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Potential temperature is a more dynamically important quantity than the actual temperature. This is because it is not affected by the physical lifting or sinking associated with flow over obstacles or large-scale atmospheric turbulence. A parcel of air moving over a small mountain will expand and cool as it ascends the slope, then compress and warm as it descends on the other side- but the potential temperature will not change in the absence of heating, cooling, evaporation, or condensation (processes that exclude these effects are referred to as dry adiabatic). Since parcels with the same potential temperature can be exchanged without work or heating being required, lines of constant potential temperature are natural flow pathways.
Under almost all circumstances, potential temperature increases upwards in the atmosphere, unlike actual temperature which may increase or decrease. Potential temperature is conserved for all dry adiabatic processes, and as such is an important quantity in the planetary boundary layer (which is often very close to being dry adiabatic).
Potential temperature is a useful measure of the static stability of the unsaturated atmosphere. Under normal, stably stratified conditions, the potential temperature increases with height,
and vertical motions are suppressed. If the potential temperature decreases with height,
the atmosphere is unstable to vertical motions, and convection is likely. Since convection acts to quickly mix the atmosphere and return to a stably stratified state, observations of decreasing potential temperature with height are uncommon, except while vigorous convection is underway or during periods of strong insolation. Situations in which the equivalent potential temperature decreases with height, indicating instability in saturated air, are much more common.
Since potential temperature is conserved under adiabatic or isentropic air motions, in steady, adiabatic flow lines or surfaces of constant potential temperature act as streamlines or flow surfaces, respectively. This fact is used in isentropic analysis, a form of synoptic analysis which allows visualization of air motions and in particular analysis of large-scale vertical motion.
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