Why do temperatures increase in the stratosphere

The stratosphere gets progressively warmer the higher you go because the ozone layer is located in the stratosphere. When sunlight breaks apart molecules and they recombine into ozone in the ozone layer, heat is a byproduct of that reaction.

This is also the reason why the stratosphere is a relatively stable region of the atmosphere with virtually no vertical mixing. Why do temperatures increase in the stratosphere?

Earth Science. Apr 21, Ozone creation and destruction. The gases in the mesosphere are now thick enough to slow down meteors hurtling into the atmosphere, where they burn up, leaving fiery trails in the night sky. Both the stratosphere next layer down and the mesosphere are considered the middle atmosphere.

The transition boundary which separates the mesosphere from the stratosphere is called the stratopause. The Stratosphere extends around 31 miles 50 km down to anywhere from 4 to 12 miles 6 to 20 km above the Earth's surface. This layer holds 19 percent of the atmosphere's gases but very little water vapor. In this region the temperature increases with height. This increase in temperature with height means warmer air is located above cooler air.

This prevents "convection" as there is no upward vertical movement of the gases. As such the location of the bottom of this layer is readily seen by the 'anvil-shaped' tops of cumulonimbus clouds. Known as the lower atmosphere almost all weather occurs in this region. The troposphere begins at the Earth's surface and extends from 4 to 12 miles 6 to 20 km high.

The height of the troposphere varies from the equator to the poles. As the density of the gases in this layer decrease with height, the air becomes thinner. By understanding the way temperature changes with altitude, we can learn a lot about how the atmosphere works. While weather takes place in the lower atmosphere, interesting things, such as the beautiful aurora, happen higher in the atmosphere.

Papers held up by rising air currents above a radiator demonstrate the important principle that warm air rises. Why does warm air rise Figure above? Gas molecules are able to move freely and if they are uncontained, as they are in the atmosphere, they can take up more or less space. Warmer, lighter air is more buoyant than the cooler air above it, so it rises. The cooler air then sinks down, because it is denser than the air beneath it. This is convection, which was described in the Plate Tectonics chapter.

The property that changes most strikingly with altitude is air temperature. Unlike the change in pressure and density, which decrease with altitude, changes in air temperature are not regular. A change in temperature with distance is called a temperature gradient. The temperature gradient of each layer is different. In some layers, temperature increases with altitude and in others it decreases.

The temperature gradient in each layer is determined by the heat source of the layer Figure below. The four main layers of the atmosphere have different temperature gradients, creating the thermal structure of the atmosphere. The layers of the atmosphere appear as different colors in this image from the International Space Station. Most of the important processes of the atmosphere take place in the lowest two layers: the troposphere and the stratosphere.

The temperature of the troposphere is highest near the surface of the Earth and decreases with altitude. On average, the temperature gradient of the troposphere is 6. What is the source of heat for the troposphere? The temperature is also higher near the surface because of the greater density of gases. The higher gravity causes the temperature to rise. Notice that in the troposphere warmer air is beneath cooler air. What do you think the consequence of this is? This condition is unstable.

The warm air near the surface rises and cool air higher in the troposphere sinks. So air in the troposphere does a lot of mixing.

This mixing causes the temperature gradient to vary with time and place.