METEOROLOGY

The Atmosphere  Atmosphere: Envelope of gas that surrounds a planet  Origin of the Atmosphere: most likely from out-gassing, which is gases released by a volcano  The early atmosphere was changed by organisms who performed photosynthesis

 The Atmosphere is about 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen (ESRT pg 1)

Layers of the Atmosphere  ESRT page 14

Troposphere (0-7 miles)  Closest to Earth’s surface  Where weather occurs  Lower portion warmed by heat coming from Earth’s surface  Upper boundary is tropopause

Stratosphere (7-30 mi)  Air temp. is relatively constant  Location of Jet Stream  Ozone is located here  Upper boundary is stratopause

Mesosphere (30-50 mi)  Temperature steadily decreases with increasing altitude  Upper is coldest region of atm.  Asteroids usually burn up here

Ionosphere DO NOT WRITE  Not one of the main layers  Located in the mesosphere and thermosphere  Aurora borealis: occur when ionized gases emit visible light  Ionization: Occurs when gases lose electrons due to radiation from the sun

Thermosphere and Exosphere WRITE: Thermosphere ( mi)  Temperature increases with altitude due to solar energy DO NOT WRITE: Exosphere:  Not a main layer  Last layer  Extends into outer space

Layers of the Atmosphere  A trip through the atmosphere A trip through the atmosphere

***Based on what we covered in class today and the video about the layers of the atmosphere, complete this worksheet, which is due tomorrow. I will be collecting it ***You may use colored pencils, markers, and drawings, as long as I can read/see your work. ***Read the steps below carefully!!!!  On the pie chart, label each section with the proper gas and the percentage amount. You can use arrows to point to the proper section if you do not have room to write.  Draw three circles around the Earth on the next page. The first one has been drawn for you  Label the four major layers of the atmosphere by writing the proper name on the diagram below  Draw a line and label it with the thickness of the layers with the proper distance. The first one has been done for you  The video showed clouds, a plane, a weather balloon, an asteroid, northern lights, rockets and a space shuttle. Place these objects (either through a drawing, illustration or by writing the name if the object) in the proper layer. If you’re stuck between two layers, pick the layer that you think it fits into the best