after the troposphere which layer of the atmosphere has the coldest temperature
Atmosphere of Uranus


The atmosphere of Uranus is composed primarily of hydrogen and helium. At depth it is significantly enriched in volatiles (dubbed "ices") such as water, ammonia and methane. The opposite is true for the upper atmosphere, which contains very few gases heavier than hydrogen and helium due to its low temperature. Uranus's atmosphere is the coldest of all the planets, with its temperature reaching as low as 49 K. The Uranian atmosphere can be divided into three main layers: the troposphere, between altitudes of −300 and 50 km
3731231
Troposphere


for a while and then increases with altitude. This coldest layer of the atmosphere, where the lapse rate changes from positive (in the troposphere) to negative (in the stratosphere), is defined as the tropopause. Thus, the tropopause is an inversion layer, and there is little mixing between the two layers of the atmosphere. The flow of the atmosphere generally moves in a west to east direction. This, however, can often become interrupted, creating a more north to south or south to north flow. These
19387549
Atmosphere of Earth


altitude in some regions (see the temperature section, below). Because the general pattern of the temperature/altitude profile is constant and measurable by means of instrumented balloon soundings, the temperature behavior provides a useful metric to distinguish atmospheric layers. In this way, Earth's atmosphere can be divided (called atmospheric stratification) into five main layers. Excluding the exosphere, the atmosphere has four primary layers, which are the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. From highest to lowest, the five main layers are:
21257662
Atmosphere of Earth


the weather-producing air turbulence that is so prevalent in the troposphere. Consequently, the stratosphere is almost completely free of clouds and other forms of weather. However, polar stratospheric or nacreous clouds are occasionally seen in the lower part of this layer of the atmosphere where the air is coldest. The stratosphere is the highest layer that can be accessed by jet-powered aircraft. The troposphere is the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere. It extends from Earth's surface to an average height of about , although this altitude varies
21257672
Atmosphere


of a number of layers that differ in properties such as composition, temperature and pressure. The lowest layer is the troposphere, which extends from the surface to the bottom of the stratosphere. Three quarters of the atmosphere's mass resides within the troposphere, and is the layer within which the Earth's terrestrial weather develops. The depth of this layer varies between 17 km at the equator to 7 km at the poles. The stratosphere, extending from the top of the troposphere to the bottom of the mesosphere, contains the ozone
21257714
Uranus


and comets. The troposphere is the lowest and densest part of the atmosphere and is characterised by a decrease in temperature with altitude. The temperature falls from about at the base of the nominal troposphere at −300 km to at 50 km. The temperatures in the coldest upper region of the troposphere (the tropopause) actually vary in the range between depending on planetary latitude. The tropopause region is responsible for the vast majority of Uranus' thermal far infrared emissions, thus determining its effective temperature of . The troposphere is thought to have
866416
Atmospheric dispersion modeling


are other layers above 80 km, but they are insignificant with respect to atmospheric dispersion modeling. The lowest part of the troposphere is called the "atmospheric boundary layer (ABL)" or the "planetary boundary layer (PBL)" . The air temperature of the atmosphere decreases with increasing altitude until it reaches what is called an "inversion layer" (where the temperature increases with increasing altitude) that caps the Convective Boundary Layer, typically to about 1.5 to 2.0 km in height. The upper part of the troposphere (
19166352
Tropopause


to the stratospheric negative one. Following is the exact definition used by the World Meteorological Organization: The tropopause as defined above renders as a first-order discontinuity surface, that is, "temperature" as a function of height varies continuously through the atmosphere but the "temperature gradient" does not. The troposphere is the lowest layer of the Earth's atmosphere; it is located right above the planetary boundary layer, and is the layer in which most weather phenomena take place. The troposphere contains the boundary layer, and ranges
12860917
Atmosphere of Jupiter


gradually transitions into the liquid interior of the planet. From lowest to highest, the atmospheric layers are the troposphere, stratosphere, thermosphere and exosphere. Each layer has characteristic temperature gradients. The lowest layer, the troposphere, has a complicated system of clouds and hazes, comprising layers of ammonia, ammonium hydrosulfide and water. The upper ammonia clouds visible at Jupiter's surface are organized in a dozen zonal bands parallel to the equator and are bounded by powerful zonal atmospheric flows (winds) known as "jets". The bands
10478357
Stratosphere


The stratosphere () is the second major layer of Earth's atmosphere, just above the troposphere, and below the mesosphere. The stratosphere is stratified (layered) in temperature, with warmer layers higher and cooler layers closer to the Earth; this increase of temperature with altitude is a result of the absorption of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation by the ozone layer. This is in contrast to the troposphere, near the Earth's surface, where temperature decreases with altitude. The border between the troposphere and stratosphere, the tropopause,
3351146
Satellite temperature measurements


1978 microwave sounding units (MSUs) on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration polar orbiting satellites have measured the intensity of upwelling microwave radiation from atmospheric oxygen, which is related to the temperature of broad vertical layers of the atmosphere. Measurements of infrared radiation pertaining to sea surface temperature have been collected since 1967. Satellite datasets show that over the past four decades the troposphere has warmed and the stratosphere has cooled. Both of these trends are consistent with the influence of increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. Satellites do not measure temperature. They
354298
Thermocline


, can occur, e.g. as nighttime cooling of the Earth's surface produces cold, dense, often calm air adjacent to the ground. The coldest air is next to the ground, with air temperature increasing with height. At the top of this nighttime boundary layer (which may be only a hundred meters) the normal adiabatic temperature profile of the troposphere (i.e. temperature decreasing with altitude) is again observed. The thermocline or inversion layer occurs where the temperature profile changes from positive to negative with increasing height. The stability of
22081631
Attribution of recent climate change


