Clear air turbulence (CAT) is the turbulent movement of air masses in the absence

of any visual cues such as clouds, and is caused when bodies of air moving at widely
different speeds meet.[1]
The atmospheric region most susceptible to CAT is the high troposphere at altitudes
of around 7,00012,000 metres (23,00039,000 ft) as it meets the tropopause. Here
CAT is most frequently encountered in the regions of jet streams. At lower altitudes it
may also occur near mountain ranges. Thin cirrus cloud can also indicate high
probability of CAT.
CAT can be hazardous to the comfort, and even safety, of air travel.

Contents
[hide]

1 Detection

2 Factors that increase CAT probability

o

2.1 Jet stream

2.2 Temperature gradient

2.2.1 Vertical

2.2.2 Horizontal

2.3 Wind shear

2.3.1 Vertical

2.3.2 Horizontal

2.4 Mountain waves

2.5 Gravity wave wind shear

3 Effects on aircraft
o

3.1 Pilot rules

3.2 Cases

3.3 Wake turbulence

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

[edit] Detection
Clear air turbulence is usually impossible to detect with the naked eye and very
difficult to detect with conventional radar,[2] with the result that it is difficult for
aircraft pilots to detect and avoid it. However, it can be remotely detected with
instruments that can measure turbulence with optical techniques, such as
scintillometers or Doppler LIDARs.
Although the altitudes near the tropopause are usually cloudless, thin cirrus cloud can
form where there are abrupt changes of air velocity, for example associated with jet
streams. Lines of cirrus perpendicular to the jet stream indicate possible CAT,
especially if the ends of the cirrus are dispersed in which case the direction of
dispersal can indicate if the CAT is stronger at the left or at the right of the jet stream.

[edit] Factors that increase CAT probability

Detecting and predicting CAT is hard for meteorologists because it is at such heights
that even when caused by factors that can be measured, intensity and location cannot
be determined precisely. However because this turbulence affects long range aircraft
that fly near the tropopause, CAT has been intensely studied. Several factors affect the
likelihood of CAT. Often more than one factor is present. 64% of the non-light
turbulences (not only CAT) are observed less than 150 nautical miles (280 km) away
from the core of a jet stream.[citation needed]

[edit] Jet stream

A jet stream alone will rarely be the cause of CAT, although there is horizontal wind
shear at its edges and within it caused by the different relative air speeds of the stream
and the surrounding air.
Rossby waves caused by this jet stream shear and the Coriolis force cause it to
meander.

[edit] Temperature gradient

A temperature gradient is the change of temperature over a distance in some given
direction. Where the temperature of a gas changes, so does its density and where the
density changes CAT can appear.
[edit] Vertical

From the ground upwards through the troposphere temperature decreases with height;
from the tropopause upwards through the stratosphere temperature increases with
height. Such variations are examples of temperature gradients.
[edit] Horizontal
A horizontal temperature gradient may occur, and hence air density variations, where
air velocity changes. An example: the speed of the jet stream is not constant along its
length; additionally air temperature and hence density will vary between the air within
the jet stream and the air outside.

[edit] Wind shear

Wind shear is a difference in relative speed between two adjacent air masses. An
excessive wind shear produces vortexes, and when the wind shear is of sufficient
degree the air will tend to move chaotically. As is explained elsewhere in this article,
temperature decreases and wind velocity increase with height in the troposphere, and
the reverse is true within the stratosphere. These differences cause changes in air
density, and hence viscosity. The viscosity of the air thus presents both inertias and
accelerations which cannot be determined in advance.
[edit] Vertical
Vertical wind shear above the jet stream (i.e., in the stratosphere) is sharper when it is
moving upwards, because wind speed decreases with height in the stratosphere. This
is the reason CAT can be generated above the tropopause, despite the stratosphere
otherwise being a region which is vertically stable. On the other hand, vertical wind
shear moving downwards within the stratosphere is more moderate (i.e., because
downwards wind shear within the stratosphere is effectively moving against the
manner in which wind speed changes within the stratosphere) and CAT is never
produced in the stratosphere. Similar considerations apply to the troposphere but in
reverse.
[edit] Horizontal
When strong wind deviates, the change of wind direction implies a change in the wind
speed. A stream of wind can change its direction by differences of pressure. CAT
appears more frequently when the wind is surrounding a low pressure region,
especially with sharp troughs that change the wind direction more than 100. Extreme
CAT has been reported without any other factor than this.

