View source for Maximum parcel level

The '''maximum parcel level''' ('''MPL''') is the highest level in the [[Earth's atmosphere|atmosphere]] that a moist [[convection|convectively]] rising [[air parcel]] will reach after ascending from the [[level of free convection]] (LFC) through the [[free convective layer]] (FCL) and reaching the [[equilibrium level]] (EL), near the [[tropopause]]. As the parcel rises through the FCL it expands [[adiabatically]] causing its temperature to drop, often below the temperature of its surroundings, and eventually lose [[buoyancy]]. Because of this, the EL is approximately the region where the distinct flat tops (called [[Cumulonimbus incus|anvil clouds]]), often observed around the upper portions of [[cumulonimbus cloud]]s. If the air parcel ascended quickly enough then it retains [[momentum]] after it has cooled and continues rising past the EL, ceasing at the MPL (visually represented by the [[overshooting top]], above the anvil).<ref>{{cite journal |last= Carpenter |first= Richard L. Jr. |author2=KK Droegemeier |author3=AM Blyth  |title= Entrainment and Detrainment in Numerically Simulated Cumulus Congestus Clouds. Part I: General Results |journal= J. Atmos. Sci. |volume= 55 |issue= 23 |pages= 3417–32 |date= Dec 1998 |doi= 10.1175/1520-0469(1998)055<3417:EADINS>2.0.CO;2 |bibcode = 1998JAtS...55.3417C |doi-access= free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last= Carpenter |first= Richard L. Jr. |author2=KK Droegemeier |author3=AM Blyth |title= Entrainment and Detrainment in Numerically Simulated Cumulus Congestus Clouds. Part III: Parcel Analysis |journal= J. Atmos. Sci. |volume= 55 |issue= 23 |pages= 3440–55 |date= Dec 1998 |doi=10.1175/1520-0469(1998)055<3440:EADINS>2.0.CO;2 |bibcode = 1998JAtS...55.3440C |doi-access= free }}</ref>

Dynamic processes within and between convective cells, such as updraft merging and [[cloud base]] areal size, factor into the actual ultimate cloud top height, in addition to [[atmospheric thermodynamics]] of the MPL. Updraft merging can lead to higher cloud tops, thus an implication is that organized convection can be taller convection.<ref>{{cite journal |last = Glenn |first = I. B. |author2 = S. K. Krueger |title = Connections matter: Updraft merging in organized tropical deep convection |journal = Geophys. Res. Lett. |volume = 44 |date = 2017 |issue = 13 |pages = 7087–7094 |doi = 10.1002/2017GL074162 |bibcode = 2017GeoRL..44.7087G |s2cid = 133960436 }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Atmospheric convection]]
* [[Skew-T log-P diagram]]

== External links ==
* [http://www.theweatherprediction.com/habyhints/311/ Skew-T: A Look at MPL]
* [http://www.theweatherprediction.com/habyhints/165/ The Difference between the Equilibrium Level and Maximum Parcel Level]
* [http://tornado.sfsu.edu/geosciences/classes/m201/buoyancy/SkewTMastery/mesoprim/skewt/mpl.htm Skew-T and Maximum Parcel Level] ([[San Francisco State University]])

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{Meteorological variables}}
{{Earth's atmosphere}}

[[Category:Atmospheric thermodynamics]]
[[Category:Severe weather and convection]]

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{{Climate-stub}}

[[fr:Niveau d'équilibre convectif#Notions dérivées]]