory H. Halverson (they/them)
gregory.h.halverson@jpl.nasa.gov
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory 329G

Installation

This package is available on PyPI as meteorology-conversion.

pip install meteorology-conversion

Usage

Import this package as meteorology_conversion:

import meteorology_conversion

1. kelvin_to_celsius(T_K)

• Description: Converts temperature from Kelvin (K) to Celsius (°C).
• Parameters: T_K (numpy array or Raster): Temperature in Kelvin.
• Returns: Temperature in Celsius.
• Reference: Wallace, J. M., & Hobbs, P. V. (2006). Atmospheric Science: An Introductory Survey (2nd ed.). Academic Press.

2. celcius_to_kelvin(T_C)

• Description: Converts temperature from Celsius (°C) to Kelvin (K).
• Parameters: T_C (numpy array or Raster): Temperature in Celsius.
• Returns: Temperature in Kelvin.
• Reference: Wallace, J. M., & Hobbs, P. V. (2006).

3. calculate_specific_humidity(Ea_Pa, Ps_Pa)

• Description: Calculates the specific humidity (kg water vapor / kg moist air) from actual vapor pressure and surface pressure.
• Parameters:
  • Ea_Pa (numpy array or Raster): Actual water vapor pressure in Pascal.
  • Ps_Pa (numpy array or Raster): Surface pressure in Pascal.
• Returns: Specific humidity (kg/kg).
• References:
  • Rogers, R. R., & Yau, M. K. (1989). A Short Course in Cloud Physics (3rd ed.). Pergamon Press.
  • Stull, R. B. (2017). Practical Meteorology.

4. calculate_specific_heat(specific_humidity)

• Description: Calculates the specific heat capacity at constant pressure (Cp) for moist air.
• Parameters: specific_humidity (numpy array or Raster): Specific humidity (kg/kg).
• Returns: Specific heat capacity (J/kg/K).
• References:
  • Wallace, J. M., & Hobbs, P. V. (2006).
  • Stull, R. B. (2017).

5. calculate_air_density(surface_pressure_Pa, Ta_K, specific_humidity)

• Description: Calculates the density of moist air (kg/m³) using the ideal gas law, accounting for water vapor.
• Parameters:
  • surface_pressure_Pa (numpy array or Raster): Surface pressure in Pascal.
  • Ta_K (numpy array or Raster): Air temperature in Kelvin.
  • specific_humidity (numpy array or Raster): Specific humidity (kg/kg).
• Returns: Air density (kg/m³).
• References:
  • Wallace, J. M., & Hobbs, P. V. (2006).
  • Stull, R. B. (2017).

6. SVP_kPa_from_Ta_C(Ta_C)

• Description: Calculates the saturation vapor pressure (SVP) in kPa from air temperature in Celsius using the Magnus-Tetens approximation.
• Parameters: Ta_C (numpy array or Raster): Air temperature in Celsius.
• Returns: Saturation vapor pressure in kPa.
• References:
  • Alduchov, O. A., & Eskridge, R. E. (1996). Improved Magnus Form Approximation of Saturation Vapor Pressure. Journal of Applied Meteorology, 35(4), 601–609.
  • Bolton, D. (1980). The computation of equivalent potential temperature. Monthly Weather Review, 108(7), 1046–1053.

7. SVP_Pa_from_Ta_C(Ta_C)

• Description: Calculates the saturation vapor pressure in Pascal (Pa) from air temperature in Celsius.
• Parameters: Ta_C (numpy array or Raster): Air temperature in Celsius.
• Returns: Saturation vapor pressure in Pascal (Pa).
• Reference: Alduchov & Eskridge (1996).

8. calculate_surface_pressure(elevation_m, Ta_C)

• Description: Estimates surface pressure (Pa) at a given elevation and temperature using the barometric formula.
• Parameters:
  • elevation_m (numpy array or Raster): Elevation in meters.
  • Ta_C (numpy array or Raster): Air temperature in Celsius.
• Returns: Surface pressure in Pascal (Pa).
• References:
  • Wallace, J. M., & Hobbs, P. V. (2006).
  • Stull, R. B. (2017).

References

• Alduchov, O. A., & Eskridge, R. E. (1996). Improved Magnus Form Approximation of Saturation Vapor Pressure. Journal of Applied Meteorology, 35(4), 601–609.
• Bolton, D. (1980). The computation of equivalent potential temperature. Monthly Weather Review, 108(7), 1046–1053.
• Rogers, R. R., & Yau, M. K. (1989). A Short Course in Cloud Physics (3rd ed.). Pergamon Press.
• Stull, R. B. (2017). Practical Meteorology: An Algebra-based Survey of Atmospheric Science. University of British Columbia.
• Wallace, J. M., & Hobbs, P. V. (2006). Atmospheric Science: An Introductory Survey (2nd ed.). Academic Press.