INTRODUCTION TO THE

ATMOSPHERE
J.T.II Olivar, MAEd
Faculty of Arts and Letters
University of Santo Tomas
 Outline of the Lecture
• History of Meteorology
• Composition of the Atmosphere
• Vertical Structure of the Atmosphere
• Elements and Controls of Weather and
Climate
 History
• Hippocrates, Heraclitus, Becher, Lavoiser,
Carnot – Heat
• Bernoulli – 1738
– Kinetic Theory of Gases
• Joule and Mayer – 1847
– Heat and Work
• Clausius – 1850
– Thermodynamics
Composition of the Atmosphere
• Gases
• Particles
 The Gases
• Nitrogen
• Oxygen
• All other gases
 The Particles
• Water vapor
• Aerosols
• Ozone
– Many are hygroscopic
– Some either absorb or reflect light
 Vertical Structure of the
Atmosphere
• Temperature
• Pressure
• Composition
 Temperature
• Thermal layers
– Thermosphere
– Mesosphere
– Stratosphere
– Troposphere
 Pressure
• Atmospheric pressure normally is
highest at sea level and
diminishes rapidly with increasing
altitude.
 Composition
• Homosphere • Ozonosphere
• Heterosphere • Ionosphere
 Weather and Climate
• Weather
– Refers to the short-run atmospheric condition
that exist for a given time in a specific area.
• Climate
– Is the aggregate of the day-to-day weather
conditions over a long period of time.
 Elements and controls of
weather and climate
1. Temperature
– Latitude
2. Pressure
– Distribution of land and water
3. Wind
– General circulation of the atmosphere
1. Moisture content
– General circulation of the oceans
– Elevation
– Topographic barriers
– Storms
2. Clouds
3. Precipitation