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Wed, 20 Aug 2008 | |
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You are in: Weather > SA regional > Ecucation  INVERSION LAYERS A surface inversion layer is a layer within the first 1500m of the atmosphere. It occurs when a air within a high pressure descends and as it descends, it warms the atmosphere, much like a bicycle pump warms up when you pump up a wheel. When air is compressed it will warm up. As the air descends from heights of about 12km it will warm and the warmest air will be found at this inversion layer which can be several meters thick. The air temperature then cools towards the surface.
So if one had to move from the surface of the earth when an inversion was present, you would notice that the air warms as you ascend and it will become warmer until you reach the inversion layer when it will start cooling again.
The photograph below was taken by myself on Sunday 3 November 1985 in Constantia, Cape Town looking towards the NE at around 15:30. Large convective cumulonimbus clouds had built up during the day over the Boland mountains, but were severely restricted in their upwards growth by a very strong inversion, probably at about 2000m. This can be clearly seen from the very flat tops of the two massive clouds.
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ALEXANDER BAY 19/10 ALLDAYS 26/09 BEAUFORT WEST 27/12 BELA-BELA 25/05 BETHLEHEM 19/05 BISHO 29/16 BLOEMFONTEIN 24/08 CALVINIA 25/06 CAPE ST LUCIA 26/12 CAPE TOWN 23/11 CLANWILLIAM 30/07 DE AAR 25/10 DURBAN 25/13 EAST LONDON 23/14 ERMELO 17/04 FAURESMITH 21/04 FICKSBURG 21/08 GEORGE 23/11 GRAAF-REINETT 23/06 GRAHAMSTOWN 23/10 HERMANUS 21/14 JOHANNESBURG 19/05 JOUBERTINA 23/11 KIMBERLEY 25/10 KLERKSDORP 25/08 KOMATIPOORT 29/13 KROONSTAD 25/07 LADYSMITH 23/04 LANGEBAAN 21/04 LEPHALALE 26/08 LYDENBURG 18/04 MAFIKENG 24/11 MUSINA 25/10 NELSPRUIT 27/11 NEWCASTLE 23/08 OUDTSHOORN 27/09 PAARL 23/14 PHALABORWA 26/11 PIETERMARITZBURG 27/10 PLETTENBERG BAY 24/09 POLOKWANE 19/04 PORT ALFRED 23/13 PORT ELIZABETH 23/14 PORT ST JOHNS 23/14 POTCHEFSTROOM 25/07 PRETORIA 23/09 QUEENSTOWN 24/07 RICHARDS BAY 27/17 ROBERTSON 25/11 RUSTENBURG 23/10 SASOLBURG 24/08 SKUKUZA 28/14 SOWETO 19/04 SPRINGBOK 23/14 STILBAAI 23/13 SUTHERLAND 20/05 TZANEEN 19/08 ULUNDI 27/11 UMTATA 22/07 UPINGTON 29/13 VEREENIGING 21/04 VREDENDAL 31/08 VRYBURG 24/10 WELKOM 25/08 WITBANK 18/05 WORCESTER 24/11 |
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Inversion conditions usually suppress any
convective development and usually very stable
conditions occur with inversion conditions.
Inversion layers occur throughout summer over
CT. They also occur in winter on fine cold
mornings when most of the smog is trapped within
the lowest 200m above the ground.