AP Environmental Science / Unit 7: Atmospheric Pollution
7.3 Thermal Inversion
Notes
Normally air cools with height. In a thermal inversion, a warm layer sits over cool air, trapping pollutants near the ground.
Practice
A thermal inversion:
Cool air can't rise.
During an inversion, the warm layer is:
Upside-down temperature profile.
Cities in valleys are prone to inversions because:
Mountains trap air.
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