Temperature Inversion
Temperature inversion represent the extreme case of atmospheric stability, creating a virtual lid on
the upward movement of pollution. There are several causes of inversions. but only two are of major
importance from an air quality Stand-point. The first, radiation inversions. are caused by nocturnal
cooling of the earth's surface, especially on clear winter nights. The second, subsidence inversions,
are the result of the compressive heating of descending air masses in high pressure zones. There
are other causes of inversions. but they are less important. There are also inversions associated with
geographical features of the landscape. Warm air passing over a cold body of water, for example,
create an inversion. There are also inversions in valleys when cold air rolls down the canyons at night
under warmer air that might exist aloft.
Radiation Inversions
The surface of the earth cools down at night by radiating energy toward space. On a cloudy
night, the earth's radiation tends to be absorbed by water vapor in the atmosphere. which in turn
reradiates some of that energy back to the ground. On a clear night, however, the surface more
readily radiates energy to space; thus, the ground can cool much more rapidly. As the ground cools,
the temperature of the air in contact with the surface also drops. As is often the case on clear winter
nights, the temperature of the air just above the ground becomes colder than the air above it,
creating an inversion. Radiation inversions begin to form at about dusk. As the evening progresses,
the inversion extends to a higher and higher elevation, reaching perhaps a few hundred meters
before morning comes and the sun warms the ground again. Figure 1 shows the development of a
radiation inversion through the night, followed by the erosion of the inversion that takes place the
next day.
Radiation inversions occur close to the ground, mostly during the winter, and last for only a
matter of hours. They often begin at about the time traffic builds up in the early evening, which
traps auto exhaust at ground level and causes concentrations of pollution for commuters. Without
sunlight, photochemical reactions cannot take place, so the biggest problem can be the
accumulation of carbon monoxide. In the morning, as the sun warms the ground and the inversion
begins to break up, pollutants that have been trapped in the stable air mass are suddenly brought
back to earth in a process known as fumigation. Fumigation can cause a short-lived, high
concentration of pollution at ground level.
Subsidence Inversions
While radiation inversions are mostly a short-lived, ground-level, wintertime phenomenon, the
other important cause of inversions, subsidence, creates quite the opposite characteristics.
Subsidence inversions may last for months on end, occur at higher elevations, and are more
common in summer than winter.
Subsidence inversions are associated with high-pressure weather systems, known as
anticyclones. Air in the middle of a high pressure zone is descending, while on the edges, it is rising.
Air near the ground moves outward from the center, while air aloft moves toward the center from the
edges. The result is a massive vertical circulation system. As air in the center of the system falls, it
experiences greater pressure and is compressed and heated. As is often the case, this compressive
heating warms the descending air to a higher temperature than the air below, whose temperature is
dictated primarily by conditions on the ground. The result is an inversion, located anywhere from
several hundred meters above the surface to several thousand meters, that lasts as long as the high-
pressure weather system persists.
Since subsiding air is getting warmer, it is more and more able to hold water vapor as it
descends. Without sources of new moisture, its relative humidity drops; thus, there is little chance
for clouds to form. The result is that high pressure zones create clear, dry weather with lots of
sunshine during the day and clear skies at night. Clear skies allow solar warming of the earth's
surface. This helps create superadiabatic conditions under the inversion during the daytime and,
hence, good mixing. At night, the surface can cool quickly by radiation, which may result in a
radiation inversion located under the subsidence inversion as shown in Figure 2.
3 pm
Temperature
Temperature
(a)
(b)
Figure 1. a) Development of a radiation inversion and b) the subsequent erosion of
the inversion. The times are representative only. The breakup of the inversion in the
morning leads to a process called fumigation.
Figure 2. Subsidence inversion a) As air descends it is warmed adiabatically creating clear skies and an upper
level inversion , b) during the day, air under the inversion may be unstable due to solar warming of the
surface, and c) radiation inversion may form at night under the subsidence inversion , especially in winter
