How will climate change affect the 3D distribution of lapse rate in the atmosphere?

Asked by: Veronica Mitchell

What is the reason behind negative lapse rate in stratosphere?

This is due to the absorbtion by ozone of the sun’s UV radiation and is in sharp contrast to the lower atmosphere. There it generally gets colder as you go higher due to the expansion of gases as the pressure decreases.

Does the stratosphere have a positive lapse rate?

The stratosphere does NOT have a positive lapse rate…it is negative. A positive lapse rate is one in which temperature decreases with height. That’s why it’s called a “lapse” rate.

What is lapse rate feedback?

The lapse rate feedback is the coupling between surface air temperature changes and the changes in the region that radiate out to space (upper troposphere) , leading to a change in how much the atmosphere cools with height which again affects the efficiency of the greenhouse effect.

What affects environmental lapse rate?

The lapse rate of nonrising air—commonly referred to as the normal, or environmental, lapse rate—is highly variable, being affected by radiation, convection, and condensation; it averages about 6.5 °C per kilometre (18.8 °F per mile) in the lower atmosphere (troposphere).

Why is lapse rate more in summer?

Instability. On warm summer day’s high levels of insolation can create high surface temperatures. The air above such localised surfaces is then heated by conduction, leading to a high lapse rate.

What is the environmental lapse rate and how is it determined?

The environmental lapse rate is determined by the distribution of temperature in the vertical at a given time and place and should be carefully distinguished from the process lapse rate, which applies to an individual air parcel. See autoconvective lapse rate, superadiabatic lapse rate.

What happens when the environmental lapse rate is greater than the dry adiabatic rate?

The atmosphere is said to be absolutely unstable if the environmental lapse rate is greater than the dry adiabatic lapse rate. This means that a rising air parcel will always cool at a slower rate than the environment, even when it is unsaturated.

What are the three types of lapse rate?

There are three types of lapse rates that are used to express the rate of temperature change with a change in altitude, namely the dry adiabatic lapse rate, the wet adiabatic lapse rate and the environmental lapse rate.

What are the causes of lapse rate?

The phenomenon exists because warm moist air rises through orographic lifting up and over the top of a mountain range or large mountain. The temperature decreases with the dry adiabatic lapse rate, until it hits the dew point, where water vapor in the air begins to condense.

What is lapse rate in 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.

Does greenhouse warming depend on lapse rate?

So, just because the lapse rate does not appear to depend on the existence of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, does not invalidate the greenhouse effect, although this does appear to be a common misconception.

What is the normal lapse rate of temperature in the troposphere?

about 6.5 °C per kilometre

air—commonly referred to as the normal, or environmental, lapse rate—is highly variable, being affected by radiation, convection, and condensation; it averages about 6.5 °C per kilometre (18.8 °F per mile) in the lower atmosphere (troposphere).

What is the difference between the environmental lapse rate and the adiabatic lapse rate?

The environmental lapse rate refers to the temperature drop with increasing altitude in the troposphere; that is the temperature of the environment at different altitudes. It implies no air movement. Adiabatic cooling is associated only with ascending air, which cools by expansion.

Which lapse rates are compared to determine the stability of the atmosphere?

In order to determine the stability of the atmosphere, meteorologists compare the lapse rate of the environment to the dry and the moist adiabatic lapse rates.

How does ozone in the stratosphere affect the lapse rate there?

How does Ozone influence the stratospheric lapse rate? Ozone absorbs UV radiation that is converted into heat. The lapse rate is inverted in the stratosphere: the higher you go, the warmer it gets. the rate at which temperature changes with height.

What does a negative lapse rate mean?

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 lapse rate in the stratosphere?

6.5°C/km

the more energetic the motion, the higher the temperature. The rate of fall is known as the ‘lapse rate. Its mean value is 6.5°C/km.

How does the ozone layer affect the stratospheric lapse rate?

The inverted lapse rate of temperature is due to the presence of stratospheric ozone which is a good absorber of ultra-violet radiation emitted by the Sun. As energy penetrates downward, less and less is available for lower layers and hence the temperature decreases toward the bottom of the stratosphere.

Why does the temperature increase in the stratosphere?

Heat is produced in the process of the formation of Ozone and this heat is responsible for temperature increases from an average -60°F (-51°C) at tropopause to a maximum of about 5°F (-15°C) at the top of the stratosphere. This increase in temperature with height means warmer air is located above cooler air.

Why does atmospheric temperature increase with altitude in the stratosphere?

In the stratosphere, temperature generally increases as altitude increases due to the increasing absorption of ultraviolet radiation by the ozone layer. In the mesosphere, temperature decreases as altitude increases, to as low as −93°C.