Why Air Temperature Decreases with Increasing Altitude
Air Temperature Decreases the Higher You Go into the Atmosphere, but Why?
When you think about it, a logical belief would be to assume that the temperature on top of a high mountain would be greater than the temperature at sea level. After all, when standing on top of a high mountain, you are much closer to the sun than you would be if you were standing at sea level. If you are closer to the sun, shouldn't the temperature be hotter? Well, not really. And here's why! The first thing you have to understand is that the earth is NOT heated from direct sunlight. The atmosphere is heated from the gound up!. Sunlight goes right through our atmosphere and hits the ground; the ground warms which in turn warms the air in contact with the ground. This is a form of what's called "radiational heating," the heat radiates from the ground to the air! You must understand this basic tenet of meteorology before digesting the rest. Second, the air around us is made up of billions and billions of tiny air molecules. These molecules are kept close to the earth's surface by way of the gravitational pull of the earth. In other words, the atmosphere is at its most dense at sea level due to the stronger gravitational pull that exists near the earth's surface; all of the air molecules are packed close together and are most numerous at or near sea level. Now, what happens when you start to ascend up into the atmosphere - whether by plane or by driving up a mountain - is you start to reach areas of the atmosphere that are less dense; areas that have fewer and fewer air molecules. The higher you go, the air is lighter or "thinner".
Now, here's where it all comes together. Since the atmosphere is warmed from the ground up, and since the air is at its most dense near the surface of the earth, the air near the surface is going to be able to retain much more heat than the air at higher elevations due to the increased amounts of air molecules; higher elevations have fewer air molecules and consequently can't retain as much heat. So, even though you would be much closer to the sun if you were standing on top of a mountain, the air temperature would be considerably less than it would be at sea level. The fancy term for what I just described is called the "lapse rate," which is the rate of temperature loss with increasing altitude. But there's no need to worry about the technical names and all; as long as you have a basic understanding of what happens, that's it. You know the process. Now you can go impress people with your knowledge of why air temperature decreases with increased altitude!
Published by Jason Medina
I am currently a college student in Southern California. I am working on improving my writing skills, and I am happy about being given the opportunity to express myself on this site. View profile
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9 Comments
Post a CommentIt was a kind of a headache to me to digest the phenomenon...i mean i also thought why despite being closer to the sun the temperature was cooler than hotter..thanks so much for the fabulous explanation.
Mike chill out....
CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM:
If you are going to write about a subject, you need to RESEARCH it and UNDERSTAND in depth what you are going to write about. You are going to be a lousy writer if what you write is BS!
Why the second explanation is INCORRECT:
Those molecules that are in the upper atmosphere are attracted to the Earth with very nearly the same degree of force (gravity) that affects the lower altitude molecules. The so-called "greater gravitational force" nearer the Earth's surface is NOT the reason the lower altitudes have a more densely packed atmosphere! The overwhelming reason the lower altitudes are "denser" is because of all those mile and miles of molecules sitting on top of the lower altitudes weighs upon (or squishes together) the lower molecules.
Air pressure is close to an analogy with the oceans. When a diver starts at the surface, the water pressure (weight) bearing down upon him is quite tolerable, but as he goes deeper into the ocean, the pressure builds up to very high pressures, approximately 0.5 lb / foot of water.
CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM:
If you are going to write about a subject, you need to RESEARCH it and UNDERSTAND in depth what
THE FIRST SERIOUS ERROR:
"After all, when standing on top of a high mountain, you are much closer to the sun than you would be if you were standing at sea level. If you are closer to the sun, shouldn't the temperature be hotter?"
Why this explanation is INCORRECT:
The so called "closer to the sun" statement is very incorrect! The sun is 93 x 10^6 miles from Earth, and being on top of a mountain is an extremely insignificant degree of "closeness". I would not consider 4 miles as "much closer" to the sun, when compared to the 93 million miles distance to the sun from Earth!
THE SECOND SERIOUS ERROR:
"These molecules are kept close to the earth's surface by way of the gravitational pull of the earth. In other words, the atmosphere is at its most dense at sea level due to the stronger gravitational pull that exists near the earth's surface...."
Why the second explanation is INCORRECT:
Those molecules that are in t
great explanation.. It was useful
hi GreenLantern,
The temperature decreases with altitude within the atmospheric limit of earth .From thermosphere onwards the temperature rises with altitude , This proves that the myth of Icarus is scientifically true assuming that ICARUS flew above the atmospheric limit.
Considering the distance from Earth to Sun, a person on the top of a mountain is not "much closer" to the Sun. The highest mountains on Earth have a few kilometers, while the Sun is located 150 *million* kilometers away. And so the difference obtained by climbing a mountain is completely negligible...
Wait a second... When Icarus flew to close the Sun (higher in the sky) the wax that was holding his wings together melted and he fell to his death!
Just kidding, nice article. Thanks for the explanation.