Ch 1 - The Atmosphere

Ch 1 - The Atmosphere
• Introduction
– The formal study of any physical system, such
as an engine or an airplane, usually begins
with a description of that system
– Information about component parts, their
location and dimensions, and terminology is
necessary background for later examination
and understanding of the system design and
operation.
Ch 1 - The Atmosphere
• Introduction
– When you complete this chapter, you should
be able to describe the composition,
dimensions, and average vertical structure of
the atmosphere using proper technical
vocabulary.
Ch 1 - The Atmosphere

• Introduction
– You will also have been introduced to a
valuable reference tool, the standard
atmosphere.
Ch 1 - The Atmosphere
• Section A – Atmospheric Composition
• Section B – Atmospheric Properties
– Temperature
– Density
– Pressure
– Humidity
– The Gas Law
• Section C – Atmospheric Structure
– Dimensions
– Atmospheric Layers
Chapter 1 – The Atmosphere
• Section A: Atmospheric Composition
– Atmosphere – an envelope of gases surrounding the
planet
– Water vapor – water vapor is a variable gas; the
percentage of water vapor in the atmosphere can
vary greatly, depending on the location and source of
the air
– Particulates or aerosols – liquid or solid particles
that are small enough to remain suspended in the air
The atmosphere that surrounds the earth, or air, as we
know it, is made up by a number of gases principally
nitrogen and oxygen. The exact make up of air in the
lower levels of the atmosphere being 78% nitrogen, 21%
oxygen and 1% other gases (Argon and carbon dioxide).
Chapter 1 – The Atmosphere
• Section B: Atmospheric Properties
– Temperature – defined in a number of ways
• can be defined as a measure of the direction heat will flow;
or as simply a measure of hotness or coldness
• a measure of the motion of the molecules
• the average of the kinetic energy of the many molecules that
make up a substance
• the greater the average kinetic energy, the greater the
temperature
– Kinetic energy – the energy that exists by virtue of
motion
• a molecule possesses kinetic energy proportional to the
square of its speed of movement
– Absolute zero – a temperature of absolute zero is
the point where all molecular motion becomes
negligible
• 0 Kelvin
Chapter 1 – The Atmosphere
• Kelvin scale – It is the standard unit for measurement of
temperature.

• K= ℃ + 273
– the melting point of ice is 273 Kelvin (0 ℃ )
– the boiling point of water is 373 Kelvin (100 ℃)
– the standard sea level temperature is 288 Kelvin (15 ℃)

• Density – The density of a substance is the mass of that

substance per unit volume.
– if the total mass of substance in that volume decrease, the
density decreases.
– if the mass remains the same but the volume increases, the
density also decreases.
– the unit of density is kg/m³.
Chapter 1 – The Atmosphere
• Pressure – Pressure is defined as the force (N)acting
upon a given area (square inch or square foot or square
meter)
– According to fluid mechanics , fluids at rest exerts
equal pressure in all directions(Pascal’s Law)
– a typical value of atmospheric pressure at sea level is
14.7 pounds per square inch (1013.25 millibars, 29.92
inches of mercury)
Humidity: Humidity is the amount of water vapour
suspended in the air and is found up to a height of
approximately 6 miles (9.6 km) in varying quantities.
The ability of air to hold water vapour increases with
air temperature. The actual amount of water vapour in
the atmosphere being dependent on the air
temperature of the day and whether the air is near or
has recently passed over a large area of water. So on
hot days air can hold more water vapour, but even at
cold temperatures there is always a certain amount of
water vapour in the atmosphere at lower levels.
Chapter 1 – The Atmosphere
• The Gas Law – a unique characteristic of gases is that
they obey a physical principle known as the gas law,
which can be written as:
– P/ρT=R
• P = pressure
• ρ = density
• T = absolute temperature
• R = constant number which is known from
experiment and theory;
• R = universal gas constant = 8.3145 J/mol K
Chapter 1 – The Atmosphere
• The equation states that the ratio of pressure to the
product of density and temperature is always the same;
– if the pressure changes, then either the density or the
temperature or both must also change in order for
the ratio to remain constant.
– reduce pressure by cooling, reducing mass or
increasing volume.
– the gas law makes the measurement of the gaseous
state of the atmosphere much simpler.
– if we know any two of the three variables that
describe the gas, we can always calculate the third.
– in practice, we usually measure pressure and
temperature and deduce the density from the gas
law.
Chapter 1 – The Atmosphere
• Section C: Atmospheric Structure
– Dimensions – we are concerned with the size of the
atmosphere and its phenomena
• How big?
• How high?
• How far?
– These are common questions asked in regard to
atmospheric description
– in order to keep distances and altitudes in a
meaningful context, it is helpful to have some
measuring sticks for reference
Chapter 1 – The Atmosphere
– some of the most useful are the dimensions of the
earth;
– nm stands for nautical mile , 1 nm = 1.852 km
• distance from pole to equator = 5,397 nm
• 3,438 nm radius
• 21,625 nm circumference
Chapter 1 – The Atmosphere

