Inversion layer: Difference between revisions
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[[File:inversionlayer.jpg|thumb|350px|Figure 1. Smoke rising from a factory in Scotland is halted due to a warm inversion layer.<Ref>Wikimedia Commons [Online] Available: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/SmokeCeilingInLochcarron.jpg</ref>]] | [[File:inversionlayer.jpg|thumb|350px|Figure 1. Smoke rising from a factory in Scotland is halted due to a warm inversion layer.<Ref>Wikimedia Commons [Online] Available: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/SmokeCeilingInLochcarron.jpg</ref>]] | ||
<onlyinclude>Typically as elevation increases on Earth, the [[temperature]] of the air decreases. An '''inversion layer''' is a region or layer of the [[atmosphere]] in which the temperature stops decreasing with elevation and instead becomes ''warmer''.</onlyinclude> These are a significant factor in the formation of [[smog]], a type of [[pollution]] often seen over densely populated cities such as Los Angeles and Mexico City.<ref name=csu>California State University. ''Inversion Layers'' [Online], Available: http://www.csun.edu/~hmc60533/CSUN_103/weather_exercises/soundings/smog_and_inversions/Inversions.htm</ref> | <onlyinclude>Typically as elevation increases on Earth, the [[temperature]] of the air decreases. An '''inversion layer''' is a region or layer of the [[atmosphere]] in which the temperature stops decreasing with elevation and instead becomes ''warmer''.</onlyinclude> These are a significant factor in the formation of [[smog]], a type of [[pollution]] often seen over densely populated cities such as Los Angeles and Mexico City.<ref name=csu>California State University. ''Inversion Layers'' [Online], Available: http://www.csun.edu/~hmc60533/CSUN_103/weather_exercises/soundings/smog_and_inversions/Inversions.htm</ref> | ||
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It is fairly common knowledge that hot air rises, so normally smog that is hotter than air would rise high into the atmosphere, where it could disperse throughout the [[environment]]. However when smog encounters a hotter inversion layer it cannot rise anymore, resulting in it being "trapped". This causes the smog to remain suspended fairly low over a city and it cannot be dispersed as easily, resulting in the population feeling the effects of its [[pollutant]]s. Cities located in a valley and surrounded by mountains are especially susceptible to inversion layers, and when they are located near the ocean it effectively amplifies the inversion. | It is fairly common knowledge that hot air rises, so normally smog that is hotter than air would rise high into the atmosphere, where it could disperse throughout the [[environment]]. However when smog encounters a hotter inversion layer it cannot rise anymore, resulting in it being "trapped". This causes the smog to remain suspended fairly low over a city and it cannot be dispersed as easily, resulting in the population feeling the effects of its [[pollutant]]s. Cities located in a valley and surrounded by mountains are especially susceptible to inversion layers, and when they are located near the ocean it effectively amplifies the inversion. | ||
==For Further Reading== | |||
* Visit the pages on [[smog]] and [[photochemical smog]] for more information about the effects of smog. | |||
* The [[layers of the atmosphere]] are examples of inversion layers. | |||
* [[Pollution]] | |||
*Or explore a [[Special:Random|random page]] | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{Reflist}} | {{Reflist}} | ||
[[Category:Uploaded]] | [[Category:Uploaded]] | ||
Revision as of 17:55, 30 January 2020
Figure 1. Smoke rising from a factory in Scotland is halted due to a warm inversion layer.[1]
Typically as elevation increases on Earth, the temperature of the air decreases. An inversion layer is a region or layer of the atmosphere in which the temperature stops decreasing with elevation and instead becomes warmer. These are a significant factor in the formation of smog, a type of pollution often seen over densely populated cities such as Los Angeles and Mexico City.[2]
It is fairly common knowledge that hot air rises, so normally smog that is hotter than air would rise high into the atmosphere, where it could disperse throughout the environment. However when smog encounters a hotter inversion layer it cannot rise anymore, resulting in it being "trapped". This causes the smog to remain suspended fairly low over a city and it cannot be dispersed as easily, resulting in the population feeling the effects of its pollutants. Cities located in a valley and surrounded by mountains are especially susceptible to inversion layers, and when they are located near the ocean it effectively amplifies the inversion.
For Further Reading
- Visit the pages on smog and photochemical smog for more information about the effects of smog.
- The layers of the atmosphere are examples of inversion layers.
- Pollution
- Or explore a random page
References
- ↑ Wikimedia Commons [Online] Available: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/SmokeCeilingInLochcarron.jpg
- ↑ California State University. Inversion Layers [Online], Available: http://www.csun.edu/~hmc60533/CSUN_103/weather_exercises/soundings/smog_and_inversions/Inversions.htm
