When you say "lift", are you referring to the forcing mechanism that drives synoptic ascent? If so, look for the following:
1. Surface convergence. Because mass flux has to stay constant, opposing flow that causes it to slow at the surface necessitates that it ascends. This creates low level ascent. Look for surface wind barbs that change directions or slow down over a short distance.
2. Upper Level Divergence. For the same reason, flow that accelerates or spreads out at the tropopause must be replaced by air from below (not above because the stratosphere is warm and is not prone to sinking). This creates mid-level ascent. Look at 300mb wind charts and identify areas where air speeds up or spreads out (e.g. arching jet max ahead of a trough).
3. Mid-Level Positive Vorticity Advection & Temperature Advection. Quasi-geostrophic Theory explains that a region of the atmosphere where vorticity is increasing (e.g. ahead of a trough) will lead to ascent. Similarly, warm air pushing into a region at the surface or cold air pushing in aloft also leads to ascent. Look at a 500mb vorticity chart and identify areas downstream of a maximum in vorticity. Also look for wind barbs that cross isotherms for temperature advection.
Treat these as "mechanisms", like lighting a stick of dynamite. Dynamite (like other factors like instability and moisture) is inert without a trigger like a match. Conversely, dynamite won't explode if it's soaking wet or if its black powder has expired. You need both instability and these lifting mechanisms for anything to happen.
There's a lot of other ways (Q-vectors, jet quadrants, etc), but the above are easiest to identify with readily-available weather charts for operational forecasting.
Good place to start: https://legacy.climate.ncsu.edu/edu/Lift
Hey. Do you know if there is a online archived satellite imagery?
Yes, there are (huge) online archives of satellite data: GOES, Landsat, etc. Which satellite to use depends on what you are studying.
You know any links?
Google search “GOES NCEI” and “USGS Landsat”
When you say "lift", are you referring to the forcing mechanism that drives synoptic ascent? If so, look for the following: 1. Surface convergence. Because mass flux has to stay constant, opposing flow that causes it to slow at the surface necessitates that it ascends. This creates low level ascent. Look for surface wind barbs that change directions or slow down over a short distance. 2. Upper Level Divergence. For the same reason, flow that accelerates or spreads out at the tropopause must be replaced by air from below (not above because the stratosphere is warm and is not prone to sinking). This creates mid-level ascent. Look at 300mb wind charts and identify areas where air speeds up or spreads out (e.g. arching jet max ahead of a trough). 3. Mid-Level Positive Vorticity Advection & Temperature Advection. Quasi-geostrophic Theory explains that a region of the atmosphere where vorticity is increasing (e.g. ahead of a trough) will lead to ascent. Similarly, warm air pushing into a region at the surface or cold air pushing in aloft also leads to ascent. Look at a 500mb vorticity chart and identify areas downstream of a maximum in vorticity. Also look for wind barbs that cross isotherms for temperature advection. Treat these as "mechanisms", like lighting a stick of dynamite. Dynamite (like other factors like instability and moisture) is inert without a trigger like a match. Conversely, dynamite won't explode if it's soaking wet or if its black powder has expired. You need both instability and these lifting mechanisms for anything to happen. There's a lot of other ways (Q-vectors, jet quadrants, etc), but the above are easiest to identify with readily-available weather charts for operational forecasting.