) but cooling of the upper atmosphere (called the stratosphere). Depletion of the ozone layer by chemical refrigerants has also resulted in a cooling effect in the stratosphere. If the sun was responsible for observed warming, warming of the troposphere at the surface and warming at the top of the stratosphere would be expected as increase solar activity would replenish ozone and oxides of nitrogen. The stratosphere has a reverse temperature gradient than the troposphere so as the temperature of the troposphere cools with altitude, the stratosphere rises with altitude. Hadley cells
2949743
Atmosphere of Earth


from about at the geographic poles to at the Equator, with some variation due to weather. The troposphere is bounded above by the tropopause, a boundary marked in most places by a temperature inversion (i.e. a layer of relatively warm air above a colder one), and in others by a zone which is isothermal with height. Although variations do occur, the temperature usually declines with increasing altitude in the troposphere because the troposphere is mostly heated through energy transfer from the surface. Thus, the lowest part of the troposphere (
21257673
Atmosphere of Jupiter


commonly treated as the base of the troposphere. In scientific literature, the 1 bar pressure level is usually chosen as a zero point for altitudes—a "surface" of Jupiter. As with Earth, the top atmospheric layer, the exosphere, does not have a well defined upper boundary. The density gradually decreases until it smoothly transitions into the interplanetary medium approximately 5,000 km above the "surface". The vertical temperature gradients in the Jovian atmosphere are similar to those of the atmosphere of Earth. The temperature of the troposphere
10478363
Lapse rate


, the constant temperature is , which is the lowest assumed temperature in the ISA. The standard atmosphere contains no moisture. Unlike the idealized ISA, the temperature of the actual atmosphere does not always fall at a uniform rate with height. For example, there can be an inversion layer in which the temperature increases with altitude. The varying environmental lapse rates throughout the Earth's atmosphere are of critical importance in meteorology, particularly within the troposphere. They are used to determine if the parcel of rising air will rise high enough for
5743380
Troposphere


height. The ELR assumes that the air is perfectly still, i.e. that there is no mixing of the layers of air from vertical convection, nor winds that would create turbulence and hence mixing of the layers of air. The reason for this temperature difference is that the ground absorbs most of the sun's energy, which then heats the lower levels of the atmosphere with which it is in contact. Meanwhile, the radiation of heat at the top of the atmosphere results in the cooling of that part of the atmosphere. The
19387539
MSU temperature measurements


have measured the intensity of upwelling microwave radiation from atmospheric oxygen. The intensity is proportional to the temperature of broad vertical layers of the atmosphere, as demonstrated by theory and direct comparisons with atmospheric temperatures from radiosonde (balloon) profiles. Upwelling radiance is measured at different frequencies; these different frequency bands sample a different weighted range of the atmosphere. Channel 2 is broadly representative of the troposphere, albeit with a significant overlap with the lower stratosphere (the weighting function has its maximum at 350 hPa and half-power at about 40
1715927
Atmosphere of Earth


noticeable atmospheric drag at altitudes as high as 700–800 km. The division of the atmosphere into layers mostly by reference to temperature is discussed above. Temperature decreases with altitude starting at sea level, but variations in this trend begin above 11 km, where the temperature stabilizes through a large vertical distance through the rest of the troposphere. In the stratosphere, starting above about 20 km, the temperature increases with height, due to heating within the ozone layer caused by capture of significant ultraviolet radiation from the Sun by the dioxygen and ozone
21257680
Remote sensing atmospheric boundary layer


portion of the troposphere that is influenced by the interaction with the surface of the earth and will adjust to surface forcings within a timescale of 1 hour. The planetary boundary layer is characterized by turbulence during the daytime and by stability during the night. At the top of the planetary boundary layer, there is a stable layer that is frequently termed the inversion layer as temperature tends to increase with height in contrast to much of the troposphere. The planetary boundary layer can have lower level clouds located around the capping inversion top. The
5939462
Mesosphere


of solar radiation by the rarefied atmosphere and increasing cooling by CO radiative emission. The top of the mesosphere, called the mesopause, is the coldest part of Earth's atmosphere. Temperatures in the upper mesosphere fall as low as , varying according to latitude and season. The main dynamic features in this region are strong zonal (East-West) winds, atmospheric tides, internal atmospheric gravity waves (commonly called "gravity waves"), and planetary waves. Most of these tides and waves start in the troposphere and lower
3351208
Convective available potential energy


then rises spontaneously until reaching a layer of non-positive buoyancy. The atmosphere is warm at the surface and lower levels of the troposphere where there is mixing (the planetary boundary layer (PBL)), but becomes substantially cooler with height. The temperature profile of the atmosphere, the change in temperature, the degree that it cools with height, is the lapse rate. When the rising air parcel cools more slowly than the surrounding atmosphere, it remains warmer and less dense. The parcel continues to rise freely (convectively
19590396
David Catling


°C. Glasses are known to be far better for preserving microbes and biological molecules than crystalline salts, which could be relevant to the search for life on Mars, Jupiter’s moon Europa, and Saturn’s moon Enceladus. In the field of planetary atmospheres, David Catling and Tyler Robinson have proposed a general explanation for a curious observation: the minimum air temperature between the troposphere (the lowest atmospheric layer where temperature declines with altitude) and stratosphere (where temperature increases with altitude in an 'inversion') occurs a pressure
19372659
TV and FM DX


1986 . Tropospheric propagation refers to the way radio signals travel through the lowest layer of the Earth's atmosphere, the troposphere, at altitudes up to about to 17 km (11 miles). Weather conditions in the lower atmosphere can produce radio propagation over greater ranges than normal. If a temperature inversion occurs, with upper air warmer than lower air, VHF and UHF radio waves can be refracted over the Earth's surface instead of following a straight-line path into space or into the ground. Such "tropospheric ducting"
15094997
Atmosphere of Venus


K (−43 °C). This layer coincides with the upper cloud deck. In the second layer temperature starts to decrease again reaching about 165 K (−108 °C) at the altitude of 95 km, where mesopause begins. It is the coldest part of the Venusian dayside atmosphere. In the dayside mesopause, which serves as a boundary between the mesophere and thermosphere and is located between 95–120 km, temperature increases to a constant—about 300–400 K (27–127 °C)—value prevalent in the thermosphere. In contrast, the
12364129
Atmosphere of Earth


atmosphere, occupying the region above the stratosphere and below the thermosphere. It extends from the stratopause at an altitude of about to the mesopause at above sea level. Temperatures drop with increasing altitude to the mesopause that marks the top of this middle layer of the atmosphere. It is the coldest place on Earth and has an average temperature around . Just below the mesopause, the air is so cold that even the very scarce water vapor at this altitude can be sublimated into polar-mesospheric noctilucent clouds. These are the highest clouds
21257668
Vertical pressure variation


