1. OUR ATMOSPHERE The thin layer of gases that surrounds our planet and is held in place by gravity.

2. Composition A mixture of Changes according to altitude and location.
Gases
Dust
Water vapor
Changes according to altitude and location.

3. Ozone (O3) – a very rare type of molecule that combines 3 atoms of oxygen
Thin layer is found in the Stratosphere
Protects living things from harmful UV sun rays
Man made chemicals destroy ozone.

4. Carbon Dioxide (CO2) A naturally occurring gas in our atmosphere.
Needed for photosynthesis to occur during the Carbon Cycle.
Produced as waste during cellular respiration.

5. Water Vapor - water in the atmosphere
The key to understanding atmosphere processes
The source of all precipitation
Examples
Clouds
Fog
Rain
Snow
Sleet
Hail

6. Changing states of matter
Changing matter requires energy, and is transferred in the form of heat
Latent heat – heat that is used which doesn’t cause temperature change

7. How does water change state in the atmosphere?

8. The Greenhouse Effect

9. The atmosphere is divided into 4 main layers by temperature
Troposphere (bottom layer)
Stratosphere (where important weather occur)
Mesosphere
Thermosphere (top layer)
It generally gets colder as altitude increases
Layers of the atmosphere are divided by temperature and height

10. Layers of
the
atmosphere

11. Earth-Sun Relationship
Almost all energy that causes Earth’s weather and climate comes from the sun.
Unequal heating of the Earth causes weather.

12. Heat transfer
Conduction – transfer of heat via molecular activity (high to low)
Convection – transfer of heat by movement or circulation within a fluid
Radiation – transfer of heat in all directions

13. Solar radiation Energy is absorbed by the object.
Energy is transmitted
Energy is reflected or bounced off the object.

14. Humidity – the amount of water vapor in the air
Relative humidity – the amount of water in the atmosphere. A percentage of how much water the air can hold.

15. Cloud Formation As air rises in the atmosphere it expands and cools
When air reaches it’s dew point, clouds begin to form

16. Air compression When air pressure increases, air temperature rises
Motion of the gas molecules increases
When air pressure decreases, air expands and temperature cools
Motion of the gas molecules slows

17. Orographic Lifting
when air is forced to rise and cool due to terrain features such as hills or mountains

18. Frontal Wedging
When cold dense air acts as a barrier and causes warmer, less dense air to rise

19. Convergence
When air masses flow together from more than 1 direction, air rises.
Low pressure is the result

20. Localized convective heating
Unequal heating of Earth’s surface causes pockets of air to be warmed more than surrounding air
Causes pockets of air to rise, forming thermals

21. Clouds – 3 basic types are classified on form and height
Cirrus
Cumulus
Stratus

22. High Clouds cirrus cirrostratus cirrocumulus Thin and white
Low precipitation
May warn of approaching stormy weather
cirrocumulus

23. Middle Clouds - alto altocumulus Altocumulus – large and dense
Altostratus – white or gray sheet covering sky
Cumulonimbus -
Infrequent light snow or drizzle
altocumulus

24. Low clouds Stratocumulus Stratus – fog like layer covering sky
- Occasionally produce light precipitation
Stratocumulus – rainy clouds
Nimbostratus – main precipitation maker
Cumulus - clouds with vertical development
Stratocumulus

25. Fog – cloud with base at or near the ground
Form by
Cooling – air over a cold surface
Evaporation – when cool air moves over warm water (steaming)

26. How precipitation forms
Tiny cloud droplets grow in volume by about 1,000,000 times.

27. Cold cloud precipitation
Ice crystals contact with cloud droplets causing them to freeze
Causes ice to grow into snowflakes
Rain often begins as snow high in the clouds

28. Warm cloud precipitation
Large droplets moving through the clouds collide and join (coalesce) with smaller droplets

29. The type of precipitation that reaches Earth’s surface depends on temperature in the lower atmosphere
Rain
Snow
Sleet
Glaze
Hail

30. Atmosphere key ideas
Earth’s atmosphere is made up of a combination of gases. The major components of nitrogen, oxygen, and argon remain constant over time and space, while trace components like CO2 and water vapor vary considerably over both space and time.
The atmosphere is divided into the thermosphere, mesosphere, stratosphere and troposphere
boundaries between these layers are defined by changes in temperature and height
Pressure decreases exponentially with altitude in the atmosphere.
Our knowledge about the atmosphere has developed based on data from a variety of sources, including direct measurements from balloons and aircraft as well as remote measurements from satellites.