seriously disabled Posted August 17, 2009 Posted August 17, 2009 Sources on the Internet say that the lowest air temperature recorded on earth is in Vostok station in Antarctica: −89.2 °C was recorded there. The −89.2 °C was recorded in Vostok station which is at an elevation of 3,488meters above sea level. However I'm not really sure that's the lowest temperature in the troposphere since at the top of the troposphere temperature may be even lower. My question is: Does anyone know what the lowest temperature recorded in the top of the troposphere or in the tropopause is?
iNow Posted August 17, 2009 Posted August 17, 2009 Not sure. You might start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_temperature_measurements If you don't find what you're looking for, try the references listed toward the bottom of the page.
seriously disabled Posted August 17, 2009 Author Posted August 17, 2009 Not sure. You might start here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_temperature_measurements If you don't find what you're looking for, try the references listed toward the bottom of the page. Thanks unforunately I see Wikipedia doesn't have the information I'm looking for and the papers in the references have complex mathematical equations which I don't understand. My method to calculate the lowest temperature in the troposphere is much simpler. It is known that the environmental lapse rate in the troposphere is 6.5 °C. So from this we can deduce that if the troposphere extends to a height of say 12 km at latitude 45° N and the temperature at the ground at this latitude during winter is say -15°C, the temperature at 12 km altitude may drop to -93°C (from the lapse rate) and that may be the lowest temperature at the earth atmosphere. Merged post follows: Consecutive posts mergedWikipedia further adds that temperatures decrease at middle latitudes from an average of 15°C at sea level to about -55°C at the beginning of the tropopause. At the poles, the troposphere is thinner and the temperature only decreases to -45°C, while at the equator the temperature at the top of the troposphere can reach -75°C.[citation needed] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troposphere
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