The Atmosphere & Weather

The Atmosphere
The atmosphere is divided into the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere & ionosphere.

The Troposphere
The troposphere is the lowest and densest layer of the atmosphere. 70 80% of the atmosphere is contained in this layer. It is composed atmospheric gases mixed with almost all the water vapour contained in the atmosphere. All weather occurs in this layer, due to air currents and the centrifugal force of the earth.

The Weather
Weather refers to the constant change in air currents and precipitation found in the troposphere. All weather is generated by changes in different environmental variables.

Weather Variables
Weather is affected by the following: pressure; temperature; air current (wind) force and direction; solar radiation and precipitation. The variables can be tracked using different types of sensors and patterns can be observed.

Air Currents/Wind
Different layers of the atmosphere move from areas of high pressure to low pressure, which are caused by heated air moving above cooler layers of air. The centrifugal force caused by the rotation of the earth also moves air around.

 The movement of air can be divided into different geographical areas and the direction of movement, e.g. The polar easterly winds move down from the North pole towards the east. There are also areas of extremely slow air current, which are called the doldrums. These tend to occur around the equator. Hadley cells are circulations of rising warm air which is replaced by cool air which is turn heated and rises. The Coriolus Effect describes the decrease in rotational speed according to latitude which also affects the movement of air.

Low Pressure/High Pressure

Weather Symbols
Weather systems are often described as fronts. Cold fronts bring cold, dry air and an area of low pressure. Warm fronts bring warm, damp air and an area of increasing pressure.

Precipitation
Precipitation is water that is moving in the stage from the water cycle when it falls from the sky or travels on air currents. Precipitation can take different forms according to what temperature or altitude it is formed at. Sleet, rain and snow are all affected at different altitudes by temperature.

Types of Cloud