How is the atmosphere heated? what is the lapse rate and what does it indicate about the atmospheric heat source? describe a temperature inversion.

How is the atmosphere heated? what is the lapse rate and what does it indicate about the atmospheric heat source? describe a temperature inversion.

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What is the lapse rate and what does it indicate about the atmospheric heat source?

The lapse rate is the rate at which an atmospheric variable, normally temperature in Earth's atmosphere, falls with altitude. Lapse rate arises from the word lapse, in the sense of a gradual fall. In dry air, the adiabatic lapse rate is 9.8 °C/km (5.4 °F per 1,000 ft).

What is lapse rate in the atmosphere?

The Lapse Rate is the rate at which temperature changes with height in the Atmosphere. Lapse rate nomenclature is inversely related to the change itself: if the lapse rate is positive, the temperature decreases with height; conversely if negative, the temperature increases with height.

What is the difference between lapse rate and temperature inversion?

The lapse rate is considered positive when the temperature decreases with elevation, zero when the temperature is constant with elevation, and negative when the temperature increases with elevation (temperature inversion).

How does lapse rate affect temperature?

This expansion lowers the temperature of the air parcel, and therefore the air cools as it rises. The rate at which dry air cools as it rises is called the dry adiabatic lapse rate and is independent of the ambient air temperature.