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HABYTIME MINI LECTURE 42:
SUBSIDENCE INVERSION

METEOROLOGIST JEFF HABY

Subsidence is a sinking of air. An inversion is a temperature increase with height. A subsidence inversion is sinking air that produces an inversion. When air sinks then it warms adiabatically at the dry adiabatic lapse rate. A situation in which this can occur is within a warm core high pressure system. It can also occur on the lee side of a mountain range. The air sinking from aloft is generally very dry. As it sinks, this dry air is brought closer to the surface. Thus the region aloft in which the subsidence inversion occurs can have warming temperature with height and dewpoints that are very low.

The diagram below represents a subsidence inversion. A layer of sinking air aloft causes the air within that region to warm and dry. This leads to strong stability.