Lapse rate

The lapse rate is the rate at which an atmospheric variable, normally temperature in Earth's atmosphere, falls with altitude.^[1]^[2] Lapse rate arises from the word lapse, in the sense of a gradual fall. In dry air, the adiabatic lapse rate (i.e., decrease in temperature of a parcel of air that rises in the atmosphere without exchange energy with surrounding air) is 9.8 °C/km (5.4 °F per 1,000 ft). The saturated adiabatic lapse rate (SALR), or moist adiabatic lapse rate (MALR), is the decrease in temperature of a parcel of water-saturated air that rises in the atmosphere. It varies with the temperature and pressure of the parcel and is often in the range 3.6 to 9.2 °C/km (2 to 5 °F/1000 ft), as obtained from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The environmental lapse rate is the decrease in temperature of air with altitude for a specific time and place (see below). It can be highly variable between circumstances.

Lapse rate corresponds to the vertical component of the spatial gradient of temperature. Although this concept is most often applied to the Earth's troposphere, it can be extended to any gravitationally supported parcel of gas.

^ Jacobson, Mark Zachary (2005). Fundamentals of Atmospheric Modeling (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-83970-9.
^ Ahrens, C. Donald (2006). Meteorology Today (8th ed.). Brooks/Cole Publishing. ISBN 978-0-495-01162-0.

[1] Jacobson, Mark Zachary (2005). Fundamentals of Atmospheric Modeling (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-83970-9.

[2] Ahrens, C. Donald (2006). Meteorology Today (8th ed.). Brooks/Cole Publishing. ISBN 978-0-495-01162-0.

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