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What is the effect of the tropopause inversion on the formation of clouds within the troposphere?
  • A
    If the updrafts are strong enough, they can break through the inversion, thus producing a noctilucent cloud.
  • B
    The inversion will stop any further convection and the released energy will lead to severe hail storms.
  • C
    A cloud, reaching the inversion, may stop its ascent and the upper winds may produce an anvil shape.
  • D
    If the inversion is at a very low altitude, the blocking of the updraft will lead to the formation of a supercell thunderstorm.

Refer to figure.
As water condenses, changing from water vapour to the liquid state – it releases energy, in the form of latent heat, to its surroundings. Further heating the surrounding air, leads to more convection and rising of the clouds to higher altitudes. If sufficient moisture is present to condense, the cloud mass could rise through several levels – before it encounters the boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere – TROPOPAUSE.

  • The top of the troposphere, called the tropopause, corresponds to the level in which the pattern of decreasing temperature with height ceases. And beyond this boundary, the air no longer gets colder with increasing altitude and supresses further upward motion of the cloud mass. The cloud tops will, therefore, flatten and spread into an anvil shape.

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