troposphere

[ trop-uh-sfeer, troh-puh- ]

noun

, Meteorology.

1. the lowest layer of the atmosphere, 6 miles (10 km) high in some areas and as much as 12 miles (20 km) high in others, within which there is a steady drop in temperature with increasing altitude and within which nearly all cloud formations occur and weather conditions manifest themselves.

troposphere

/ ˌtrɒpəˈsfɛrɪk; ˈtrɒpəˌsfɪə /

noun

1. the lowest atmospheric layer, about 18 kilometres (11 miles) thick at the equator to about 6 km (4 miles) at the Poles, in which air temperature decreases normally with height at about 6.5°C per km

troposphere

/ trō′pə-sfîr′,trŏp′ə- /

1. The lowest and densest region of the Earth's atmosphere, extending from the Earth's surface to the tropopause. The troposphere is characterized by temperatures that decrease with increasing altitude. At the top of this region, temperatures are close to −55°C (−67°F). The weather, major wind systems, and cloud formations occur mostly in the troposphere.
2. See also exosphereSee illustration at atmosphere

troposphere

1. The lowest layer of the atmosphere of the Earth , extending from ground level to an altitude of seven to ten miles.

Derived Forms

• tropospheric, adjective

Other Words From

• trop·o·spher·ic [trop-, uh, -, sfer, -ik, -, sfeer, -, troh-p, uh, -], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of troposphere¹

First recorded in 1905–10; tropo- + sphere

Example Sentences

They used self-organizing maps, a machine learning method, to classify patterns of daily weather in the troposphere, the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere where most weather occurs.

From Science Daily

Jet streams travel in the tropopause—the area between the troposphere and the stratosphere—that hovers between five and nine miles above the Earth's surface.

From National Geographic

Meanwhile, a strengthening vortex of polar air currents in the troposphere has helped strengthen summer cyclones.

From Scientific American

Life and civilization take place mostly on the planet's surface and in the troposphere, the atmosphere's very lowest layer.

From Science Daily

They noted that their study was the first to officially discover airborne microplastics in cloud water both in the atmospheric boundary layer and in the free troposphere.

From Salon

Related Words

• atmosphere
• breeze
• wind