The Earth’s

Atmosphere
 Our atmosphere is a delicate life-giving blanket
of air that surrounds the fragile Earth. In one way or
another, it infl­uences everything we see and hear—
it is intimately connected to our lives. Air is with us
from birth, and we cannot detach ourselves from its
presence.
 WEATHER ELEMENTS:
 Air temperature
 Air pressure
 Humidity
 Clouds
 Precipitation
 Visibility
 Wind
WEATHER
vs.
CLIMATE
Meteorologica – Aristotle attempted to explain
atmospheric phenomena in a philosophical and
speculative manner

Middle-latitude cyclonic storm system (or

extratropical cyclone) forms outside the tropics
A tropical cyclone is the generic term for a non-
frontal synoptic scale low-pressure system over
tropical or sub-tropical waters with organized
convection (i.e. thunderstorm activity) and definite
cyclonic surface wind circulation.
• "hurricane" (the North Atlantic Ocean, the
Northeast Pacific Ocean east of the dateline, or
the South Pacific Ocean east of 160E)

• "typhoon" (the Northwest Pacific Ocean west of

the dateline)
• "severe tropical cyclone" or "Category 3
cyclone" and above (the Southwest Pacific
Ocean west of 160°E or Southeast Indian Ocean
east of 90°E)
• "very severe cyclonic storm" (the North Indian
Ocean)
• "tropical cyclone" (the Southwest Indian Ocean)
• A tornado is an intense rotating column of air
that usually extends downward from the base of
a thunderstorm with a circulation reaching the
ground. Sometimes called twisters, or cyclones,
they may appear as ropes or as a large cylinder.
 THE EARLY ATMOSPHERE
 1st: hydrogen and helium, CH4 and NH3
 2nd: Water vapor, CO2, and N2
 Outgassing (outpouring of gases)
 Cloud Formation – water from small meteors
collision
 CO2 were dissolved in oceans and trapped in
carbonate sedimentary rocks
 THE EARLY ATMOSPHERE
 N2 becomes dominant
 Sun splitting water vapor – O2
 plant growth greatly enriched our atmosphere
with oxygen
COMPOSITION
 COMPOSITION
 N2 & O2 - 78% - 80 km
 Balance between destruction and production of
these gases
 Water vapor concentration varies from place to
place.
 Tropical place – up to 4%; colder artic regions –
mere fraction of a percent
 COMPOSITION
 Water vapor releases large amounts of heat (G to
L/S) called latent heat
 Great source of atmospheric energy
 A greenhouse gas – absorbing portion of Earth’s
outgoing radiant energy
 COMPOSITION
 CO2 enters atmosphere through decay, volcanic
eruptions, exhalations, burning of fossil fuels,
deforestation.
 Chlorofluorocarbons – refrigerants, components of
plastic-foams; between about 11 km and 50 km
above Earth’s surface; replaced by
hydrochlorofluorocarbons
 COMPOSITION
 ozone (O3) – shields us from harmful UV
 When CFCs enter, the sun’s UV breaks them and
release chlorine, and combines with ozone.
 Aerosols – impurities (dust, soil, smoke, fine ash
particles) suspended in the air
 LAYERS (Vertical Profile)
 Air temperature normally decreases from Earth’s
surface up to 11 km altitude
 Lapse Rate – rate at which the air temperature
decreases with height
 The average lapse rate in the lower atmosphere is
about 6.5 °C) for every 1000 m or about 3.6 °F for
every 1000-ft
 LAYERS (Vertical Profile)
 Occasionally, the air temperature may actually
increase with height, producing a condition known
as a temperature inversion.
 The instrument that measures the vertical profile of
air temperature in the atmosphere up to an altitude
sometimes exceeding 30 km (100,000 ft.) is the
radiosonde.
 LAYERS (Vertical Profile)
 Troposphere
• Greek tropein, meaning “to turn,” or “to
change”
• surface up to 11 km
• contains all of the weather we are familiar
• well stirred by rising and descending air
currents
 LAYERS (Vertical Profile)
 Stratosphere
• Lapse rate is zero
• Isothermal zone – air temperature remains
constant with height
• Tropopause – boundary
• Temperature inversion – air temperature
begins to increase with height
 LAYERS (Vertical Profile)
 Stratosphere
• Keeping the vertical current
• Reducing the amount of vertical motion
• Why there is inversion?
• Ozone gas
 LAYERS (Vertical Profile)
 Mesosphere
• Air is extremely thin and atmospheric
pressure is quite low
• a breath of mesospheric air contains far
fewer oxygen molecules than a breath of
tropospheric air
• Hypoxia – oxygen-starved
 LAYERS (Vertical Profile)
 Thermosphere
• “hot layer”
• O2 absorb solar rays
• Large increase in air temperature
• charged particles from the sun interact with
air molecules to produce dazzling aurora
displays
 LAYERS (Vertical Profile)
 Exosphere
• upper limit of our atmosphere
• Molecules actually escape Earth’s
gravitational pull
 LAYERS (Vertical Profile)
 Homosphere
• If the atmosphere is divided into layers
based on composition, this layer is below
thermosphere
• Air remains uniform 78% N2 & 21% O2
 LAYERS (Vertical Profile)
 Ionosphere
• Not really a layer but an electrified region
• 60 km about the surface up to the top of the
atmosphere (mostly in thermosphere)
• At night, it reflects AM radio waves back
Assessment Task – ESSAY
Directions: Answer the following questions comprehensively.
• What is the primary source of energy for Earth’s atmosphere?
• How does weather differ from climate?
• Describe at least six ways weather and climate can infl­uence people’s lives.
• How has Earth’s atmosphere changed over time?
• Even though the actual concentration of oxygen is close to 21 percent (by
volume) in the upper stratosphere, explain why, without proper breathing
apparatus, you would not be able to survive there.
Assignment

• Differentiate mechanisms of heat transfer.

• Why Earth has seasons?