4th Module

Introduction

• What is the atmosphere?

 A gaseous layer that surrounds the Earth and stabilized
by gravity
 It is about 100 km thick… if compared to the Earth’s
radius of 6400 km, it has the same ratio of peach and its
skin!
 Consists of AIR, mixture of different gases, solid
particles and water vapour
 Air is increasingly thinner higher up the atmosphere

PM10 = PM2.5-10 + PM2.5

 Introduction

The importance of atmosphere

• Protective blanket that protects life on earth from outer space
hostile environment.
• Source of carbon dioxide for plant photosynthesis and of
oxygen for respiration.
• Provides nitrogen that nitrogen fixing bacteria and ammonia-
manufacturing plants use to produce chemically bound
nitrogen, an essential components of life molecules.
• Protects life on earth by absorbing harmful ultraviolet
radiation.
 The Troposphere
• Troposphere is a turbulent, dusty zone
containing air, much water vapour and clouds.
This is the region of strong air movement and
cloud formation.
• This is the layer of the atmosphere closest to
the Earth's surface, extending up to about 10-
15 km above the Earth's surface. It contains
85% of the atmosphere's mass.
• Temperature and pressure drops as you go
higher up the troposphere.
 The Stratosphere
• This layer lies directly above the troposphere and is about 35 km deep.
• It extends from about 15 to 50 km above the Earth's surface.
• The lower portion of the stratosphere has a nearly constant temperature
with height but in the upper portion the temperature increases with altitude
because of absorption of sunlight by ozone.
• Little convective mixing, relatively stable region.
• Ozone in the stratosphere absorbs ultraviolet radiation, warming it up in
the mid-upper parts of the layer. The reason for the increase in
temperatures in the stratosphere with height relates to the wavelength of
the incoming solar energy. At higher altitudes in the stratosphere, ozone
very efficiently absorbs UV at wavelengths between 200 and 350
nanometers. At lower altitudes in the stratosphere, ozone absorbs UV at
wavelengths between 44 and 80 nanometers but much less efficiently.
• Therefore is hottest at the highest layers, cooler down where it contacts the
cold upper troposphere
• At the bottom of the stratosphere, most UV has already been absorbed
higher up, so further heating is very reduced, hence the temperature vs
height is the opposite from the Troposphere
• This temperature inversion means no convection, no weather.
• In which layer the aeroplanes fly?
– Stratosphere
– Mesosphere
– Troposphere
– Thermosphere
 The Mesosphere

• The mesosphere is on top of the stratosphere, extending from 50 to

85 km above the Earth's surface.
• The temperature decreases with altitude.
• This is also the layer in which a lot of meteors burn up while
entering the Earth's atmosphere.
• Above the Stratosphere, the mass of atmosphere is only 0.1% of
the total, and the density is too low for ozone chemistry to heat the
atmosphere
• Hence, we get the normal trend we saw in the troposphere re-
asserting itself – lower temperature with lower pressure and lower
altitude.
 The Ionosphere (= Thermosphere)
• The thermosphere is the fourth layer of the Earth's
atmosphere and is located above the mesosphere. The air is
really thin in the thermosphere.
• Lies from 85 to 500 km above the Earth’s surface
• When the sun is active, the thermosphere can heat up to
1,500° C or higher!
• The ionosphere is a region of the atmosphere that is filled
with charged particles.
• Temperature increases with altitude.
• Above mesosphere; density so low the Space Shuttle and ISS
orbit here, with little drag
• Heated by ionization by UV from the sun, and the solar
wind.
 Exosphere
This layer is thin surrounding a planet or natural
satellite where molecules are gravitationally
bound to that body, but where the density is
too low for them to behave as a gas by
colliding with each other. The volume of this
layer is very less.
 Don’t Stress!
• Only the Troposphere and Stratosphere are
substantial enough to really affect climate and
weather.

• Don’t stress too much about the mesosphere

and thermosphere
The atmospheric composition – clean air
Atmospheric Composition today
 Greenhouse Effect
The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon that occurs when certain
gases in the atmosphere, especially water vapor, carbon dioxide and methane,
cause the Earth’s surface to heat up more than it otherwise would, thereby
maintaining a global average temperature warm enough to support life as we
know it.
• Major greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
Water vapor: The contribution of water vapor in atmospheric composition
by volume is 0 to 4 %. Water vapor varies in concentration in the atmosphere
both spatially and temporally. The highest concentration found near the
equator over the oceans and tropical rain forests and lowest found at cold
polar areas and subtropical continental deserts
On Earth, water vapor is the biggest contributor to greenhouse effect. By
their percentage contribution, it contributes 36 to 70 % to the greenhouse
effect.
Carbon dioxide: Carbon dioxide is the second most important gas to the
greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide contributes in the atmosphere composition
by volume is 0.0360 %. It contributes 9 to 26 % to the greenhouse effect.
• The volume of CO2 has increased by over 35 % in
last three hundred years. This increase is primarily
due to human induced burning from fossil fuels,
deforestation,and other forms of land-use changes.

• Methane: Methane is a very strong greenhouse

gas. The contribution of Methane in atmospheric
composition by volume is 0.00017%. Since 1750,
methane concentration in the atmosphere have
increased by more than 150%. It contributes 4 to
9% to greenhouse effect.
Earth’s Energy Budget
 Greenhouse Effect:-
• The greenhouse effect may therefore be defined as the
progressive warming up of earth’s surface due to blanketing
effect of manmade CO2 in the atmosphere.

• Ideally the earth temperature would be 5.3 oC when we

consider the distance (15x107 km) & radiative temperature
of Sun is 6000 k

• But earth surface reflects 30% so the temperature would be

= - 18 to -19 oC

• In reality average temperature of earth is 14 to 15 oC

• This ~33 oC increment is due to greenhouse effect.

• Main Greenhouse Gases
• Water Vapor = 36 to 70%
• CO2 = 9 to 26%
• Methane = 4 to 9 %
• Ozone = 3 to 7%
• Also CFC, NOx etc are important GH gases

• History:-
Greenhouse effect first
Discovered by Joseph Fourier – 1824
Experimented by John Tyndall – 1858
Quantitatively by Svante Arrhenius – 1896
 Global Warming
• A recent warming of the Earth’s surface and lower
atmosphere is believed to be the result of a strengthening of
the greenhouse effect mostly due to human-produced
increases in atmospheric greenhouse gases.
•  
• The volume of CO2 has increased by over 35 % in last three
hundred years. This increase is primarily due to human
induced burning from fossil fuels, deforestation, and other
forms of land-use changes.

• Since 1750, methane concentration in the atmosphere has

increased by more than 150%.
 SOME MCQ
• Which layer is closest to the surface
– Stratosphere
– Mesosphere
– Troposphere
– Thermosphere
• The part of atmosphere with charged Ions is
called as:-
– Ozone
– Meteors
– Mesosphere
– Ionosphere
• Temperature................. as the altitude
increases in troposphere
– Increases
– Decreases
– Remains same
– Elevates
• Which gas causes about 36-70 % of green
house effect
– Ozone
– Carbon Dioxide
– Methane
– Water Vapor
• The Earth Atmosphere is divided into Layers
on which parameter
– Pressure
– Density
– Energy
– Temperature
• About what time planetary boundary layer is
highest?
– Morning
– Afternoon
– Evening
– Night