Temperature inversions cause which type of atmosphere?

• A. Stable
• B. Unstable
• C. Moist
• D. Mixed

Answer: (A)

Temperature inversions create a stable atmosphere by producing a vertical temperature profile that resists mixing. When a layer has temperatures that increase with height, a rising air parcel cools and becomes denser than its surroundings, so it sinks back down. That negative buoyancy stops vertical motion and keeps the air layered, which is the hallmark of stability. Because vertical mixing is suppressed, you often see fog, low clouds, or trapped pollutants near the surface. The other terms describe moisture or the degree of mixing, not the stability produced by the inversion, so they don’t describe what happens to the atmosphere in an inversion.