LABORATORY NOTES:  The mesopause is the boundary between

the mesosphere and the thermosphere

ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES
Chapter 1 the atmosphere
Atmospheric Science is the study of:
• weather analysis and predictability,
• climate and global change,
• the circulation of the atmosphere
relating to weather systems and
• their impact on the Earth, air
quality, and other atmospheric
processes that affect us.
Earth's atmosphere is a mixture of gases that
surrounds our home planet
• According to NASA, the gases in Earth's
atmosphere include:4
1. Nitrogen — 78 percent 4 
above it
 The stratopause is the boundary between
the mesosphere and the stratosphere below
it.
 Thermosphere
 The thermosphere is a layer of Earth's
atmosphere that is directly above
the mesosphere and below the exosphere.

 The boundary between the thermosphere
and the exosphere above it is called the
thermopause. At the bottom of the
thermosphere is the mesopause
 The boundary between the thermosphere
and the exosphere above it is called the
thermopause. At the bottom of the
thermosphere is the mesopause


2. Oxygen — 21 percent4
3. Argon — 0.93 percent4
4. Carbon dioxide — 0.04 percent4
5. Trace amounts of neon, helium,
methane, krypton and hydrogen, as
well as water vapor4
LAYERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE
• Troposphere
• The troposphere is the lowest layer
of the atmosphere, characterized by
a temperature that decreases with
altitude.
The top of the troposphere is called
the tropopause.
 Stratosphere
 This layer contains the ozone layer, which
absorbs and scatters solar ultraviolet
radiation
 Mesosphere
 The mesosphere is a layer of
Earth's atmosphere. The mesosphere is
above the stratosphere layer. The layer
above the mesosphere is called
the thermosphere.

