1. Atmosphere and Spheres of the Earth
Layers of the Earth, Ozone Layer and Spheres of the Earth

2. Earth’s Atmosphere Importance of the Atmosphere:
Earth’s atmosphere is a thin layer of air that forms a protective covering around the planet, without which days would be extremely hot and nights extremely cold
Makeup of the Atmosphere:
Mixture of gases, solids, and liquids that surround the planet that extend from Earth’s Surface to outer space.
Earth’s Atmosphere

3. Liquids in atmosphere:
Gases in atmosphere:
Nitrogen (78%), Oxygen (21%) and other gases (Argon (0.93%), Carbon Dioxide (0.03%) and more)
Solids in atmosphere;
Dust, salt, pollen
Liquids in atmosphere:
Water droplets and other liquid droplets
How does driving a car affect the composition of the atmosphere? C
-Car release exhaust that becomes pollution such as smog. This exhaust which includes carbon dioxide, is produced by the burning of fuel to produce energy.

4. Lower Layers of the Atmosphere
Troposphere
Stratosphere
Lowest of Earth’s Atmospheric Layers: contains 99% Water vapor and 75% atmospheric gases
Where you study, eat, sleep
Rain, snow, and clouds occur in the troposphere which extends up to about 10 km
Layer Directly above the troposphere where the Ozone layer is located(10 to 50 km above Earth’s Surface)
Ozone is made up of 3 Oxygen molecules
More details on Ozone later on…
Lower Layers of the Atmosphere

5. Upper Layers of the Atmosphere
Mesosphere
Located above stratosphere (50 to 85 km above the Earth)
Shooting stars (witnessed a meteor in the mesosphere)
Thermosphere
Named for its high temperatures (85 to 500km above the Earth)
Meteor trails
Exosphere
Above 500 km from Earth
Space shuttles orbit the Earth in exosphere with short bursts from rocket thrusters
Beyond exosphere is outer space
Upper Layers of the Atmosphere

6. Layers of the Atmosphere and Temperatures at various altitudes

7. Atmospheric Pressure Pressure is the force exerted in an area
Air pressure is greater near Earth’s surface and decreases higher in the atmosphere
In other words, Air pressure decreases with altitude
People find it harder to breathe in high mountains because fewer air molecules exist there.
Jets that fly in the stratosphere must maintain pressurized cabins so that people can breathe
Atmospheric Pressure

8. Temperature in Atmospheric Layers
The sun is the source of most of the energy on Earth.
Solar energy passes through the atmosphere before reaching Earth’s Surface
Layers contain different gases that absorb solar energy differently so the temperatures amongst the layers vary
Get Green Book, turn to pages 95
Text for this slide
Temperature in Atmospheric Layers

9. Earth’s Atmosphere Brain Pop Video

10. Within the Stratosphere (19 to 48 km above our heads)…
Ozone Layer

11. OZONE LAYER (again… ) Ozone is made up of oxygen
We cannot see it but our life depends on it?
Why? you may ask…
Well it shields us from the Sun’s Harmful Rays (UV rays)
Threats to our Ozone layer:
CFC’s (Chlorofluorocarbons): chemical compounds used in some refrigerators, air conditioners, in the production of some foam packaging and aerosol sprays
Causing the Ozone hole!!!
OZONE LAYER (again… )

12. Ozone Layer Brain Pop Video

13. Ozone Article
25 minutes

14. Ozone Worksheet
30 minutes

15. Spheres of the Earth The four main spheres of the Earth are:
Atmosphere -The gaseous layer that surrounds the Earth. It receives heat and moisture from the surface and redistributes them, returning some heat and all of the moisture to the surface. It supplies vital elements needed to sustain life forms
Hydrosphere - The liquid realm of the Earth is principally the mass of water in the world’s oceans. It also includes solid ice in mountain and continental glaciers. Water occurs as a gaseous vapor, liquid droplets, and solid ice crystals. In the lithosphere,water is found in the uppermost layers in soils and in ground water reservoirs.
Lithosphere - This outermost solid layer of the Earth provides a platform for most life-forms. The solid bedrock bears a shallow layer of soil in which nutrient elements become available to organisms. The surface of the lithosphere is sculpted into landforms which provide varied habitats for plants, animals, and humans.
Biosphere - Most of the biosphere is contained in the shallow surface zone called the life layer. It includes the surface of the lands and the upper 100 meters of the ocean. On land, the life layer is the zone of interactions among the biosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere.
Other spheres include: geosphere and cryosphere
Spheres of the Earth

16. Spheres of the Earth

17. The Four Great Realms
Lithosphere - All processes associated with the solid earth
Hydrosphere - All processes associated with water
Atmosphere - All processes associated with the gases that envelope the earth
Biosphere - All processes that involve living organisms

18. HOMEWORK!!! Measuring Up book pages 11-18
Periods 1 and 3, this is due 9/16/2011 (Friday)
Periods 2 and 4, this is due 9/15/2011 (Thursday)
SCIENCE FAIR TOPICS (Typed, through my webpage or hardcopy)
Periods 1, 2, 3 and 4, this is due 9/16/2011 (FRIDAY)
HOMEWORK!!!

19. See Brain Pop Video
GreenHouse Effect
And Global Warming

20. Sun Energy Distribution
The sun’s energy is not evenly absorbed by the Earth’s land and water surface. Unequal solar heating produces currents of air and water and constitute the global atmospheric and oceanic circulation system.
Sun Energy Distribution

21. What is Weather? Quick introduction…
Large scale fluctuations in the atmosphere from hour-to-hour or day-to-day
Weather systems arise mainly due to atmospheric instabilities, the evolution of which is governed by non-linear chaotic dynamics.
This is why weather is not predictable beyond a week or two
Super Typhoon Lupit (26W) west of the
Philippine Islands (Nov ) as seen
by the NASA’s MODIS satellite sensor.

22. What is Climate?
Climate is defined as averaged weather, typically defined in terms of mean and other statistical quantities (higher order moments), that measure variability over a period of time and over a geographical region (space).
Climate = What you expect,
Weather = What you get.

23. Climate and Weather will be seen again in more detail in another Topic