Weatherman
Well-known member
The temperature stays steady or warms with height in the stratosphere. Because, unlike the troposphere, which is warmed from the bottom by the earth's surface, the stratosphere is warmed from the top by the ozone layer.
With few exceptions, the coldest location in the lower part of the atmosphere is right where the troposphere and stratosphere meet (the tropopause). It's the location farthest away from the two heat sources.
Unless heat is added or removed from an air parcel, the temperature will decrease with height due to the decrease in pressure. This is called the adiabatic lapse rate (dry adiabatic is about 5.5F/1000 ft). In a perfectly mixed and perfectly dry atmosphere, with no radiative, convective, conductive or advective heat loss or gain, the air temperature will decrease with height at the dry adiabatic lapse rate all the way from the bottom to the top.
With few exceptions, the coldest location in the lower part of the atmosphere is right where the troposphere and stratosphere meet (the tropopause). It's the location farthest away from the two heat sources.
Unless heat is added or removed from an air parcel, the temperature will decrease with height due to the decrease in pressure. This is called the adiabatic lapse rate (dry adiabatic is about 5.5F/1000 ft). In a perfectly mixed and perfectly dry atmosphere, with no radiative, convective, conductive or advective heat loss or gain, the air temperature will decrease with height at the dry adiabatic lapse rate all the way from the bottom to the top.