A temperature inversion is most likely to occur under which of the following conditions?
-
Mountain top in late evening
-
Windy but cloudy night
-
Calm, cloudy and humid night
-
Calm, clear and cool winter night
Temperature inversion: upward reversal of the normal environmental temperature lapse rate. So, that the air temperature increases upward. The following types on the basis of relative heights from the earth's surface at which it occurs and the type of air circulation:1. Non-advectional inversion (i) Ground or surface inversion or radiation inversion (ii) Upper air inversion y2. Advectional inversioin (i) Frontal inversion or cyclonic inversion (ii) Valley inversion due to vertical air movement (iii) Surface inversion due to horizontal air movement3. Mechanical inversion (i) Subsidence inversion (ii) Turbulence and Convective inversionThe ground surface inversion occurs under the following conditions: a) Long winter nights, so that the loss of heat by terrestrial radiation from the ground surface during night may exceed the amount of insolation received from the Sun through incoming shortwave electro-magnetic radiation waves and thus the ground surface becomes too cold. b) Cloudless and clear sky, so that the loss of heat through terrestrial radiation proceeds more rapidly without any obstruction. c) Presence of dry air near the ground surface so that it may not absorb much heat radiated from the earth's surface. d) Slow movement of air, so that there is no transfer and mixing of heat in the lower layers of the atmosphere.