Term: tropopause https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.T06521 Definition: The region of the atmosphere which joins the troposphere and stratosphere, and where the decreasing temperature with altitude, characteristic of the troposphere ceases, and the temperature increase with height which is characteristic of the stratosphere begins. Related Terms: 1) troposphere (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.T06522). 2) stratosphere (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.S06043). Source: PAC, 1990, 62, 2167. 'Glossary of atmospheric chemistry terms (Recommendations 1990)' on page 2218 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199062112167) Citation: 'tropopause' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.T06521 License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms. Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.