Atmospheric Basics Atmosphere Basics Air is a combination of many gases, each with its own unique characteristics. About 99% of the atmosphere is composed of nitrogen and oxygen. The remaining one percent consisting of small amounts of argon, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and other gases.
The surrounding air of the Earth Atmosphere The surrounding air of the Earth
Atmospheric Basics
Composition of Air There are many different types of gasses in the atmosphere They include nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide and other noble gasses The gas that is most abundant is nitrogen
Structure of the Atmosphere Atmospheric Basics Structure of the Atmosphere The atmosphere is made up of several different layers. Each layer differs in composition and temperature.
Layers of the atmosphere There are 4 layers in the atmosphere They are the troposphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and stratosphere
Troposphere This is the layer that is closest to the surface of the earth It’s elevation ranges from 0 to 10 km
Atmospheric Composition Atmospheric Basics Atmospheric Composition Lower Atmospheric Layers The troposphere, the layer closest to Earth’s surface, contains most of the mass of the atmosphere, including water vapor. Most weather takes place in and most air pollution collects in the troposphere.
Stratosphere This layer sits on top of the troposphere It’s elevation ranges from 10 km to around 25 km This layer contains the ozone layer, which protects us from harmful sunlight
Atmospheric Composition Atmospheric Basics Atmospheric Composition Lower Atmospheric Layers The stratosphere, is where most ozone is located. Its referred to as stratospheric ozone. Planes like to fly here because there is less moisture so less clouds so less weather to jostle the planes.
Mesosphere This layer is above the stratosphere It’s elevation ranges from 25 to 100 km
Thermosphere This is the highest layer of the atmosphere It’s height ranges from 100 to 400 km This is where most small meteorites burn up and is also the location in the atmosphere that the northern lights occur (aurora borealis)
Atmospheric Composition Atmospheric Basics Atmospheric Composition Upper Atmospheric Layers The mesosphere is the coldest layer of the atmosphere. It has very strong winds. This is where you would see meteors shooting through. The thermosphere is the farthest layer from the surface and it contains a very small part of the atmosphere’s mass. This is the hottest layer because it is closer to the sun and it absorbs the heat from it.
Atmospheric Composition Atmospheric Basics Atmospheric Composition The thermosphere is divided into two parts. The ionosphere is important for radio communications because it bounces waves back to earth. This is also where the aurora bolealis occurs. The exosphere, which is composed of light gases such as helium and hydrogen, so satellites can travel here very easily Molecules are actually traveling so fast that some are able to escape from earth’s gravity. There is no clear boundary between the atmosphere and space.
Atmospheric Basics
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