, it is more accurately represented as an exponential function of height. Note that in this simplification, the temperature is treated as constant, even though temperature also varies with height. However, the temperature variation within the lower layers of the atmosphere (troposphere, stratosphere) is only in the dozens of degrees, as opposed to their thermodynamic temperature, which is in the hundreds, so the temperature variation is reasonably small and is thus ignored. For smaller height differences, including those from top to bottom of even the tallest of
9182164
Atmosphere of Uranus


methane cloud layer's optical depth had a local maximum at 45°S, where the southern polar collar is located (see below). The troposphere is very dynamic, exhibiting strong zonal winds, bright methane clouds, dark spots and noticeable seasonal changes. (see below) The stratosphere is the middle layer of the Uranian atmosphere, in which temperature generally increases with altitude from 53 K in the tropopause to between 800 and 850 K at the base thermosphere. The heating of the stratosphere is caused by the downward heat conduction
3731251
Atmospheric dispersion modeling


surface and the bottom of the inversion layer is known as the mixing layer. Almost all of the airborne pollutants emitted into the ambient atmosphere are transported and dispersed within the mixing layer. Some of the emissions penetrate the inversion layer and enter the free troposphere above the ABL. In summary, the layers of the Earth's atmosphere from the surface of the ground upwards are: the ABL made up of the mixing layer capped by the inversion layer; the free troposphere; the stratosphere; the mesosphere and others. Many atmospheric dispersion
19166354
Mesosphere


The mesosphere (; from Greek "mesos", "middle") is the third major layer of the Earth's atmosphere, directly above the stratosphere and directly below the thermosphere. In the mesosphere, temperature decreases as altitude increases. This characteristic is used to define its limits: it begins at the top of the stratosphere (sometimes called the stratopause), and ends at the mesopause, which is the coldest part of Earth's atmosphere with temperatures below . The exact upper and lower boundaries of the mesosphere vary with latitude and
3351204
Earth


Earth was in Furnace Creek, California, in Death Valley, in 1913. The lowest air temperature ever directly measured on Earth was at Vostok Station in 1983, but satellites have used remote sensing to measure temperatures as low as in East Antarctica. These temperature records are only measurements made with modern instruments from the 20th century onwards and likely do not reflect the full range of temperature on Earth. Above the troposphere, the atmosphere is usually divided into the stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. Each layer has a different lapse rate
9155349
Atmospheric dispersion modeling


i.e., above the inversion layer) is called the "free troposphere" and it extends up to the tropopause (the boundary in the Earth's atmosphere between the troposphere and the stratosphere). In tropical and mid-latitudes during daytime, the Free convective layer can comprise the entire troposphere, which is up to 10 km to 18 km in the Intertropical convergence zone. The ABL is of the most important with respect to the emission, transport and dispersion of airborne pollutants. The part of the ABL between the Earth's
19166353
Thermal wind


The thermal wind is the variation in strength of wind with height due to, on one hand, a balance between the Coriolis and pressure-gradient forces in the atmosphere and, on the other hand, horizontal temperature gradients. It is the primary physical mechanism for the jet stream and plays an important role in other large-scale atmospheric phenomena. The thermal wind ensures the jet stream is typically strongest in the upper half of the troposphere, which is the atmospheric layer extending from the surface of the planet up to a height
20409179
Lifted index


The lifted index (LI) is the temperature difference between the environment Te(p) and an air parcel lifted adiabatically Tp(p) at a given pressure height in the troposphere (lowest layer where most weather occurs) of the atmosphere, usually 500 hPa (mb). The temperature is measured in Celsius. When the value is positive, the atmosphere (at the respective height) is stable and when the value is negative, the atmosphere is unstable. LI can be computed using computer algorithms but can also be determined graphically. To
4294144
Atmosphere of Earth


of the troposphere. Nearly all atmospheric water vapor or moisture is found in the troposphere, so it is the layer where most of Earth's weather takes place. It has basically all the weather-associated cloud genus types generated by active wind circulation, although very tall cumulonimbus thunder clouds can penetrate the tropopause from below and rise into the lower part of the stratosphere. Most conventional aviation activity takes place in the troposphere, and it is the only layer that can be accessed by propeller-driven aircraft. Within the five principal
21257675
Inversion (meteorology)


. If this cap is broken for any of several reasons, convection of any moisture present can then erupt into violent thunderstorms. Temperature inversion can notoriously result in freezing rain in cold climates. Usually, within the lower atmosphere (the troposphere) the air near the surface of the Earth is warmer than the air above it, largely because the atmosphere is heated from below as solar radiation warms the Earth's surface, which in turn then warms the layer of the atmosphere directly above it, e.g., by thermals (convective heat
6878185
Infrared window


at a temperature of about 320 K and passed through the atmospheric window, and non-window emission that has arisen mainly from the troposphere at temperatures about 260 K. Over Côte d'Ivoire, interferometrically recorded spectra of outgoing longwave radiation show emission that has arisen from the cloud tops at a temperature of about 265 K and passed through the atmospheric window, and non-window emission that has arisen mainly from the troposphere at temperatures about 240 K. This means that, at the scarcely absorbed continuum of wavelengths (8 to 14 µm),
4707808
Schumann resonances


the radiative feedback effects that influence the atmosphere temperature. Schumann resonances may therefore help us to understand these feedback effects. A paper was published in 2006 linking Schumann resonance to global surface temperature, which was followed up with a 2009 study. Tropospheric water vapor is a key element of the Earth's climate, which has direct effects as a greenhouse gas, as well as indirect effects through interaction with clouds, aerosols and tropospheric chemistry. Upper tropospheric water vapor (UTWV) has a much greater impact on the greenhouse effect than water
19906458
Air mass (astronomy)


