Science Facts - Lapse Rate

Lapse Rate refers to the decrease in temperature with altitude ... unless a specific qualifier is used - such as pressure, wind, humidity, and the like.


Interactive Graphs

Interactive graphs that help demonstrate these concepts.

Lapse Rate Animations (pc's only) - There is a lot to learn by looking at a single sounding plot. However, I have written a Windows program that allows you to look at a full year at a time.


Additional Reading

Los Angeles Pierce College has a great introduction to Atmospheric Stability and Lapse Rates. I recommend it for its excellent graphics and Flash movies. In particular, I like the animation describing how mountains produce deserts in their rain shadow.

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for 2010 February 16 shows a beautiful picture of the space shuttle against the limb of the Earth. This image shows the blue mesosphere, a white stratosphere, and a red/orange troposphere.

The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) has a nice series on the atmosphere and its layers.


Author: Robert Clemenzi
URL: http:// mc-computing.com / Science_Facts / Lapse_Rate / index.html