Inversion
A departure from the usual increase or decrease of an atmospheric property with altitude. It usually refers to an increase in temperature with increasing altitude, which is a departure from the usual decrease of temperature with height.
Atmosphere
The gaseous or air portion of the physical environment that encircles a planet. In the case of the earth, it is held more or less near the surface by the earth’s gravitational attraction. The divisions of the atmosphere include the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the ionosphere, and the exosphere.
Altitude
In meteorology, the measure of a height of an airborne object in respect to a constant pressure surface or above mean sea level.
Temperature
The measure of molecular motion or the degree of heat of a substance. It is measured on an arbitrary scale from absolute zero, where the molecules theoretically stop moving. It is also the degree of hotness or coldness. In surface observations, it refers primarily to the free air or ambient temperature close to the surface of the earth.