mass integral for the polytropic model does not lend itself to a closed-form solution except at the zenith, so the integration usually is performed numerically. Earth’s atmosphere consists of multiple layers with different temperature and density characteristics; common atmospheric models include the International Standard Atmosphere and the US Standard Atmosphere. A good approximation for many purposes is a polytropic troposphere of 11 km height with a lapse rate of 6.5 K/km and an isothermal stratosphere of infinite height (Garfinkel 1967), which corresponds very closely to the first two
14431622
January 2016 East Asia cold wave


further fourteen lives in Thailand, and snowstorms resulted in six deaths across Japan. This event was driven by a fast Arctic warming that occurred within the troposphere, forcing the Arctic Oscillation to change phase rapidly from positive (in late December) to negative (in late January), facilitating the atmospheric blocking and associated Siberian high buildup. On 24 January, the temperature at the Hong Kong Observatory fell to , the coldest in 59 years. Hundreds of people hiked up Tai Mo Shan for sightseeing, where temperatures fell to a record
18000987
Troposphere


planetary boundary layer. This layer is typically a few hundred meters to deep depending on the landform and time of day. Atop the troposphere is the tropopause, which is the border between the troposphere and stratosphere. The tropopause is an inversion layer, where the air temperature ceases to decrease with height and remains constant through its thickness. The word "troposphere" is derived from the Greek "tropos" (meaning "turn, turn toward, change") and "sphere" (as in the Earth), reflecting the
19387535
Tropopause


in height from an average of at the poles, to at the Equator. In the absence of inversions and not considering moisture, the temperature lapse rate for this layer is 6.5 °C per kilometer, on average, according to the "U.S. Standard Atmosphere". A measurement of both the tropospheric and the stratospheric lapse rates helps identifying the location of the tropopause, since temperature increases with height in the stratosphere, and hence the lapse rate becomes negative. The tropopause location coincides with the lowest point at which the lapse rate
12860918
Atmosphere of Earth


i.e. Earth's surface) is typically the warmest section of the troposphere. This promotes vertical mixing (hence, the origin of its name in the Greek word τρόπος, "tropos", meaning "turn"). The troposphere contains roughly 80% of the mass of Earth's atmosphere. The troposphere is denser than all its overlying atmospheric layers because a larger atmospheric weight sits on top of the troposphere and causes it to be most severely compressed. Fifty percent of the total mass of the atmosphere is located in the lower
21257674
Atmosphere of Jupiter


layer, the troposphere, smoothly transitions into the planet's fluid interior. This is a result of having temperatures and the pressures well above those of the critical points for hydrogen and helium, meaning that there is no sharp boundary between gas and liquid phases. Hydrogen becomes a supercritical fluid at a pressure of around 12 bar. Since the lower boundary of the atmosphere is ill-defined, the pressure level of 10 bars, at an altitude of about 90 km below 1 bar with a temperature of around 340 K, is
10478362
Uranus


and Saturn's in its primary composition of hydrogen and helium, but it contains more "ices" such as water, ammonia, and methane, along with traces of other hydrocarbons. It is the coldest planetary atmosphere in the Solar System, with a minimum temperature of , and has a complex, layered cloud structure with water thought to make up the lowest clouds and methane the uppermost layer of clouds. The interior of Uranus is mainly composed of ices and rock. Like the other giant planets, Uranus has a ring system
866378
Cloud


They are seen in the Earth's homosphere (which includes the troposphere, stratosphere, and mesosphere). Nephology is the science of clouds, which is undertaken in the cloud physics branch of meteorology. The two methods of naming clouds in their respective layers of the atmosphere are Latin and common. Cloud types in the troposphere, the atmospheric layer closest to Earth's surface, have Latin names due to the universal adaptation of Luke Howard's nomenclature. Formally proposed in 1802, it became the basis of a modern international system that
3351843
Atmosphere of Earth


and balloons, and too low to permit orbital spacecraft. The mesosphere is mainly accessed by sounding rockets and rocket-powered aircraft. The stratosphere is the second-lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere. It lies above the troposphere and is separated from it by the tropopause. This layer extends from the top of the troposphere at roughly above Earth's surface to the stratopause at an altitude of about . The atmospheric pressure at the top of the stratosphere is roughly 1/1000 the pressure at sea level. It contains the ozone layer,
21257670
Solar activity and climate


at how temperatures at different levels in the Earth's atmosphere have changed. Models and observations show that greenhouse gas results in warming of the troposphere, but cooling of the stratosphere. Depletion of the ozone layer by chemical refrigerants stimulated a stratospheric cooling effect. If the Sun was responsible for observed warming, warming of the troposphere at the surface and warming at the top of the stratosphere would be expected as the increased solar activity would replenish ozone and oxides of nitrogen. The assessment of the solar activity/climate relationship involves multiple,
13195860
Atmosphere of Triton


probably increased by about 1 K, due to the general global warming as Triton approaches the southern-hemisphere summer (see below). Convection near Triton's surface heated by the Sun creates a troposphere (a "weather region") rising to an altitude of about 8 km. In it temperature decreases with height reaching a minimum of about 36 K at the tropopause. There is no stratosphere, defined as a layer where heating from the warmer troposphere and thermosphere is balanced by radiative cooling. Higher regions include the thermosphere (
4084365
Atmosphere of Uranus


altitudes between 50 and 4000 km and pressures between and the thermosphere/exosphere extending from 4000 km to as high as a few Uranus radii from the surface. There is no mesosphere. The troposphere is the lowest and densest part of the atmosphere and is characterised by a decrease in temperature with altitude. The temperature falls from about 320 K at the base of the troposphere at −300 km to about 53 K at 50 km. The temperature at the cold upper boundary of the troposphere (the tropopause) actually varies in the range
3731246
Neptune


only 40% its amount of sunlight, the two planets' surface temperatures are roughly equal. The upper regions of Neptune's troposphere reach a low temperature of . At a depth where the atmospheric pressure equals , the temperature is . Deeper inside the layers of gas, the temperature rises steadily. As with Uranus, the source of this heating is unknown, but the discrepancy is larger: Uranus only radiates 1.1 times as much energy as it receives from the Sun; whereas Neptune radiates about 2.61 times as much energy as it
1195385
Subtropical cyclone


