tropopause

American  

[trop-uh-pawz, troh-puh-] / ˈtrɒp əˌpɔz, ˈtroʊ pə- /

noun

Meteorology.

1. the boundary, or transitional layer, between the troposphere and the stratosphere.

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tropopause British  

/ ˈtrɒpəˌpɔːz /

noun

1. meteorol the plane of discontinuity between the troposphere and the stratosphere, characterized by a sharp change in the lapse rate and varying in altitude from about 18 km (11 miles) above the equator to 6 km (4 miles) at the Poles

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tropopause Scientific  

/ trō′pə-pôz′,trŏp′ə- /

1. The boundary between the upper troposphere and the lower stratosphere, varying in altitude from about 8 km (5 mi) at the poles to 18 km (11 mi) at the equator.

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Etymology

Origin of tropopause

First recorded in 1915–20; tropo- + pause

Example Sentences

Those warm waters fuel convection, with hot, moisture-laden air rising and fueling rain until it hits the tropopause, where the lowest layer of the atmosphere, the troposphere, meets the stratosphere.

From Scientific American • Jun. 21, 2023

The atmosphere becomes more compressed as it cools, meaning that the boundary dividing its two lowest layers, the troposphere and the stratosphere, known as the tropopause, will sink in altitude.

From Washington Post • Feb. 4, 2023

It is above the tropopause, meaning that these are stratospheric winds.

From Washington Post • Feb. 4, 2023

That makes sense, she adds, because winds and temperature variations make the tropopause a much more dynamic place than the stable ocean channel.

From Science Magazine • Apr. 26, 2022

Sprayed out comfortably above the tropical and subtropical tropopause in both hemispheres, this forms a tolerably even, remarkably tenuous veil.

From Slate • Jan. 28, 2016