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In meteorology, an inversion (or temperature inversion) is a phenomenon in which a layer of warmer air overlies cooler air. Normally, air temperature gradually decreases as altitude increases, but this relationship is reversed in an inversion. [2] An inversion traps air pollution, such as smog, near the ground.
An elevated inversion layer is thus a region of warm air above a region of cold air, but higher in the atmosphere (generally not touching the surface). A capping inversion occurs when there is a boundary layer with a normal temperature profile (warm air rising into cooler air) and the layer above that is an inversion layer (cooler air below ...
It varies with the temperature and pressure of the parcel and is often in the range 3.6 to 9.2 °C/km (2 to 5 °F/1000 ft), as obtained from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The environmental lapse rate is the decrease in temperature of air with altitude for a specific time and place (see below). It can be highly variable ...
The inversion temperature in thermodynamics and cryogenics is the critical temperature below which a non-ideal gas (all gases in reality) that is expanding at constant enthalpy will experience a temperature decrease, and above which will experience a temperature increase.
The rapid photolysis and reformation of ozone heat the stratosphere, resulting in a temperature inversion. This increase of temperature with altitude is characteristic of the stratosphere; its resistance to vertical mixing means that it is stratified. Within the stratosphere temperatures increase with altitude (see temperature inversion); the ...
Surface temperature inversion is typical of polar environments and leads to the katabatic wind phenomenon. The vertical temperature structure of polar environments tends to be more complex than in mid-latitude or tropical climates.
where is the potential temperature of an air parcel at the 700 hPa pressure level, and is the potential temperature at the surface. It was first introduced as a simple but useful measure of the strength of the inversion that caps the planetary boundary layer on earth, and also indicates the level of convective stability of an air column at a ...
On surface analysis charts, this temperature gradient is visible in isotherms and can sometimes also be identified using isobars since cold fronts often align with a surface trough. On weather maps, the surface position of the cold front is marked by a blue line with triangles pointing in the direction where cold air travels and it is placed at ...