Just got back from Snow boarding - St Elmua and it occured to me and my wife as the temperature dropped whilst we drove there - why is it colder up there than down here.
My background is finance/economics so have no scientific explanation...quick check on Wikipedia for Mountains said the atmosphere is colder but my question is why? If anyone can help with an (understanble) answer for a dumb economist that would be appreciated.
Thanks
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Why is it colder up a mountain than at sea level?
Temperature decreases with increasing altitude
I was also looking at a NASA site similar to the link mere provided. I'll add a snippet from the one I saw about air pressure:
QUOTE
Altitude also affects air temperature. Within the troposphere, the air temperature generally drops 3.5 Fahrenheit degrees per 1,000 feet of elevation (6.5 Celsius degrees per 1,000 meters of elevation). Thus, it is usually colder on top of a mountain than in the surrounding lowlands. Air pressure is the weight per unit of area of a column of air that reaches to the top of the atmosphere. Air pressure always decreases with increasing altitude because as you move higher there is less and less air above you. Air pressure is, on average, highest at sea level and drops to about half its sea-level value at an average altitude of about 18,000 feet (5,500 meters).
Another altitude phenomenon factoid: people who live at high altitudes actually develop a higher proportion of red blood cells compared to white over the course of 2-3 months. Helps the body to more efficiently process less oxygen, or something. I used to live near Denver, at about one kilometer altitude.
It's also frickin' DRY up there. Everybody who lives there carries around bottles of water all day and uses tons of moisturizer.
It's also frickin' DRY up there. Everybody who lives there carries around bottles of water all day and uses tons of moisturizer.
Gases follow Boyle's Law. Basically, compress a gas and it heats up. Allow if to expand and it cools. For example: pump up a bicycle tyre using a hand pump. You'll notice the pump heats up. For the converse - imagine filling a lighter with gas. As the gas expands into the empty lighter, it expands and cools down, as does the refill because it's a constant volume and is losing pressure. You can feel the temperature drop and sometimes it goes low enough for frost to form on lighter & refill.
No-one is pumping the atmosphere anywhere, but a lot of air is being moved around by various convection currents etc.. It's all quite complicated but I think that's basically it.
Edit: missed a key detail - atmospheric pressure decreases as you go up (because there's less weight of atmosphere pressing down on you).
No-one is pumping the atmosphere anywhere, but a lot of air is being moved around by various convection currents etc.. It's all quite complicated but I think that's basically it.
Edit: missed a key detail - atmospheric pressure decreases as you go up (because there's less weight of atmosphere pressing down on you).
Thanks guys I knew you would come up trumps...
What rubbish. Everyone knows hot air rises.
Yeah and if up a mountain it must be warmer 'cos you are nearer the sun innit.
Regards,
Johnny Icarus.
Regards,
Johnny Icarus.
Nah, mountains are colder at the top because they're covered in snow. Well, hopefully covered in snow anyway.
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