If you lift a 15 °C air bubble from the surface to 1 km height and the environmental temperature at
1 km is 10 °C, what stability does the atmosphere demonstrate at this level?
To determine the stability of the atmosphere at a specific level, we need to compare the temperature of the air bubble with the surrounding environmental temperature.
In this case, the temperature of the air bubble at the surface is 15 °C, while the environmental temperature at 1 km height is 10 °C. The air bubble is warmer than the surrounding air at that height.
To determine the stability, we can use the concept of lapse rate. The lapse rate is the rate at which temperature changes with an increase in altitude. There are three types of lapse rates: stable, unstable, and neutral.
A stable atmosphere is characterized by a temperature inversion, where temperature increases with altitude. In this case, since the environmental temperature is lower at 1 km than at the surface, there is a decrease in temperature with increasing altitude. Therefore, the atmosphere demonstrates stable stability at this level.
To summarize, since the environmental temperature decreases with altitude and the air bubble is warmer than the surrounding air, the atmosphere demonstrates stable stability at the 1 km height level.