If an inversion layer settles in at night, but adiabatic cooling makes is get colder as you ascend, what...?

Question

... does the temperature profile look like if I walk from a valley floor to a mountain peak?

Answer 1

I would like to add an exception to Sturm Vogel's answer.  The exception is when the mountain peak is located above the inversion layer.  

As you start your walk from the cold valley floor, you may encounter either a warming or cooling trend as you start to slowly go up in elevation.  The reason why you may see a cooling trend as you start off is because that inversion may be located high up above you or that the inversion layer may be thin or weak.  As you continue to walk upwards, at some point you will reach the bottom of this inversion layer.  Then the trend will reverse and you will experience a warming trend with height.  This trend will reverse again once you have reach and cross over the top of the inversion layer.

This is common in  the west coast where on a stable night, the inversion forms around 1000 to 3000 feet elevation and the mountain peaks are above 8000 feet in elevation.  In these cases, the overnight lows will be the warmest in the foothill locations.  

Answer 2

That's a very good question. Obviously with the inversion layer, you see temperature increase with height. Radiational cooling is still more dominant than adiabatic cooling though. As it turns out, the temperature profile is not much different. You will still find the warmest temperatures at higher altitudes and the coolest temperatures in the valley.

Please read the pdf file on this topic from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Department.

http://www.aos.wisc.edu/uwaosjournal/Vol...