For K-12 Students · Lapse Rate
Lapse Rate for a reef ecosystem
Built for k-12 students learning it in middle or high school. Watch the idea come alive with plain-language steps and everyday examples — perfect for projects and homework. Simulate a reef ecosystem live below — adjust the inputs and watch it respond, right in your browser.
Atmospheric Lapse Rate & Cloud BaseLive
temperature & pressure with altitude
Controls
Presets
Air cools with height at the environmental lapse rate. Rising air cools until it hits its dew point at the lifting condensation level — the cloud base — estimated by (T − Td)/8 km. The pressure falls with altitude following the barometric formula.
Data Inspector
Cloud base0.88 km
Pressure at 3 km701 hPa
T at 5 km-17.5 °C
Governing equation
Reading this result: Cloud base is set by the dew-point depression, not the lapse rate: it sits at roughly (T − Td)/8 km, while the lapse rate only controls how cold it gets on the way up.
Runs locally in your browser — free forever. Scale to the cloud when reality gets heavy.
More with Lapse Rate
Frequently asked questions
- Is this good for k-12 students?
- Yes — this version of "Lapse Rate for a reef ecosystem" is framed for k-12 students learning it in middle or high school. Watch the idea come alive with plain-language steps and everyday examples — perfect for projects and homework.
- Do I need to install anything?
- No. It runs in any modern browser, free, with no account required.