troposphere

noun

tro·​po·​sphere ˈtrō-pə-ˌsfir 

ˈträ-

: the lowest densest part of the earth's atmosphere in which most weather changes occur and temperature generally decreases rapidly with altitude and which extends from the earth's surface to the bottom of the stratosphere at about 7 miles (11 kilometers) high

tropospheric

ˌtrō-pə-ˈsfir-ik 

ˌträ-

-ˈsfer-

adjective

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

The short answer is the location of the jet stream or storm track — a belt of strong winds high in the troposphere where airliners fly. —Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2023

The map above shows where the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-5P satellite detected sulfur dioxide in the middle troposphere with its Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument, or TROPOMI, sensor. —Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 30 Nov. 2022

And the map, based on data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder, or AIRS instrument, on NASA’s Aqua satellite, shows how it was distributed around the globe during May in the troposphere, the part of the atmosphere where most weather happens. —Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 27 Sep. 2013

There are so many mysteries in the Earth’s atmosphere between the troposphere and the ionosphere, which beg for inquisitive minds. —Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 15 Aug. 2012

The mesosphere, about 31 to 50 miles (50 to 80 kilometers) above Earth’s surface, is above the troposphere and stratosphere and beneath two other layers. —Ashley Strickland, CNN, 3 Nov. 2022

The troposphere is where weather happens, and where eye-searing clouds of smoke and soot circulate even from moderately sized fires. —Tribune News Service, oregonlive, 6 Aug. 2022

The troposphere is where weather happens, and where eye-searing clouds of smoke and soot circulate even from moderately sized fires. —Tribune News Service, oregonlive, 6 Aug. 2022

The troposphere is where weather happens, and where eye-searing clouds of smoke and soot circulate even from moderately sized fires. —Tribune News Service, oregonlive, 6 Aug. 2022

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Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French troposphère, from tropo- tropo- (in sense "change," as the troposphere is where weather changes take place) + -sphère -sphere

Note: The term was introduced, along with stratosphère stratosphere, by the French meteorologist Léon Tesserenc de Bort (1855-1913). Tesserenc de Bort apparently first used them in a paper read to a German meteorological society in Hamburg on September 30, 1908 ("La division de l'atmosphère en troposphère et stratosphère d'après les résultats de l'exploration de la haute atmosphère"). The paper was not subsequently published but is briefly summarized by C. Kassner in "Bericht über die elfte allgemeine Versammlung und Feier des 25-jährigen Bestehens der Deutschen Meteorologischen Gesellschaft zu Hamburg am 28. bis 30. September 1908," Meteorologische Zeitschrift, Band 26, Heft 1 (Januar, 1909), p. 6.

First Known Use

1908, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

troposphere

noun

tro·​po·​sphere ˈtrōp-ə-ˌsfi(ə)r  ˈträp- 

: the portion of the atmosphere which extends from the earth's surface to the bottom of the stratosphere and in which temperature generally decreases rapidly with altitude

tropospheric

ˌtrōp-ə-ˈsfi(ə)r-ik 

ˌträp-

-ˈsfer-

adjective