Why is it so important to life on earth? Earth’s Atmosphere Why is it so important to life on earth?

Earth’s atmosphere is made up of 4 different layers…

Did you know that The Science Monkey’s Took Steven? Say it with me… The Science Monkey’s Took Steven

I know you are thinking…what is he talking about??? The Science Monkey’s Took Steven MEANS…. Troposphere Stratosphere Mesosphere Thermosphere Space THE 4 LAYERS OF THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE FROM THE EARTH OUT!

Why is the atmosphere divided into 4 different layers? Any guesses? The atmosphere is divided into four different layers because the atmosphere is not uniform, its properties change with altitude. Two properties change with altitude, the AIR PRESSURE and the AIR TEMPERATURE Lets look at each layer individually.

The first layer of the atmosphere is the… TROPOSPHERE The troposphere is the layer of the atmosphere nearest to earth. The troposphere goes from 0km to 10km. About 75% of the air in the total atmosphere is in this layer…very dense. Main gases are nitrogen and oxygen

Troposphere continued… Only layer that can support life The temperature drops as the altitude increases Bottom of Troposphere is about 120ºF Top of troposphere is about -94ºF All weather happens in the troposphere, clouds develop, birds fly, pollution collects. Harmful ozone is found here…IT CREATES SMOG! Pressure: Bottom: 1000mb Top: 200mb

What is OZONE? What is SMOG? A gaseous layer in the upper atmosphere that protects the earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation. At lower levels, ozone becomes a major pollutant. What is SMOG? Pollution formed by the interaction of pollutants and sunlight (photochemical smog), usually restricting visibility, and occasionally hazardous to health.

The second layer of the atmosphere is the… STRATOSPHERE The stratosphere goes from 10km to 30 km. The temperature goes up with altitude. Bottom : -94ºF Top: 64ºF Temperature increase is due to ozone layer that absorbs energy from the sun’s UV rays and converts it to heat The protective ozone is at the top of the stratosphere ozone layer only 3 millimeters (3 mm) thick all together

STRATOSDPHERE CONT… Most jets fly in this layer. Rivers of air, called Jet Streams, can be found at the base of this layer. Contains 24% of the atmosphere’s total air, mass, and molecules- air is less dense than the troposphere Pressure: Bottom: 200mb Top: 1mb

The third layer of the atmosphere is the… MESOSPHERE The Mesosphere goes from 30km to 50km. In the mesosphere, the temperature drops with altitude. Bottom:64ºF Top: -143ºF The mesosphere is the coldest layer of the atmosphere.

MESOSPHERE CONT… Radio waves are reflected back to earth in the mesosphere. Meteors burn up in this layer Less than 1% of the atmosphere’s total air, mass, and molecules are here, so the molecules are very far apart Pressure: Bottom: 1mb Top: .005mb

The fourth layer of the atmosphere is the… THERMOSPHERE The thermosphere goes from 50km to 1000km. In the thermosphere the temperature goes up with altitude. Bottom: -143F Top : 3600F The thermosphere is the hottest layer of the atmosphere.

Thermosphere cont… Made of 2 sub layers Ionosphere (50km to 600km) Exosphere (600km to 1000km) Satellites orbit in the exosphere Curtains of light called auroras occur in the ionosphere layer. The Ionosphere is the component of the thermosphere that makes the auroras Pressure: Bottom: .005mb Top: 0mb The air molecules for so thin in this layer they are negligible. We can say the density is 0% of the atmospheres mass

It is important to understand the different characteristics of the earth’s atmosphere. As you go through the following slides, challenge yourself to see who can name the correct layer in which each characteristic can be found. GOOD LUCK!

THERMOSPHERE/ EXOSPHERE

MESOSPHERE

THERMOSPHERE

TROPOSPHERE

STRATOSPHERE

THERMOSPHERE OR THE IONOSPHERE

MESOSPHERE

Pressure and Temp. Graph

Links for more info http://san.hufs.ac.kr/~gwlee/session1/layers.html http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/heywood/GEOG101/airstruc/layers.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/heywood/GEOG101/airstruc/index.htm&usg=__GK27LBVdWyCS6aI4N1NZjZ1Wks8=&h=379&w=303&sz=8&hl=en&start=18&zoom=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=dcl5garydAHTuM:&tbnh=123&tbnw=98&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dair%2Bpressure,%2Batmospheric%2Blayers%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DG%26tbs%3Disch:1

Now that you are all experts on the atmosphere…continue with your study of meteorology!