earth science

Vertical draft

Vertical draft is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Vertical draft rather than just read about it. In short: In meteorology, an updraft (British English: up-draught) is a small-scale current of rising air, often within a cloud. Overview Vertical drafts, known as updrafts or downdrafts, are localized regions of warm or cool air that move vertically.

Key takeaways

Vertical draft belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Vertical draft to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Vertical draft from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In meteorology, an updraft (British English: up-draught) is a small-scale current of rising air, often within a cloud.

Overview Vertical drafts, known as updrafts or downdrafts, are localized regions of warm or cool air that move vertically. A mass of warm air will typically be less dense than the surrounding region, and so will rise until it reaches air that is either warmer or less dense than itself. The converse will occur for a mass of cool air, and is known as subsidence. This movement of large volumes of air, especially when regions of hot, wet air rise, can create large clouds, and is the central source of thunderstorms. Drafts can also be caused by low or high pressure regions. A low pressure region will attract air from the surrounding area, which will move towards the center and then rise, creating an updraft. A high pressure region will attract air to the surrounding area, which will sink towards the center and push outwards, spawning a downdraft. Updrafts and downdrafts, along with wind shear in general, are a major contributor to airplane crashes during takeoff and landing in a thunderstorm. Extreme cases, known as downbursts and microbursts, can be deadly and difficult to predict or observe. The crash of Delta Air Lines Flight 191 on its final approach before landing at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in 1985 was presumably caused by a microburst, and prompted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to research and deploy new storm detection radar stations at some of the major airports, notably those in the South, Midwest, and Northeast United States where wind shear affects air safety. Downbursts can cause extensive localized damage, similar to that caused by tornadoes. Downburst damage can be differentiated from that of a tornado because the resulting destruction is circular and radiates away from the center. Tornado damage radiates inward, towards the center of the damage. The term "downdraft" can also refer to a type of backdraft which occurs through chimneys which have fireplaces on the lowermost levels (such as basements) of multi-level buildings. It involves cold air coming down the chimney due to low air pressure, and makes it hard to light fires, and can push soot and carbon monoxide into domiciles.

See also Terminal Doppler Weather Radar, a 5 cm Doppler weather radar design to detect wind shear near major airports in the U.S. (FAA) and abroad NEXRAD, a 10 cm radar in the U.S. that detects wind shear, but to a specific extent. (NOAA's National Weather Service) Low level windshear alert system Atmospheric thermodynamics Lee waves New Zealand National Airways Corporation Flight 441 — airplane crash linked to severe downdraft Rear flank downdraft and forward flank downdraft Thermal

References

External links National Science Digital Library - Downdraft the Microburst Windshear

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Vertical draft

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Vertical draft claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Vertical draft before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Vertical draft ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Vertical draft

In research: Vertical draft appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Vertical draft in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Vertical draft is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Aviation meteorology, Gliding meteorology, Severe weather and convection, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Vertical draft outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Vertical draft in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Vertical draft means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Vertical draft out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Vertical draft in simple terms?

In meteorology, an updraft (British English: up-draught) is a small-scale current of rising air, often within a cloud. Overview Vertical drafts, known as updrafts or downdrafts, are localized regions of warm or cool air that move vertically.

Why does Vertical draft matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Vertical draft?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Vertical draft.