|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
temperature inversion
temperature inversion condition in which the temperature of the atmosphere increases with altitude in contrast to the normal decrease with altitude. When temperature inversion occurs, cold air underlies warmer air at higher altitudes. Temperature inversion may occur during the passage of a cold front or result from the invasion of sea air by a cooler onshore breeze. Overnight radiative cooling of surface air often results in a nocturnal temperature inversion that is dissipated after sunrise by the warming of air near the ground. A more long-lived temperature inversion accompanies the dynamics of the large high-pressure systems depicted on weather maps. Descending currents of air near the center of the high-pressure system produce a warming (by adiabatic compression), causing air at middle altitudes to become warmer than the surface air. Rising currents of cool air lose their buoyancy and are thereby inhibited from rising further when they reach the warmer, less dense air in the upper layers of a temperature inversion. During a temperature inversion, air pollution released into the atmosphere's lowest layer is trapped there and can be removed only by strong horizontal winds. Because high-pressure systems often combine temperature inversion conditions and low wind speeds, their long residency over an industrial area usually results in episodes of severe smog. |
|
|
Cite this article
"temperature inversion." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "temperature inversion." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-tempinv.html "temperature inversion." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-tempinv.html |
|
temperature inversion
temperature inversion An atmospheric condition in which the typical lapse rate is reversed and temperature increases vertically through a given layer. In the troposphere an inversion layer marks conditions of great stability, i.e. a region in which vertical motion is strongly damped, with an absence of turbulence. An inversion acts as a ceiling, preventing further upward convection, and is generally the limit for cloud development. Marked and persistent inversions occur at lower levels, with subsiding air in major anticyclonic cells, such as the Azores high-pressure zone and cold anti-cyclones over continents. See also ATMOSPHERIC STRUCTURE; and ENVIRONMENTAL LAPSE RATE.
|
|
|
Cite this article
AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "temperature inversion." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "temperature inversion." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-temperatureinversion.html AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "temperature inversion." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-temperatureinversion.html |
|
temperature inversion
temperature inversion An atmospheric condition in which the typical lapse rate is reversed and temperature increases vertically through a given layer. In the troposphere an inversion layer marks conditions of great stability (i.e. a region in which vertical motion is strongly damped, with an absence of turbulence). An inversion acts as a ceiling, preventing further upward convection, and is generally the limit for cloud development. Marked and persistent inversions occur at lower levels, with subsiding air in major anticyclonic cells (e.g. the Azores high-pressure zone and cold anticyclones over continents).
|
|
|
Cite this article
MICHAEL ALLABY. "temperature inversion." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "temperature inversion." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-temperatureinversion.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "temperature inversion." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-temperatureinversion.html |
|
temperature inversion
temperature inversion An abnormal increase in air temperature that occurs in the troposphere, the lowest level of the earth's atmosphere. This can lead to pollutants becoming trapped in the troposphere (see air pollution).
|
|
|
Cite this article
"temperature inversion." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "temperature inversion." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O6-temperatureinversion.html "temperature inversion." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O6-temperatureinversion.html |
|
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