. This transition normally requires significant instability through the atmosphere, with temperature differences between the underlying ocean and the mid-levels of the troposphere requiring over 20 °C, or 72 °F, of contrast in this roughly layer of the lower atmosphere. The mode of the sea surface temperatures that subtropical cyclones form over is . Transition from subtropical cyclones into tropical cyclones occurs only in very rare cases over the South Atlantic Ocean, such as Hurricane Catarina in 2004. These storms can have maximum winds extending farther from the center than
12798587
Troposphere


The troposphere is the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere, and is also where nearly all weather conditions take place. It contains approximately 75% of the atmosphere's mass and 99% of the total mass of water vapor and aerosols. The average height of the troposphere is in the tropics, in the middle latitudes, and in the polar regions in winter. The total average height of the troposphere is 13 km. The lowest part of the troposphere, where friction with the Earth's surface influences air flow, is the
19387534
Atmospheric dispersion modeling


Discussion of the layers in the Earth's atmosphere is needed to understand where airborne pollutants disperse in the atmosphere. The layer closest to the Earth's surface is known as the "troposphere". It extends from sea-level to a height of about 18 km and contains about 80 percent of the mass of the overall atmosphere. The "stratosphere" is the next layer and extends from 18 km to about 50 km. The third layer is the "mesosphere" which extends from 50 km to about 80 km. There
19166351
Atmospheric instability


down and the repetition of this cycle creates the transverse wave motion. Within an unstable layer in the troposphere, the lifting of air parcels will occur, and continue for as long as the nearby atmosphere remains unstable. Once overturning through the depth of the troposphere occurs (with convection being capped by the relatively warmer, more stable layer of the stratosphere), deep convective currents lead to thunderstorm development when enough moisture is present. Over warm ocean waters and within a region of the troposphere with light vertical wind shear and significant low
12773122
Extraterrestrial atmosphere


surface and extends up to an altitude of 65 kilometres (an altitude at which the mesosphere has already been reached on Earth). At the top of the troposphere, temperature and pressure reach Earth-like levels. Winds at the surface are a few metres per second, reaching 70 m/s or more in the upper troposphere. The stratosphere and mesosphere extend from 65 km to 95 km in height. The thermosphere and exosphere begin at around 95 kilometres, eventually reaching the limit of the atmosphere at about 220 to 250
21630904
Tropospheric ozone


Ozone (O) is a trace gas of the troposphere, with an average concentration of 20-30 parts per billion by volume (ppbv), with close to 100 ppbv in polluted areas. Ozone is also an important constituent of the stratosphere, where the ozone layer exists. The troposphere is the lowest layer of the Earth's atmosphere. It extends from the ground up to a variable height of approximately 14 kilometers above sea level. Ozone is least concentrated in the ground layer (or planetary boundary layer) of the
2409418
Geophysical fluid dynamics


thermohaline", a combination of the two. Fluid that is less dense than its surroundings tends to rise until it has the same density as its surroundings. If there is not much energy input to the system, it will tend to become stratified. On a large scale, Earth's atmosphere is divided into a series of layers. Going upwards from the ground, these are the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere. The density of air is mainly determined by temperature and water vapor content, the density
21660453
Atmosphere of Jupiter


into the core. The internal heat may be important for the dynamics of the Jovian atmosphere. While Jupiter has a small obliquity of about 3°, and its poles receive much less solar radiation than its equator, the tropospheric temperatures do not change appreciably from the equator to poles. One explanation is that Jupiter's convective interior acts like a thermostat, releasing more heat near the poles than in the equatorial region. This leads to a uniform temperature in the troposphere. While heat is transported from the equator to the poles mainly
10478404
Schwarzschild's equation for radiative transfer


and the temperature gradient, "dI" for a layer of atmosphere can be negative (ordinary greenhouse effect) or positive (negative greenhouse effect). Since the vast majority of absorption and emission occurs in the troposphere, where a negative temperature gradient exists, the Earth's greenhouse effect makes the planet warmer than it would be otherwise. However, temperature rises with altitude in the lower stratosphere, and increasing CO2 there increases radiative cooling to space and is predicted to cause cooling above 14–20 km. Schwarzschild's equation is used to
6915243
Global warming


being due to the Sun is the temperature changes at different levels in the Earth's atmosphere. According to basic physical principles, the greenhouse effect produces warming of the lower atmosphere (the troposphere), but cooling of the upper atmosphere (the stratosphere). If solar variations were responsible for the observed warming, warming of both the troposphere and the stratosphere would be expected, but that has not been the case. The response of the climate system to an initial forcing is increased by positive "feedbacks" and reduced by negative
19941004
Solar cycle


of these radiatively active solar magnetic structures. Energy changes in UV irradiance involved in production and loss of ozone have atmospheric effects. The 30 HPa Atmospheric pressure level changed height in phase with solar activity during solar cycles 20–23. UV irradiance increase caused higher ozone production, leading to stratospheric heating and to poleward displacements in the stratospheric and tropospheric wind systems. With a temperature of 5870 K, the photosphere emits a proportion of radiation in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and above. However, hotter upper layers of the Sun's atmosphere
5275
Tropospheric propagation


propagation that tends to happen during periods of stable, anticyclonic weather. In this propagation method, when the signal encounters a rise in temperature in the atmosphere instead of the normal decrease (known as a temperature inversion), the higher refractive index of the atmosphere there will cause the signal to be bent. Tropospheric ducting affects all frequencies, and signals enhanced this way tend to travel up to (though some people have received "tropo" beyond 1,000 miles / 1,600 km), while with tropospheric-bending, stable signals with
10816746
Uranus