[edit] Mountain waves

Wind flow over a mountain produces oscillations (A), (B) etc.

Mountain waves are formed when four requirements are met. When these factors
coincide with jet streams, CAT can occur:

A mountain range, not an isolated mountain

Strong perpendicular wind

Wind direction maintained with altitude

Temperature inversion at the top of the mountain range

[edit] Gravity wave wind shear

The tropopause is a layer which separates two very different types of air. Beneath it
the air gets colder and the wind gets faster with height. Above it the air warms and
wind velocity decreases with height. These changes in temperature and velocity can
produce fluctuation in the altitude of the tropopause, called gravity waves.

[edit] Effects on aircraft

In the context of air flight, CAT is sometimes colloquially referred to as "air pockets".
Standard airplane radars cannot detect CAT, as CAT is not associated with clouds that
show unpredictable movement of the air. Airlines and pilots should be aware of
factors that cause or indicate CAT to reduce the probability of meeting turbulence, as
it can injure crew and passengers and even affect flight safety[citation needed].
Aircraft in level flight rely on a constant air density to retain stability. Where air
density is significantly different, for instance because of temperature gradient,
especially at the tropopause, CAT can occur[citation needed].
Where an aircraft changes its position horizontally from within the jet stream to
outside the jet stream, or vice versa, a horizontal temperature gradient may be
experienced. Because jet streams meander, such a change of position need not be the
result of a change of course by the aircraft[citation needed].
Because the altitude of the tropopause is not constant, an airplane that flies at a
constant altitude would traverse it and encounter any associated CAT[citation needed].

[edit] Pilot rules

When a pilot experiences CAT, a number of rules should be applied:[3]

The aircraft must sustain the recommended velocity for turbulence.

When following the jet stream to escape from the CAT the aircraft must
change altitude and/or heading.

When the CAT arrives from one side of the airplane, the pilot must observe the
thermometer to determine if the aircraft is above or below the jet stream and
then move away from the tropopause.

When the CAT is associated with a sharp trough, the plane must go through
the low pressure region instead of around it.

The pilot must communicate position, altitude and velocity of the turbulence
to Air Traffic Control, to warn other aircraft entering the region.

[edit] Cases
Because aircraft move so quickly, they can experience sudden unexpected
accelerations or 'bumps' from turbulence, including CAT (as they rapidly cross
invisible bodies of air which are moving vertically at many different speeds). Cabin
crew and passengers on aircraft have been injured (and in a small number of cases,
killed, as in the case of a United Airlines Flight 826 on December 28, 1997) when
tossed around inside an aircraft cabin during extreme turbulence. BOAC Flight 911
broke-up in flight in 1966 after experiencing severe lee wave turbulence just
downwind of Mount Fuji, Japan.

[edit] Wake turbulence

This picture from a NASA study on wingtip vortices qualitatively illustrates wake
turbulence.
Wake turbulence is another dangerous type of clear-air turbulence, but in this case the
causes are quite different to those set out above. In the case of wake turbulence, the

rotating vortex-pair created by the wings of a large aircraft as it travels lingers for a
significant amount of time after the passage of the aircraft, sometimes more than a
minute. When this occurs, the lingering turbulence caused by the wake of the wing
tips can deflect or even flip a smaller aircraft on the ground or in the air. this
phenomenon can also lead to accidents with large aircraft as well. Delta Air Lines
Flight 9570 crashed at the Greater Southwest International Airport in 1972 while
landing behind a DC-10. This accident led to new rules for minimum following
separation time from "heavy" aircraft. American Airlines Flight 587 crashed shortly
after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport in 2001 due to pilot
overreaction to wake turbulence from a Boeing 747.
A major component of wake turbulence is the wingtip vortices. Many aircraft are now
made with wingtip devices to reduce such turbulence (which also improves both the
lift-to-drag ratio and fuel economy).

[edit] See also

Ellrod index

[edit] References
1.

^ Stull, B. R., 1988 An introduction to Boundary Layer Meteorology,

Kluwert Academic Publishers 666 pp.

2.

^ John J. Hicks, Isadore Katz, Claude R. Landry, and Kenneth R. Hardy,

"Clear-Air Turbulence: Simultaneous Observations by Radar and Aircraft" Science
Science 18 August 1967:Vol. 157. no. 3790, pp. 808809

3.

^ Lankford, T, 2001. Controlling Pilot Error Weather. ISBN 978-0-07137328-9