Unit 3: Ideal Gas Law
• In addition, the atmosphere is a mixture of
gases that can be compressed or expanded
in a way that obeys the Ideal Gas Law:
pV=NR∗T
R = 62.4 L.mmHg/mol.K
CHAPTER 2 INSOLATION AND
TEMPERATURE
UNIT 1 FACTORS AFFECTING INSOLATION
Insolation (Solar Radiation)
-The sun is the primary source of energy on the
earth. This energy is radiated in all directions into
space through short waves. This is known as solar
radiation
Incoming solar radiation through short waves is
termed as insolation
• The following factors influence the
amount of insolation received
1. The angle of incidence.
2. Duration of the day (daily sunlight
period).
3. Transparency of the atmosphere
1. The angle of incidence
Since the earth is round, the sun's
ray strikes the surface at different
angles at different places.
2. Duration of the day
Duration of the day varies from
place to place and season to season.
3. Transparency of the Atmosphere
Transparency of the atmosphere
also determines the amount of
insolation reaching the earth's
surface.
UNIT 2: HEATING AND
COOLING OF THE
ATMOSPHERE
• There are four heating processes directly
responsible for heating the atmosphere.
They are: (a) Radiation (b) Conduction (c)
Convection and (d) Advection
• Radiation
• Radiation is the process by which solar
energy reaches the earth and the earth
loses energy to outer space.
• Conduction
• When two objects of unequal temperature
come in contact with each other, heat
energy flow from the warmer object to the
cooler object and this process of heat
transfer is known as conduction
• Convection
• Transfer of heat by movement of a mass or
substance from one place to another,
generally vertical, is called convection.
• Advection
• Winds carry the temperature of one place
to another. The temperature of a place will
rise if it lies on the path of winds coming
from warmer regions.
• •
• Unit 3: Heat Budget
• The insolation is made up of energy
transmitted through the atmosphere and
scattered energy. Insolation is the amount
of solar radiation that reaches the earth's
surface through shortwaves.
• Albedo
• Albedo can be simply defined as a
measure of how much light that hits a
surface is reflected back without being
absorbed.
• Unit 4 Temperature and its Distribution
• Temperature
• Temperature indicates the relative degree
of heat of a substance. Heat is the energy
which make things or objects hot, while
temperature measures the intensity of heat
• The Celsius scale, named after the
Swedish astronomer, Anders Celsius, is
accepted internationally by Scientists for
reporting air temperature
• Distribution
• Distribution of temperature varies both
horizontally and vertically.
• Horizontal distribution of Temperature
• Distribution of temperature across the
latitudes over the surface of the earth is
called its horizontal distribution.
• An isotherm is made of two words 'iso' and
'therm', 'Iso' means equal and 'therm'
means temperature.
• Factors responsible for the uneven
distribution of temperature are as follows:
• Latitude
• Land and Sea Contrast
• Relief and Altitude
• Ocean Currents
• Winds
Vegetation Cover
• Nature of the Soil
• Slope and Aspect
CHAPTER 3 PRESSURE AND WINDS
Since air occupies space and has weight, it also
exerts pressure. This pressure is called
atmospheric pressure. 
The weight of the column of air at a given place is
called air pressure or atmospheric pressure.
Atmospheric pressure is an indicator of weather.
When a low-pressure system moves into an area,
it usually leads to cloudiness, wind,
and precipitation. High-pressure systems usually
lead to fair, calm weather
Unit 2: Measurement of air pressure
Atmospheric pressure is commonly measured with
a barometer. In a barometer, a column
of mercury in a glass tube rises or falls as the
weight of the atmosphere changes. 
Unit 3: Distribution: Vertical and Horizontal
Distribution
Vertical Distribution
Air is a mixture of various gases. It is highly
compressible.
Horizontal Distribution
The distribution of atmospheric pressure over the
globe is known as horizontal distribution of
pressure
The factors responsible for variation in the
horizontal distribution of pressure are as follows:
1. Air Temperature
2. The Earth’s rotation
3. Presence of water vapor
• Air temperature
• Generally, there is an inverse relationship
between air temperature and air pressure
• Earth’s rotation
• The earth’s rotation generates centrifugal
force. This results in the deflection of air
from its original place, causing decrease of
pressure.
• Presence of water vapor
• Air with higher quality of water vapour
has lower pressure and that with lower
quality of water vapour has higher
pressure.
• Unit 4: Pressure Belts
• The Equatorial Low Pressure Belt
• The sun shines almost vertically on the
equator throughout the year
• The sub-tropical pressure belts extend
from the tropics to about 350 latitudes in
both the Hemisphere it is called as the
North sub-tropical high pressure belt and
in the southern hemisphere it is known as
the South sub-tropical high pressure belt
• The sub-polar low pressure belts extend
between 450N and the Arctic Circle in the
northern hemisphere and between 450S and
the Antarctic Circle in the southern
hemisphere. They are known as the North
sub-polar low and South sub-polar low
pressure belts, respectively.
• The Polar High Pressure Belts. In polar
regions, sun never shines vertically. Sun
rays are always slanting here resulting in
low temperatures. Because of low
temperature, air compresses and its density
increases
Unit 5: Wind
Horizontal movement of air in response to
difference in pressure is termed as wind while
vertical or nearly vertical moving air is called air
current.
Pressure Gradient and Winds
There is a close relationship between the pressure
and the wind speed. The greater the difference in
air pressure between the two points
