1. GLOBAL ENERGY BUDGET - 3
Atmosphere Basics

2. ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITON

3. ABUNDANT NON-GREENHOUSE GASES
Nitrogen
Inert
As N important role in biological cycles
Oxygen
Reactive
Respiration
Argon
Byproduct of potassium decay

4. Anthropogenic

6. ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE Influences climate & radiation budget
Force per unit area
Pressure at Sea Level
1 atmosphere (1 atm)
14.7 lbs/in2
1.013 bar
1013 millibars

7. ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE
Barometric Law – the pressure decreases exponentially with altitude
a factor of 10 for every 16 km increase in altitude
Pressure decreases faster with increasing altitude when the air is colder

8. ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE

9. ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE
THERMOSPHERE MESOSPHERE STRATOSPHERE TROPOSPHERE

11. METHODS OF HEAT TRANSFER
Convection – transfer of heat energy by moving fluids
generated when fluid heated from below
Conduction – transfer of heat energy by direct contact between molecules
Radiation – transfer of heat energy by electromagnetic waves emitted from a body

12. TROPOSPHERE Lowest layer Temperature decreases rapidly with altitude
0 - ±15 km
Important in climatic studies
Where weather occurs
Well mixed by convection

13. TROPOSPHERE Incoming solar energy absorbed by surface (land and water)
Energy re-radiated as IR radiation
IR radiation absorbed by greenhouse gases & clouds
Energy transported by convection (well-mixed)
Where atmosphere more transparent to IR, energy then radiated from Earth

14. LATENT HEAT
Heat energy absorbed or released by the transition form one phase to another – solid, liquid, gas

15. STRATOSPHERE ±15 – 50 km Temperature increases with altitude
Pressure much lower
Contains most of Earth’s ozone
Very dry - <5 ppm water vapor
Non-convective, less well mixed

16. MESOSPHERE 50 – 90 km Temperature decreases
fewer air molecules to absorb incoming EMR
small amounts of ozone prevent the air from warming

17. THERMOSPHERE 90+ km Temperature increases rapidly Aurora Borealis
due to the absorption of huge amounts of incoming high energy solar radiation by atoms of nitrogen and oxygen
Aurora Borealis

18. EXOSPHERE Outermost fringe of the atmosphere
Infrequent molecular collisions

19. ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE
THERMOSPHERE MESOSPHERE STRATOSPHERE TROPOSPHERE

20. VERTICAL TEMPERATURE PROFILE
Troposphere - 
Ground absorbs sunlight, heats atmosphere above
Stratosphere - 
Ozone absorbs solar radiation
Maximum heating occurs at top of layer
Mesosphere - 
Ozone & heating rate decline
Thermosphere - 
O & N absorb shortwave UV radiation