Links to Soaring Meteorology Explanations
Compiled by Dr. John W. (Jack) Glendening, Meteorologist
Updated 18 February 2008
DrJack sez:
To aid those looking for further descriptions of the atmosphere in
which they fly, I have assembled this listing of soaring meteorology
explanations that I have found on the web. If you find a dead
link, please let me know.
This list is rather meager at present, but I hope to learn of
additional webpages on other topics and add them - I will post a
message to the Blipmap Forum on Thermal
Soaring Forecasts and Meteorology when
such an update is made.
Non-technical descriptions of thermals and
the convective boundary layer
A good place to start if the words "Boundary Layer" mean nothing
to you. Very short, with no figures:
What do thermals look
like? by Wayne Angevine (University of Colorado).
More detailed information by the same author, with helpful figures
(PDF document requires Adobe Acrobat reader). Thermal
Structure and Behavior by Wayne Angevine (University of
Colorado).
Additional information on the Boundary Layer. Very short, with 2 figures: Atmospheric Boundary Layer Structure from
the University of Wisconsin Lidar Group.
Sounding analysis basics
This consists of two parts: (1) a basic overview of the
convective Boundary Layer, and (2) whys and wherefores of
soundings analysis. Part I is recommended as a general
overview prior to further reading of any sounding analysis
description.
The Convective Boundary Layer and Sounding Analysis by
Dr. John W. (Jack) Glendening.
How to read a Skew-T sounding plot
Oops, I had two links here to other websites and both pages are now
gone. Don't you just love the way things change on the
Internet! 
I have since
found a Weatherjack
sounding tutorial. If you find another webpage describing
sounding analysis that could be put here please send the URL by
email. Please note that sounding analysis writeups often focus
on their use in predicting cloud development, including thunderstorm
development - while this is useful and important, often soaring pilots
are more interested in predicting when thermal development will be
strong/weak and this is often slighted in such presentations.
BLIPMAPs: an introduction
A good "first thing to read" for potential BLIPMAP users is the
on-line version of the July 2002 SOARING magazine article
BLIPMAPS by Dr. John W. (Jack) Glendening.