Editing Inversion (meteorology) (section)

==Description==
[[Image:Absinkinversion.png|thumb|Height ([[y-axis]]) versus temperature ([[x-axis]]) under normal atmospheric conditions (black line). When the layer from {{convert|6|-|8|km|abbr=off|0}} (designated A-B) descends dry [[Adiabatic process|adiabatically]] <!-- see also Lapse_rate#Dry_adiabatic_lapse_rate, but not sure if a link is warranted -->, the result is the inversion seen near the ground at {{convert|1|-|2|km|abbr=off|0}} (C-D).]]
[[File:Reifgrenze.JPG|thumb|Klagenfurter Becken ([[Austria]]) in December 2015: on Mount {{Proper name|Goritschnigkogel}} there is a distinct inverse [[hoarfrost]] margin.]]
Under the right conditions, the normal vertical temperature gradient is inverted so that the air is colder near the surface of the Earth. This can occur when, for example, a warmer, less-dense air mass moves over a cooler, denser air mass. This type of inversion occurs in the vicinity of [[warm front]]s, and also in areas of oceanic [[upwelling]] such as along the [[Coastal California|California coast]] in the United States. With sufficient humidity in the cooler layer, [[fog]] is typically present below the inversion cap. An inversion is also produced whenever radiation from the surface of the earth exceeds the amount of radiation received from the sun, which commonly occurs at night, or during the winter when the sun is very low in the sky. This effect is virtually confined to land regions as the ocean retains heat far longer. In the [[polar regions]] during winter, inversions are nearly always present over land.

A warmer air mass moving over a cooler one can "shut off" any convection which may be present in the cooler air mass: this is known as a [[capping inversion]]. However, if this cap is broken, either by extreme convection overcoming the cap or by the lifting effect of a front or a mountain range, the sudden release of bottled-up convective energy—like the bursting of a balloon—can result in severe thunderstorms. Such capping inversions typically precede the development of tornadoes in the [[Midwestern United States]]. In this instance, the "cooler" layer is quite warm but is still denser and usually cooler than the lower part of the inversion layer capping it.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Oke |first1=Tim |last2=Mills |first2=Gerald |last3=Christen |first3=Andrea |last4=Voogt |first4=James |title=Urban Climates |date=2017 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-521-84950-0 |pages=30–35 |doi=10.1017/9781139016476 |edition=1st |url=https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139016476 |access-date=21 June 2022}}</ref>