Temperature increases as you gain altitude
in the stratosphere and the thermosphere
What happens to air when altitude increases?
As altitude increases,
the amount of gas molecules in the air decreases
—the air becomes less dense than air nearer to sea level. … This is due to the low air pressure. Air expands as it rises, and the fewer gas molecules—including nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide—have fewer chances to bump into each other.
What happens to the temperature in each layer as altitude increases?
Temperatures decrease with increasing height as the ozone layer is left behind and
the air thins out with increasing altitude
. The lowest portion of the low-pressure mesosphere is heated by the warm air of the upper stratosphere. This heat radiates upward, getting less intense as altitude increases.
What happens to the air temperature as the altitude increases in the stratosphere and why?
Temperature in the stratosphere rises with increasing altitude,
because the ozone layer absorbs the greater part of the solar ultraviolet radiation
. The ozone layer is an absorbing agent that protects life on Earth.
What is the relationship between altitude and temperature?
Temperature varies with altitude, as follows: In
the troposphere, temperature decreases as altitude increases
. In the stratosphere, temperature generally increases as altitude increases due to the increasing absorption of ultraviolet radiation by the ozone layer.
Why the temperature decreases with altitude?
As you increase in elevation, there is less air above you thus the pressure decreases. As the pressure decreases,
air molecules spread out further
(i.e. air expands), and the temperature decreases. … The temperature in the troposphere — the lowest layer of the earth’s atmosphere — generally decreases with altitude.
Does density increase with height?
Air density
is higher at lower altitudes
. There is more space between air molecules at higher altitudes.
What is considered high altitude living?
What is considered a “high elevation” in terms of getting altitude sickness? … High altitude:
8,000 to 12,000 feet above sea level
. Very high altitude: 12,000 to 18,000 feet. Extremely high altitude: 18,000+ feet.
At what altitude is atmospheric pressure the greatest?
The depth (distance from top to bottom) of the atmosphere is greatest at
sea level
and decreases at higher altitudes. With greater depth of the atmosphere, more air is pressing down from above. Therefore, air pressure is greatest at sea level and falls with increasing altitude.
Which is the coldest layer?
Mesosphere
, altitude and temperature characteristics
The top of the mesosphere is the coldest area of the Earth’s atmosphere because temperature may locally decrease to as low as 100 K (-173°C).
Why is the pressure decreases rapidly with altitude?
At higher elevations, there are fewer air molecules above a given surface than a similar surface at lower levels. … Since most of the atmosphere’s molecules are held close to the earth’s surface by the force of gravity, air pressure
decreases rapidly at first
, then more slowly at higher levels.
Why temperature decreases with altitude in mesosphere?
Temperatures in the mesosphere decrease with altitude. Because
there are few gas molecules in the mesosphere to absorb the Sun’s radiation
, the heat source is the stratosphere below.
At what rate temperature decreases with increase in height?
Solution(By Examveda Team)
The actual rate at which the temperature drops with altitude is called the environmental lapse rate. In the troposphere, the average environmental lapse rate is a drop of
about 6.5 °C for every 1 km (1,000 meters)
in increased height.
What is the hottest atmospheric layer?
The thermosphere
is often considered the “hot layer” because it contains the warmest temperatures in the atmosphere. Temperature increases with height until the estimated top of the thermosphere at 500 km. Temperatures can reach as high as 2000 K or 1727 oC in this layer (Wallace and Hobbs 24).
Which place is the coldest?
- 1) Eastern Antarctic Plateau, Antarctica (-94°C) …
- 2) Vostok Station Antarctica (-89.2°C) …
- 3) Amundsen-Scott Station, Antarctica (-82.8°C) …
- 4) Denali, Alaska, United States of America (-73°C) …
- 5) Klinck station, Greenland (-69.6°C) …
- 6) Oymyakon, Siberia, Russia (-67.7°C)
What kind of air has the greatest density?
Explanation: In science, it is learnt that
warm air
is much less dense than cold air, so as air masses are made up of air, the cold ones are denser and the warm ones are less dense. That is why during frontal rainfall, warm air rises over cool air.
