3. Stability

Changing Stability » Vertical Motion Vertical Displacement of a Layer: Saturated Base / Dry Top

Conceptual animation showing how ascent affects lapse rate of atmospheric layer with a saturated base

If an ascending layer is saturated at the bottom and unsaturated at the top, the bottom and top cool at the moist (saturation) adiabatic and dry-adiabatic lapse rate, respectively, and the layer is destabilized.