Lapse Rate
Climate Change
The rate at which an atmospheric variable (usually temperature) decreases with elevation.
- — ARM Climate Research Glossary retrieved 2014-06-12
Lapse rate The rate of change of any meteorological element with height.
Weather
The rate of change of an atmospheric variable, usually temperature, with height. A steep lapse rate implies a rapid decrease in temperature with height (a sign of instability) and a steepening lapse rate implies that destabilization is occurring.