Discussion
Consider the following statements about atmospheric stability:
1. The atmosphere is unstable when the environmental lapse rate exceeds the adiabatic rate.
2. An inversion is the most stable condition.
3. Neutral conditions arise when the environmental rate is zero.
Which of the statements given above is or are correct?
Answer: B
Correct answer: 1 and 2 only
Statement 1 is correct: when the environmental lapse rate exceeds the adiabatic rate, a rising parcel stays warmer and less dense than its surroundings and keeps rising, which is instability. Statement 2 is correct: an inversion, with temperature increasing upward, is the most stable condition and suppresses vertical motion most strongly.
Statement 3 is false. Neutral conditions arise when the environmental rate equals the dry adiabatic rate of about \( 9.8 \) degrees per kilometre, not when it is zero. A zero lapse rate is an isothermal layer, which is stable, since a rising parcel cools while its surroundings do not.
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