Temperature and Depth

[drillers]

It could be that I am getting tired and need a nap...but

How do we reconcile that as depth increases, Temperature increases... yet

Warm air is less dense than cold air thus warm air (higher temperature) rises.


I know both of them are true, but aren't they kind of contradicting each other?

 

[drillers]

anybody...?

 

[Captain Sisko]

as depth increases like in the ocean? water temperature kind of levels off.

in the atmosphere, warm air rises, but as it does so it loses heat and becomes colder. when you're talking about non adiabatic conditions like that, you have to go back to the gas law.

pv = n r t.

rearrange
p = (n/v) r t

where n/v is density.

so if t decreases, there's less air above it at higher altitudes, p is lower. density is lower as a result. eventually you get to be really thin and then you're in space.

 

[milski]

Two major differences:

- water in the oceans is heated from above, the warmers layers are already on top and don't raise anywhere. Unlike that, air is heated mostly by its contact with ground, and thus from below. The heated air rises up and, allowing for other parcels of air to warm.

- contributing to water's stability is the fact that water's density peaks at 4 C. At further cooling or heating will make it less dense. As a result, water at 4 C tends to settle at the bottom, isolated and undisturbed.