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Geolens

Glossary

417 words used in the labs.

Find a term from the labs, understand the process behind it, and see how it appears in the landscape. Each entry connects an explanation with a real observation and a model you can explore.

Term

Lapse rate

The rate at which temperature changes with height in the atmosphere. An environmental lapse rate describes measured surrounding air; an adiabatic rate describes a rising or sinking parcel. An inversion occurs where temperature increases with height.

What to look for

Balloon-borne radiosondes transmit measurements of the atmosphere. Profiles of temperature, humidity and pressure help locate inversions and estimate lapse rates.

Related labs

Atmosphere as a thin film →
Graw DFM radiosondes and a radio receiver arranged on a table.
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