THE CORIOLIS EFFECT AND THE WIND
Demonstrated by Gaspard Gustave de Coriolis in
1844 and known as the Coriolis effect or Coriolis
force. Coriolis force tend to deflect the winds
from their original direction.
In northern hemisphere winds are deflected
towards their right and in the southern
hemisphere towards their left. This is known
as Farrel’s Law. The Coriolis force is absent
along the equator but increases progressively
towards the poles
Type of Winds
1. Planetary winds or permanent
winds
2. Periodic winds
3. Local wind
Planetary or permanent winds blow from high
pressure belts to low pressure belts in the same
direction throughout the year. They blow over
vast area of continents and oceans.
Planetary winds are
1. Easterly/Easterlies- The winds that blow
from sub-tropical high pressure areas towards
equatorial low pressure areas called trade or
easterly winds: The word trade has been
derived from the German word 'trade' which
means track.
2. Westerly /Westerlies- The winds that
move poleward from the sub-tropical high
pressure in the northern hemisphere are
deflected to the right and thus blow from
the south west.
3. Polar easterly/Polar Easterlies
- Polar easterlies blow from polar regions
towards sub-polar low pressure regions. Their
direction in the northern hemisphere is from
north-east to south-west and from south-east
to north-west in the southern hemisphere.
Periodic Winds
The direction of these winds changes with
the change of seasons. Monsoon winds
are the most important periodic winds.
A "monsoon" is a weather pattern; a
monsoon has a different name in each
country that it affects. In the Philippines,
the Summer Monsoon (West or southwest)
is called the Habagat (ha-bag-at) and the
Winter Monsoon (North or northeast) is
called the Amihan (a-me-han). The word
'monsoon' is believed to originate from the
Arabic word mawsim (season), via the
Portuguese and then Dutch monsun.
A "monsoon" is a consistent wind pattern
generated by a large weather system, that
lasts for a period of months and affects a
large area of the planet
The Mountain and Valley breeze
Hot Winds
Any wind characterized by intense heat
and low relative humidity. Loo, Foehn
and Chinook are important hot winds of
local category
Loo are hot dry winds, which blow very
strongly over the northern plains of India
and Pakistan in the months of May and
June
Foehn. Foehn is strong, dusty, dry warm
local wind which develops on the leeward
side of the Alps mountain ranges
Chinook is the name of hot and dry local
wind which moves down the easthern
slopes of the Rockies in USA and Canada
Cold winds
The local cold winds originate in
the snow-capped mountains during
winter and move down the slopes
towards the valleys.
Mistral. Mistral are most common
local cold winds. They originate
on the Alps and more over France
towards the Mediterranen Sea
through the Rhone valley.
CHAPTER 4 ATMOSPHERIC
CIRCULATION
Unit 1: The General Circulation of the
Atmosphere
• Atmospheric circulation refers to the
movement of heat and air across the earth's
surface. Changes in weather patterns, the
presence of clouds, and the amount of
precipitation received by a geographic
location are all influenced by atmospheric
circulation.
The worldwide wind system is called the general
circulation of the atmosphere
The main effects of the atmospheric
circulation:
1. Continuous transport of humidity from the
equator to the North and to the
South tropics.
2. Transport of hot air and humidity from the
tropics to the temperate zones.
 3. Transport of warmer air and humidity
from the temperate to the colder zones.
Unit 2: major climate zones
1. Polar Zones
2. Tropical Climates
 Occur near the equator and the
lower latitudes.
 These climates extend from the
Tropic of Cancer through the
equator and down to the Tropic of
Capricorn.
 This climate tends to be warm,
muggy and rainy year-around
 Temperatures average around 80oF
 Monsoons. Seasonal winds that
bring either dry or moist air.
3. Temperate Climate
• Occur about halfway between the equator
and the poles in the middle latitudes.
• This climate has four distinct seasons.
• Circulation Cells
• A large circuit of air is called an
atmospheric circulation cell.
• Three cells exist in each hemisphere
• Hadley cells. Tropical cells found on each
side of the equator.
• Ferrel cells. Found at the mid-latitudes
• Polar-cells. Found near the poles
• What are some of the wind patterns
found between and within cells?
• Doldrums are calm equatorial areas where
two Hadley cells converge.
• Horse latitudes are areas between Hadley
and Ferrel cell.
• Westerlies are surface winds of Ferrel
cells.
• A Hadley cell is a circulation cell
stretching from the equator to 30° north
and south. In a Hadley cell, named for
English meteorologist George Hadley, hot
air rises from equatorial regions, moves
northward or southward.
•
Hadley cells are responsible for the formation of
two different geographic climates, tropical
rainforests and deserts
Hadley Cells
• Circulation of hot air near the equator
• Air is heated, rises and spread north and
south toward subtropics
• Subtropic air replaces hot tropical air
Characteristics
• High humidity
• High clouds
• Heavy rains/precipitation
• No winter
• Temperature change greater from day to
night than from season to season
• Polar Cells
• This cells occurs at 60 degrees north and
south. The air has been warmed up and
rises upwards, creating a zone of low
pressure.
• The outflow from the cells creates Ross by
Waves, these are ultra-long waves which
determine the path of Jet Stream
• A Ferrel cell, named for American
meteorologist William Ferrel, represents
the third type of air circulation cell, found
between 60° and 30° north and south.
• This cell rises over cold temperature zone
and sinks over warm temperature zone.
The cell is not driven by thermal forcing
but driven by eddy (weather systems).
•