Question

Differentiate between negative lapse rate and positive lapse rate

Answer 1

Answer:

The lapse rate is considered positive when the temperature decreases with elevation, zero when the temperature is constant with elevation, and negative when the temperature increases with elevation (temperature inversion).

Explanation:

In the atmosphere, rising or sinking air will only cool or warm at one of two rates - the dry adiabatic lapse rate or the moist adiabatic lapse rate.  The first, the dry adiabatic lapse rate, is the rate an unsaturated parcel of air warms or cools when moving vertically through the atmosphere.  The dry adiabatic lapse rate is approximately a 5.5 degree Fahrenheit change in temperature for every 1000 feet of vertical movement.

The moist adiabatic lapse rate, on the other hand, is the rate at which a saturated parcel of air warms or cools when it moves vertically.  This lapse rate is approximately 3.3 degrees Fahrenheit for every 1000 feet of vertical movement.