The atmosphere is a three dimensional fluid.

The air moves horizontally and vertically creating a mosaic of weather phenomena, and shaping the
properties of climate.
Last week we learned how radiation from the sun, while interacting with the Earth's surface and the atmosphere, helps determine the vertical
profile of atmospheric temperature (Fig 1). The vertical profile of temperature is an important factor in weather and climate. It controls the
vertical movement of air, determines the existence of clouds and rainfall, affects visibility, and regulates the level of pollution near the Earth's
surface. The subject of this lecture is to find out what are the processes that determine the vertical temperature profile, and their consequences.
One of the key factors to understand in this context is the vertical motion of air parcels, a process referred to as convection. Convection is a
form of heat transfer. The vertical distribution of heat by convection affects the vertical profile of temperature in a volume of gas or liquid. It is
this movement in the atmosphere that leads to the formation of clouds, removes pollutants up and away from the Earth's surface, and helps mix
the atmosphere and determine the vertical profile of temperature.
To understand this lecture we should be familiar with the concepts of heat, temperature, gravity, pressure, density, and the notion of the
three phases of matter and their transition.