<p>I think this kind of measurement became available with the use of radiosondes. For example it says on (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiosonde" rel="nofollow noreferrer">wikipedia</a>) that</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Gustave Hermite and Georges Besançon, from France, were the first in 1892 to use a balloon to fly the meteograph. In 1898, Léon Teisserenc de Bort organized at the Observatoire de Météorologie Dynamique de Trappes the first regular daily use of these balloons. Data from these launches showed that the temperature lowered with height up to a certain altitude, which varied with the season, and then stabilized above this altitude.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If you are referring to the theoretical understanding of which, the derivation of the vertical temperature profile of the atmosphere requires knowledge about the ideal gas law, which was</p>
<blockquote>
<p>first stated by Benoît Paul Émile Clapeyron in 1834</p>
</blockquote>
<p>says <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideal_gas_law" rel="nofollow noreferrer">wikipedia</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-02-24T11:42:18.843Z
The first manned hydrogen billon flight in 1783 carried a barometer and thermometer.
Andy M
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-02-23T15:22:27.840Z
2023-02-23T15:22:27.840Z
hschoell
<p>Simply as the title states, how did we find out about the relationship between the temperature of the air and the distance from the ground?</p>
<p>I tried googling, but found nothing. I searched for &quot;how did we find out about the relationship between the temperature of the air and the distance from the ground?&quot;.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-02-23T03:31:59.933Z
Are you talking about the general profile of the atmosphere [and are we talking only the troposphere, or higher layers as well??], or the fact that air cools at adiabatic lapse rates when it rises (related but different concepts... the prior is a measurement, the latter is the science behind it that helps to define the typical profile... though of course other things like the insolation and the day/night cycle are just as fundamental to it)
JeopardyTempest
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-03-27T17:31:30.937Z
It's not really distance above ground... since you can climb to the top of a mountain and still be on the ground.
f.thorpe
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-23T20:51:00.140Z
Closing this question for now since it is not clear which relationship between temperature and altitude the OP is asking about.  Please clarify if you are referring to the ideal troposphere only, or the entire atmosphere which has temperature inversions.  It's also unclear if the OP is asking about first measurements or first explanatory theories.
f.thorpe
<meteorology>
How did we find out about the relationship between the temperature of the air and the distance from the ground?
pipercatt
# How did we find out about the relationship between the temperature of the air and the distance from the ground?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-02-22)

Simply as the title states, how did we find out about the relationship between the temperature of the air and the distance from the ground?

I tried googling, but found nothing. I searched for "how did we find out about the relationship between the temperature of the air and the distance from the ground?".

**Tags:** meteorology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Are you talking about the general profile of the atmosphere [and are we talking only the troposphere, or higher layers as well??], or the fact that air cools at adiabatic lapse rates when it rises (related but different concepts... the prior is a measurement, the latter is the science behind it that helps to define the typical profile... though of course other things like the insolation and the day/night cycle are just as fundamental to it)  
> **username_2**: It's not really distance above ground... since you can climb to the top of a mountain and still be on the ground.  
> **username_2**: Closing this question for now since it is not clear which relationship between temperature and altitude the OP is asking about.  Please clarify if you are referring to the ideal troposphere only, or the entire atmosphere which has temperature inversions.  It's also unclear if the OP is asking about first measurements or first explanatory theories.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2023-02-23. Score: 0

I think this kind of measurement became available with the use of radiosondes. For example it says on ([wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiosonde)) that

> Gustave Hermite and Georges Besançon, from France, were the first in 1892 to use a balloon to fly the meteograph. In 1898, Léon Teisserenc de Bort organized at the Observatoire de Météorologie Dynamique de Trappes the first regular daily use of these balloons. Data from these launches showed that the temperature lowered with height up to a certain altitude, which varied with the season, and then stabilized above this altitude.

If you are referring to the theoretical understanding of which, the derivation of the vertical temperature profile of the atmosphere requires knowledge about the ideal gas law, which was

> first stated by Benoît Paul Émile Clapeyron in 1834

says [wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideal_gas_law)

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: The first manned hydrogen billon flight in 1783 carried a barometer and thermometer.  

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