Evaluating the sounding instability with the Lifted Parcel Theory

The Lifted Parcel Theory is a simple method for evaluating the instability of a sounding and computing a number of instability indices, for forecasting convective events. Very different results are obtained, depending on the choice of the initial parcel to lift and on the method used for evaluating the buoyancy (e.g., using the virtual or cloud-virtual temperature). method, which retains the condensed water inside the rising parcel and freezes it progressively and continuously, is investigated. For each of the three methods implemented, the coherent adiabatic processes are applied, and finally, the different results are compared.