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An inversion traps air pollution, such as smog, near the ground. An inversion can also suppress convection by acting as a "cap". If this cap is broken for any of several reasons, convection of any humidity can then erupt into violent thunderstorms. Temperature inversion can cause freezing rain in cold climates.
Lake stratification is the tendency of lakes to form separate and distinct thermal layers during warm weather. Typically stratified lakes show three distinct layers: the epilimnion, comprising the top warm layer; the thermocline (or metalimnion), the middle layer, whose depth may change throughout the day; and the colder hypolimnion, extending to the floor of the lake.
In the Northern hemisphere, the maximum temperatures at the surface occur through August and September and minimum temperatures occur through February and March with total heat content being lowest in March. [5] This is when the seasonal thermocline starts to build back up after being broken down through the colder months.
A marine layer is an air mass that develops over the surface of a large body of water, such as an ocean or large lake, in the presence of a temperature inversion. The inversion itself is usually initiated by the cooling effect caused when cold water on the surface of the ocean interacts with a comparatively warm air mass. [1]
Stratification in water is the formation in a body of water of relatively distinct and stable layers by density. It occurs in all water bodies where there is stable density variation with depth. Stratification is a barrier to the vertical mixing of water, which affects the exchange of heat, carbon, oxygen and nutrients. [1]
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 ...
When this process occurs on mountain slopes, the cooling air becomes denser than the air further afield and sinks downslope producing a katabatic wind. When the cold air reaches a relatively flat area or a valley, it slows down and accumulates, like water entering a lake.
The ocean temperature plays a crucial role in the global climate system, ocean currents and for marine habitats. It varies depending on depth, geographical location and season. Not only does the temperature differ in seawater, so does the salinity. Warm surface water is generally saltier than the cooler deep or polar waters. [1]