a highly complex cloud structure; water clouds are hypothesised to lie in the pressure range of , ammonium hydrosulfide clouds in the range of , ammonia or hydrogen sulfide clouds at between and finally directly detected thin methane clouds at . The troposphere is a dynamic part of the atmosphere, exhibiting strong winds, bright clouds and seasonal changes. The middle layer of the Uranian atmosphere is the stratosphere, where temperature generally increases with altitude from in the tropopause to between at the base of the thermosphere. The heating of the stratosphere is caused by
866417
Atmosphere of Venus


nightside Venusian thermosphere is the coldest place on Venus with temperature as low as 100 K (−173 °C). It is even called a cryosphere. The circulation patterns in the upper mesosphere and thermosphere of Venus are completely different from those in the lower atmosphere. At altitudes 90–150 km the Venusian air moves from the dayside to nightside of the planet, with upwelling over sunlit hemisphere and downwelling over dark hemisphere. The downwelling over the nightside causes adiabatic heating of the air, which forms a warm layer in the nightside mesosphere at
12364130
Atmospheric instability


force. Dynamic lifting and mixing produces cloud, precipitation and storms often on a synoptic scale. Whether or not the atmosphere has stability depends partially on the moisture content. In a very dry troposphere, a temperature decrease with height less than 9.8C per kilometer ascent indicates stability, while greater changes indicate instability. This lapse rate is known as the dry adiabatic lapse rate. In a completely moist troposphere, a temperature decrease with height less than 6C per kilometer ascent indicates stability, while greater changes indicate instability. In the range between
12773112
Troposphere


surface through the process of evaporation. The temperature of the troposphere decreases with altitude. And, saturation vapor pressure decreases strongly as temperature drops. Hence, the amount of water vapor that can exist in the atmosphere decreases strongly with altitude and the proportion of water vapor is normally greatest near the surface of the Earth. The pressure of the atmosphere is maximum at sea level and decreases with altitude. This is because the atmosphere is very nearly in hydrostatic equilibrium so that the pressure is equal to the weight of air above a given
19387537
Greenhouse effect


greenhouse gas. It is more realistic to think of the greenhouse effect as applying to a layer in the mid-troposphere, which is effectively coupled to the surface by a lapse rate. The simple picture also assumes a steady state, but in the real world, the diurnal cycle as well as the seasonal cycle and weather disturbances complicate matters. Solar heating applies only during daytime. During the night, the atmosphere cools somewhat, but not greatly, because its emissivity is low. Diurnal temperature changes decrease with height in the
12022194
Atmosphere of Earth


0.04% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other gases. Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor, on average around 1% at sea level, and 0.4% over the entire atmosphere. Air content and atmospheric pressure vary at different layers, and air suitable for use in photosynthesis by terrestrial plants and breathing of terrestrial animals is found only in Earth's troposphere and in artificial atmospheres. The atmosphere has a mass of about 5.15 kg, three quarters of which is within about of the surface. The atmosphere becomes
21257657
Thermosphere


temperature of 500 K in eq.(2). The rest of 250 K in eq.(2) can be attributed to atmospheric waves generated within the troposphere and dissipated within the lower thermosphere. The solar X-ray and extreme ultraviolet radiation (XUV) at wavelengths < 170 nm is almost completely absorbed within the thermosphere. This radiation causes the various ionospheric layers as well as a temperature increase at these heights (Figure 1). While the solar visible light (380 to 780 nm) is nearly constant with a variability of not more than
3351227
Anticyclogenesis


Anticyclogenesis is the development or strengthening of an anticyclonic circulation in the atmosphere. It is the opposite of anticyclolysis (the dissolution or weakening of an anticyclone) and has a cyclonic equivalent known as cyclogenesis. Anticyclones are alternatively referred to as high pressure systems. High-pressure systems form due to downward motion through the troposphere, the atmospheric layer where weather occurs. Preferred areas within a synoptic flow pattern in higher levels of the troposphere are beneath the western side of troughs. On weather maps, these areas show converging winds (isotachs
12458180
Atmospheric methane


atmosphere was estimated at 9.6 years as of 2001; however, increasing emissions of methane over time reduce the concentration of the hydroxyl radical in the atmosphere. With less OH˚ to react with, the lifespan of methane could also increase, resulting in greater concentrations of atmospheric methane. If it is not destroyed in the troposphere, methane will last approximately 120 years before it is eventually destroyed in Earth's next atmospheric layer: the stratosphere. Destruction in the stratosphere occurs the same way that it does in the troposphere: methane is oxidized
3786421
Tropopause


The tropopause is the boundary in the Earth's atmosphere between the troposphere and the stratosphere. It is a thermodynamic gradient stratification layer, marking the end of troposphere. It lies, on average, at above equatorial regions, and above over the polar regions. Going upward from the surface, it is the point where air ceases to cool with height, and becomes almost completely dry. More formally, the tropopause is the region of the atmosphere where the environmental lapse rate changes from positive, as it behaves in the troposphere,
12860916
Atmosphere of Venus


the upper atmosphere of Venus D/H ratio is 1.5 higher than in the bulk atmosphere. The atmosphere is divided into a number of sections depending on altitude. The densest part of the atmosphere, the troposphere, begins at the surface and extends upwards to 65 km. At the furnace-like surface the winds are slow, but at the top of the troposphere the temperature and pressure reaches Earth-like levels and clouds pick up speed to 100 m/s (360 km/h). The atmospheric pressure at
12364111
Log wind profile


The log wind profile is a semi-empirical relationship commonly used to describe the vertical distribution of horizontal mean wind speeds within the lowest portion of the planetary boundary layer. The relationship is well described in the literature. The logarithmic profile of wind speeds is generally limited to the lowest 100 m of the atmosphere (i.e., the surface layer of the atmospheric boundary layer). The rest of the atmosphere is composed of the remaining part of the planetary boundary layer (up to around 1000 m) and the troposphere or free atmosphere
16512256
Earth


