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Wed, 22 May 2013 | |
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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 21/13 ALLDAYS 26/11 BEAUFORT WEST 22/13 BELA-BELA 24/08 BETHLEHEM 18/04 BISHO 27/14 BLOEMFONTEIN 22/08 CALVINIA 22/13 CAPE ST LUCIA 25/18 CAPE TOWN 18/13 CLANWILLIAM 20/10 DE AAR 23/10 DURBAN 26/17 EAST LONDON 26/19 ERMELO 20/04 FAURESMITH 23/10 FICKSBURG 18/04 GEORGE 21/15 GRAAF-REINETT 23/12 GRAHAMSTOWN 25/17 HERMANUS 19/14 JOHANNESBURG 21/08 JOUBERTINA 21/15 KIMBERLEY 23/11 KLERKSDORP 21/08 KOMATIPOORT 25/10 KROONSTAD 22/07 LADYSMITH 19/04 LANGEBAAN 19/14 LEPHALALE 25/10 LYDENBURG 22/07 MAFIKENG 23/09 MUSINA 25/11 NELSPRUIT 22/08 NEWCASTLE 21/06 OUDTSHOORN 21/16 PAARL 21/10 PHALABORWA 27/12 PIETERMARITZBURG 23/10 PLETTENBERG BAY 20/17 POLOKWANE 23/07 PORT ALFRED 24/19 PORT ELIZABETH 23/19 PORT ST JOHNS 25/15 POTCHEFSTROOM 22/08 PRETORIA 22/09 QUEENSTOWN 23/11 RICHARDS BAY 26/20 ROBERTSON 21/11 RUSTENBURG 22/08 SASOLBURG 21/07 SKUKUZA 26/10 SOWETO 20/08 SPRINGBOK 25/12 STILBAAI 21/17 SUTHERLAND 21/12 TZANEEN 24/07 ULUNDI 26/12 UMTATA 25/11 UPINGTON 26/14 VEREENIGING 21/08 VREDENDAL 20/13 VRYBURG 23/09 WELKOM 21/09 WITBANK 21/07 WORCESTER 21/10 |
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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.