• Atmospheric Layers
– Temperature Layers
• Troposphere – the lowest layer of the
atmosphere, where the average temperature
decreases with altitude
• the great majority of the clouds and weather
occurs in the troposphere
Chapter 1 – The Atmosphere
• trope = turn or change
– there are often strong vertical air motions
– the stability of the stratosphere and instability
of the troposphere are related directly to the
variation of temperature with altitude in those
layers
Chapter 1 – The Atmosphere
• Tropopause – the top of the troposphere is about
36,000 feet above mean sea level (MSL), in middle
latitudes
– this upper boundary (a level, not a layer) is known as
the tropopause
– the temperature often reaches a minimum value at
this altitude; the tropopause is a important
atmospheric feature for pilots because of its
connection to a variety of weather phenomena such
as jet streams, clear air turbulence and
thunderstorms
Chapter 1 – The Atmosphere
– the altitude of the tropopause varies with latitude and
season; the tropopause is lower near the poles and in
winter
– it is higher near the equator and in summer
Atmospheric Pressure and its effect on
Density

• Pressure in the atmosphere occurs because the gasses

that make up the atmosphere are held in contact with
the earth’s surface by the force of gravity.
• The closer we are therefore to the earth’s surface, the
greater is the gravitational effect, so the higher is the
number of air molecules present and the greater is the
weight or pressure.
• Conversely as we climb in the atmosphere, due to the
reduction in gravity, air thins out and the number of
air molecules decreases, so the weight of air
decreases and so will atmospheric pressure. Thus if a
column of air 1 inch square was to extend from sea
level to the extremities of the atmosphere,
atmospheric pressure at any point could be found as it
would equal the weight of the air molecules above it.
• At sea level we find that the standard atmospheric
pressure is equal to 14.69 PSI (1013.25 mbar) and
decreases as we climb in the atmosphere at a non-
uniform rate due to the reduced gravitational effect
the further we move away from the surface.
Atmospheric pressure becoming half its sea level value
at about 18000 ft and approximately quarter of its sea
level value at the tropopause (about 36,000 ft).
• These changes in atmospheric pressure will affect the
density of air, as if a given volume of air is considered,
the higher we climb in the atmosphere, as the air
pressure reduces due to the decrease in the number of
air molecules the less air will be compressed, so its
density will decrease.

• Conversely as we descend in the atmosphere, for the

same given volume as pressure increases the higher
will be the number of air molecules present, so its
density will increase.

• The density of air is therefore directly proportional to

pressure, increasing or decreasing in line with
atmospheric pressure.
Atmospheric Temperature and its
effect on Density

• In the lower region of the atmosphere, the temperature of air

depends on the amount of heat energy from the sun that is
reflected back from the surface. Therefore the further away from
the surface the air is the lower will be its temperature.
• Temperature affects the density of air as at a constant pressure,
the cooling of air decreases the amount of movement and
spacing between air molecules allowing more molecules to be
contained in a given volume increasing its air density. Conversely
as air heated at a constant pressure the molecules tend to speed
up and increase the spacing between them reducing the number
of molecules in a given volume deceasing air density. The
density of air is therefore inversely proportional to temperature.
Atmospheric Temperature and its
effect on Density

• The international lapse rate for temperature in the

atmosphere up to a height of 36,090 ft (the tropopause)
is given at the rate of 0.65 ℃ per 100 metres or 1.98 ℃
per 1000 ft. After this height this rate is no longer valid
as temperature then remains constant at – 56.5 ℃ up to
about 65,000 ft, where it then varies in different parts of
the upper atmosphere, due to varying atmospheric
conditions becoming hottest in the upper region of the
thermosphere, just below the exosphere.
Overall Altitude effects on Density