% and 4% but averages about 1%. The height of the troposphere varies with latitude, ranging between at the poles to at the equator, with some variation resulting from weather and seasonal factors. Earth's biosphere has significantly altered its atmosphere. Oxygenic photosynthesis evolved , forming the primarily nitrogen–oxygen atmosphere of today. This change enabled the proliferation of aerobic organisms and, indirectly, the formation of the ozone layer due to the subsequent conversion of atmospheric into. The ozone layer blocks ultraviolet solar radiation, permitting life on
9155342
Satellite temperature measurements


+0.1610.033 °C/decade from 1979 to 2012 according to NASA GISS) it is most appropriate to derive trends for the part of the atmosphere nearest the surface, i.e., the lower troposphere. Doing this, through January 2017: An alternative adjustment to remove the stratospheric contamination has been introduced by Fu "et al." (2004), after the correction the vertical weighting function is nearly the same of the T2(TMT) channel in the troposphere, the University of Washington analysis finds 1979-2012 trends of +0.13 °C
354316
Nitrogen cycle


of NO to the atmosphere. Its production is a function of combustion temperature - the higher the temperature, the more NO is produced. Fossil fuel combustion is a primary contributor, but so are biofuels and even the burning of hydrogen. However, the rate that hydrogen is directly injected into the combustion chambers of internal combustion engines can be controlled to prevent the higher combustion temperatures that produce NO. Ammonia and nitrous oxides actively alter atmospheric chemistry. They are precursors of tropospheric (lower atmosphere) ozone production, which contributes to smog
14327580
Free convective layer


In atmospheric sciences, the free convective layer (FCL) is the layer of conditional or potential instability in the troposphere. It is a layer of positive buoyancy (PBE) and is the layer where deep, moist convection (DMC) can occur. On an atmospheric sounding, it is the layer between the level of free convection (LFC) and the equilibrium level (EL). The FCL is important to a variety of convective processes and to severe thunderstorm forecasting. It is the layer of instability, the "positive
5696274
Neptune


, some unknown atmospheric constituent is thought to contribute to Neptune's colour. Neptune's atmosphere is subdivided into two main regions: the lower troposphere, where temperature decreases with altitude, and the stratosphere, where temperature increases with altitude. The boundary between the two, the tropopause, lies at a pressure of . The stratosphere then gives way to the thermosphere at a pressure lower than 10 to 10 bars (1 to 10 Pa). The thermosphere gradually transitions to the exosphere. Models suggest that Neptune's troposphere is banded by
1195369
Atmosphere of Pluto


reliable evidence of light scattering by aerosols (similar to the reddening of rising Sun). However, this feature was absent during later eclipses (including 29 June 2015), and on 14 July 2015, "New Horizons" found the haze to be blue. In the final batch of images received from "New Horizons", a number of potential clouds were observed. Pluto has no or almost no troposphere; observations by "New Horizons" suggest a thin tropospheric boundary layer consistent with those models which predicted its thickness as
3745931
Léon Teisserenc de Bort


radiative heating by solar radiation). That is why Teisserenc de Bort carried out 200+ more balloon experiments (with a substantial part of them being held during the night to eliminate radiative heating) until 1902, when he suggested that the atmosphere was divided into two layers. During the years that followed, he named the two layers of the atmosphere known as the "troposphere" and the "stratosphere". This naming convention has since been maintained, with (higher-altitude) layers that were subsequently discovered being given names
15465161
Sea surface temperature


wetbulb temperature at 500 hPa in a tropical atmosphere of is required to initiate convection if the water temperature is , and this temperature requirement increases or decreases proportionally by 1 °C in the sea surface temperature for each 1 °C change at 500 hpa. Inside a cold cyclone, 500 hPa temperatures can fall as low as , which can initiate convection even in the driest atmospheres. This also explains why moisture in the mid-levels of the troposphere, roughly at the 500 hPa level, is normally a requirement for development.
20592636
Planetary boundary layer


A CBL is typical in tropical and mid-latitudes during daytime. Solar heating assisted by the heat released from the water vapor condensation could create so strong convective turbulence that the Free convective layer comprises the entire troposphere up to the tropopause (the boundary in the Earth's atmosphere between the troposphere and the stratosphere), which is at 10 km to 18 km in the Intertropical convergence zone. The SBL is a PBL when negative buoyancy flux at the surface damps the turbulence; see Convective inhibition. An SBL is solely driven by
3036401
Triton (moon)


that temperature. An upper limit in the low 40s (K) can be set from vapor pressure equilibrium with nitrogen gas in Triton's atmosphere. This is colder than Pluto's average equilibrium temperature of (). Triton's surface atmospheric pressure is only about (). Turbulence at Triton's surface creates a troposphere (a "weather region") rising to an altitude of 8 km. Streaks on Triton's surface left by geyser plumes suggest that the troposphere is driven by seasonal winds capable of moving material of over a
546524
Extraterrestrial atmosphere


energy generation mechanism for Uranus, a feature unique among the gas giants. The atmosphere of Neptune is similar to that of Uranus. It is about 80% hydrogen, 19% helium, and 1.5% methane. However the weather activity on Neptune is much more active, and its atmosphere is much bluer than that of Uranus. The upper levels of the atmosphere reach temperatures of about 55 K, giving rise to methane clouds in its troposphere, which gives the planet its ultramarine color. Temperatures rise steadily deeper inside the atmosphere
21630919
Atmosphere of Uranus


between 49 and 57 K depending on planetary latitude, with the lowest temperature reached near 25° southern latitude. The troposphere holds almost all of the mass of the atmosphere, and the tropopause region is also responsible for the vast majority of the planet's thermal far infrared emissions, thus determining its effective temperature of . The troposphere is believed to possess a highly complex cloud structure; water clouds are hypothesised to lie in the pressure range of , ammonium hydrosulfide clouds in the range of , ammonia or hydrogen sulfide clouds at between 3
3731247
Atmospheric lidar


