Why does air temperature decrease with height in the troposphere?

Question

I've come across two different explanations when researching this topic in different areas:

1. Adiabatic lapse rate: temperature falls naturally due to pressure decrease.
2. Distance from the surface: since air is mostly transparent, the majority of sunlight is absorbed by the Earth's surface, which then conducts heat to the atmosphere.

What are the relative contributions of these (or other) factors to the empirical temperature profile of the troposphere?

Answer 1

I quote from B. J. Finlayson-Pitts & J. N. Pitts, Jr., "Atmospheric Chemistry: Fundamentals and Experimental Techniques", John Wiley & Sons (1986), page 8: "The decreasing temperature with increasing altitude in the troposphere is due to the strong heating effect at the earth's surface from the adsorption of visible and near ultraviolet radiation." Therefore, I'd opt for point 2 as main contribution.