Why is troposphere thicker at equator

As the density of the gases in this layer decrease with height, the air becomes thinner. Therefore, the temperature in the troposphere also decreases with height in response. The lowest part of the troposphere is the warmest because it is closest to the ground, where the heat is coming from.

The tropopause occurs at approximately 20, feet over the poles and at approximately 60, feet above the equator. Skip to content Technology. May 8, Joe Ford. Moist air has a lower lapse rate, which explains why the troposphere is highest over warm equatorial Pacific and why it peaks over monsoons. It's the surface temperature and water vapor. That's the gist of it.

The rotation of the Earth can't account for a troposphere that's twice as high over the equator. The rotation of the Earth and if we want to get silly, also the Moon's atmospheric tidal bulges both affect the troposphere some, but they are minor players. Earth's atmosphere shouldn't bulge much more than it's body, about 1 part in , even if you multiply that by 4, and I think that's too aggressive a mathematical approach, but even so, that would be less than 1 part in 70 of atmospheric expansion over the equator due to the spin of the Earth.

That's very far from the doubling that temperature explains. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top.

Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Why is the troposphere 8km higher at the equator than the poles? Ask Question.

Asked 7 years, 6 months ago. Active 2 years, 7 months ago. Viewed 15k times. Improve this question. Might write down an answer if I find the time, unless somebody else does first. Will edit my answer below when I'm in the same place as my lecture notes on this. Air is warmest at the bottom of the troposphere near ground level. Air gets colder as one rises through the troposphere. That's why the peaks of tall mountains can be snow-covered even in the summertime.

Air pressure and the density of the air also decrease with altitude. That's why the cabins of high-flying jet aircraft are pressurized. The layer immediately above the troposphere is called the stratosphere.