Trophosphere “inflates” due to climate change – “Bell” by scientists |

As temperatures rise, so does the troposphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere, which becomes warmer and taller – and therefore thicker – due to climate change. The upper limit and therefore the thickness of the troposphere are constantly increasing after 1980, at an accelerating rate of 53 meters per decade after 2000, according to scientists.

The researchers, led by environmental scientist Jane Liu of the University of Toronto in Canada, published in the journal Science Advances, according to New Scientist, and found that tropics – the boundary between the atmosphere that separates the troposphere from the stratosphere – has been rising steadily for years and is due to rising temperatures due to climate change. In total between 1980-2020 it is estimated that the tropopause has risen by an average of about 200 meters.

Humans live and breathe in the troposphere, while higher up in the stratosphere is the protective ozone layer. There is a natural fluctuation in the height of the troposphere, ranging from about 18 kilometers above sea level in the equatorial region to 10 kilometers above the Earth’s poles. Tropopause also shows natural seasonal fluctuations each year, depending on the winter-summer air temperature.

The researchers analyzed atmospheric data over time such as pressure, temperature and humidity, which were collected from meteorological balloons and satellites, finding that changes in the troposphere are more noticeable in the northern hemisphere than in the south. The data show that especially in the northern hemisphere the troposphere from the 1980s onwards becomes more and more “inflated”.

Between 2001-2020 the height of the troop increased at an average rate of 53.3 meters per decade, slightly higher than the rate of increase per decade between 1980-2020, which indicates that the expansion of the troposphere is accelerating. The increasing accumulation of “greenhouse gases” pushes the troposphere to an ever higher altitude, while on the other hand the stratosphere shows a tendency of shrinkage due to a decrease in its temperature, caused by various factors such as the dilution of the ozone layer.

“The increase in the height of the troposphere is a sensitive indicator of anthropogenic climate change. “It’s something we can see happening, due to changes in the height of the troposphere,” Liu said.

Increasing tropospheric thickness can affect atmospheric circulation and climate, although the issue has not yet been adequately studied. However, the impact is not expected to be great, so far at least.