. The depth of the PBL is defined as the height of the inversion level separating the free troposphere (FT) from the boundary layer. Normally at the top of the PBL, buoyancy flux reaches a minimum and large gradients of potential temperature, water vapor, and aerosols are observed. Identifying an accurate position of the depth of the PBL is essential for reliable representation of parameters in meteorological and air quality models as the PBL is the region of maximum turbulence. It is well known that convective mixing processes are predominant in the
21893782
Atmosphere of Venus


radar imaging. Aside from carbon dioxide, the other main component is nitrogen. Other chemical compounds are present only in trace amounts. Aside from the very surface layers, the atmosphere is in a state of vigorous circulation. The upper layer of troposphere exhibits a phenomenon of super-rotation, in which the atmosphere circles the planet in just four Earth days, much faster than the planet's sidereal day of 243 days. The winds supporting super-rotation blow at a speed of 100 m/s (≈360 km/h
12364103
L. A. Ramdas


Lakshminarayanapuram Ananthakrishnan Ramdas (3 June 1900–1 January 1979) was an Indian physicist and meteorologist, known for discovering the atmospheric phenomenon of the Ramdas layer or Lifted Temperature Minimum where the lowest temperature in the atmosphere is not on the ground but a few tens of centimeters above the ground resulting. This can be seen in thin layer fogs which are at some height above the ground. He has been called the father of agricultural meteorology in India. Ramdas was born in Palghat, Kerala and after his graduation he trained in physics and was
20191187
Skin temperature (of an atmosphere)


temperature builds on a radiative-transfer model of an atmosphere, in which the atmosphere of a planet is divided into an arbitrary number of layers. Each layer is transparent to the visible radiation from the Sun but acts as a blackbody in the infrared, fully absorbing and fully re-emitting infrared radiation originating from the planet's surface and from other atmospheric layers. Layers are warmer near the surface and colder at higher altitudes. If the planet's atmosphere is in radiative equilibrium, then the uppermost of these opaque layers should radiate
14496385
Meteorology


, and tropospheric/stratospheric processes. The Naval Research Laboratory in Monterey, California, developed a global atmospheric model called Navy Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System (NOGAPS). NOGAPS is run operationally at Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center for the United States Military. Many other global atmospheric models are run by national meteorological agencies. Boundary layer meteorology is the study of processes in the air layer directly above Earth's surface, known as the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). The effects of the surface – heating, cooling, and
20483172
Atmospheric temperature


nights has been observed to occur not on the ground, but rather a few tens of centimeters above the ground. The lowest temperature layer is called "Ramdas layer" after L. A. Ramdas, who first reported this phenomenon in 1932 based on observations at different screen heights at six meteorological centers across India. The phenomenon is attributed to the interaction of thermal radiation effects on atmospheric aerosols and convection transfer close to the ground. The concept of a global temperature is commonly used in climatology, and denotes the average temperature of the Earth
19768241
High-pressure area


physics, and provides an animation of a model to aid understanding. High-pressure areas form due to downward motion through the troposphere, the atmospheric layer where weather occurs. Preferred areas within a synoptic flow pattern in higher levels of the troposphere are beneath the western side of troughs. On weather maps, these areas show converging winds (isotachs), also known as convergence, near or above the level of non-divergence, which is near the 500 hPa pressure surface about midway up through the troposphere, and about half
13368197
Atmospheric temperature


Atmospheric temperature is a measure of temperature at different levels of the Earth's atmosphere. It is governed by many factors, including incoming solar radiation, humidity and altitude. When discussing surface air temperature, the annual atmospheric temperature range at any geographical location depends largely upon the type of biome, as measured by the Köppen climate classification. In the Earth's atmosphere, temperature varies greatly at different heights relative to the Earth's surface. The coldest temperatures lie near the mesopause, an area approximately 80 km above the surface. In
19768235
Stratosphere


no regular convection and associated turbulence in this part of the atmosphere. However, exceptionally energetic convection processes, such as volcanic eruption columns and overshooting tops in severe supercell thunderstorms, may carry convection into the stratosphere on a very local and temporary basis. Overall the attenuation of solar UV at wavelengths that damage DNA by the ozone layer allows life to exist on the surface of the planet outside of the ocean. All air entering the stratosphere must pass through the tropopause, the temperature minimum that divides the troposphere and stratosphere. The rising
3351150
Berlin scientific balloon flights


and weather kites. Through international simultaneous flights, it pioneered a synoptic view of the upper atmosphere, and the use of three-dimensional data for the improvement of weather forecasting. The flights offered a convenient means to study the stratification of the troposphere. Simultaneous measurements of temperature, pressure, and humidity could be combined with observations on horizontal and vertical wind movements and cloud formations and layering. However, the stratosphere was not discovered during this project, as the manned flights did not penetrate into this region, and because Aßmann thought
3692421
Tropical cyclone


following conditions. In most situations, water temperatures of at least are needed down to a depth of at least ; waters of this temperature cause the overlying atmosphere to be unstable enough to sustain convection and thunderstorms. For tropical transitioning cyclones (i.e. Hurricane Ophelia (2017)) a water temperature of at least has been suggested. Another factor is rapid cooling with height, which allows the release of the heat of condensation that powers a tropical cyclone. High humidity is needed, especially in the lower-to-mid troposphere;
6200474
Mixed layer


found at the surface without gaining or losing heat. As such an increase of pressure involves compressing the air, the potential temperature is higher than the in-situ temperature, with the difference increasing as one goes higher in the atmosphere. The atmospheric mixed layer is defined as a layer of (approximately) constant potential temperature, or a layer in which the temperature falls at a rate of approximately 10 °C/km, provided it is free of clouds. Such a layer may have gradients in the humidity, though.
4923540
Skin temperature (of an atmosphere)


radiates in both the upwards and downwards directions. If the skin layer remains at a constant temperature, the energy fluxes in and out of the skin layer should be equal, so that: formula_5 Therefore, by rearranging the above equation, the skin temperature can be related to the equilibrium temperature of an atmosphere by: formula_6 The skin temperature is thus independent of the absorptivity/emissivity of the skin layer. A multi-layered model of a greenhouse atmosphere will produce predicted temperatures for the atmosphere that decrease with height, asymptotically approaching
14496389