• As we have already stated, the main factors that will

affect density, pressure, temperature and humidity will
all decrease as altitude increases. Pressure decreasing as
air thins out, temperature decreasing up to a certain
height and humidity decreasing in line with temperature.
• The effects these factors have on density however are
different as density changes directly with change in
pressure and humidity and inversely with changes in
temperature. Overall however, since pressure is the
dominating factor in controlling the mass per unit
volume, density will overall decrease in line with
pressure and decrease as altitude increases.
Chapter 1 – The Atmosphere
• Stratosphere – as we move upward from the
tropopause to the stratosphere temperature tends to
change slowly at first and then increase with altitude
– air in the stratosphere is confined to move more or
less horizontally in strata or layers
– the stability of the stratosphere and instability of the
troposphere are related directly to the variation of
temperature with altitude in those layers
• Stratopause – at the top of the stratosphere is the
stratopause
– it occurs at an altitude of about 160,000 feet MSL
– the temperature reaches a maximum value at this
height
Chapter 1 – The Atmosphere
• Mesosphere – immediately above the stratopause is
the mesosphere, a layer where the temperature again
decreases with height
– the mesosphere extends to a height of slightly more
than 280,000 feet MSL, where the mesopause and
the coldest temperatures in the diagram are located
• Mesopause – located at slightly more than 280,000
feet MSL, where the mesopause and the coldest
temperatures are located
Chapter 1 – The Atmosphere
• Thermosphere - the highest layer in the model
atmosphere
– temperatures generally increase with altitude in this
layer
– the number of air molecules is so small at these very
high levels that an average kinetic energy of the air
molecules does not have much meaning
– objects in space at such heights have temperatures
that are more closely related to radiation gain on the
sun-facing side of the object and radiation loss on the
opposite side
Chapter 1 – The Atmosphere
• Other Layers
• Ozone layer – sometimes called the ozonosphere
– is found in the lower stratosphere
– it is characterized by a relatively high concentration of
O3 with maximum concentrations near 80,000 feet
MSL
– the temperature maximum near the stratopause is
due to the absorption of solar radiation by the ozone;
Chapter 1 – The Atmosphere
• Ozone hole – region of the ozone layer with
lower-than-normal O3 concentration
– especially noticeable over the South Pole in spring
months (September to December)
– the ozone hole is created when pollutants, in
particular man-made chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs),
reach stratospheric levels
– solar radiation at those altitudes is intense enough to
break the CFCs down so that the chlorine is free to
destroy ozone molecules
Chapter 1 – The Atmosphere
• Ionosphere – a deep layer of charged particles (ions
and free electrons) that extends from the lower
mesosphere upward through the thermosphere;
– the production of charged particles occurs at those
altitudes because incoming solar radiation has
sufficient energy to strip electrons from atoms and
molecules
– AM radio waves are reflected and/or absorbed by
different sub layers of the ionosphere
– radio communications may be greatly influenced by
variations in the lower part of the ionosphere at
sunrise and sunset and during periods of greater solar
activity
Chapter 1 – The Atmosphere
• ***In the lower troposphere, pressure decreases
about 1 inch of mercury (about 34 mb) for each
thousand feet of altitude gain
Chapter 1 – The Atmosphere
• Standard Atmosphere – the standard atmosphere,
also called the international standard atmosphere (ISA),
is an idealized atmosphere with specific vertical
distributions of pressure, temperature, and density
prescribed by international agreement
– the standard atmosphere is used for several
aerospace applications, such as determining altitude
from pressure altimeters
– the ISA for the lower stratosphere and troposphere is
shown graphically where the majority of aircraft
operations take place
Chapter 1 – The Atmosphere
• ***In the ISA troposphere, the temperature
decreases 2 degrees Celsius for each 1,000-foot
(6.5 K per km)increase in altitude known as lapse
rate .
Summary

• In this chapter, we have started to build

the background of basic concepts and
vocabulary necessary for the study of
aviation weather
• We should now be aware of the average
composition, structure, and dimensions of
the atmosphere .
Summary
• What may have seemed at first to be a rather
complicated picture has been simplified by
constructing a “model” of the atmospheric
structure based mainly on the variation of
temperature with altitude.
• It will soon be clear that the model not only aids
in learning and remembering the basic
atmospheric structure, but it will also help us
understand the causes of many atmospheric
phenomena.