THE

ATMOSPHERE
Review session
What do the following images suggest to you?
 CFCs: responsable of the
destruction of the ozone layer

Greenhouse effect

Effects of the acid rain

What do the following images suggest to you?

 Composition
• The lowest layer of the atmosphere is a mixture of gases called air.

• Air is composed by:

- 78% of nitrogen (N2)
- 21% of oxygen (O2)
- 0.9% of argon (Ar)
- 0,1% of other gases: water vapour (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2)…
 Structure
- Troposphere: nearest layer to the Earth surface. Meteorological
phenomena occur here. Same composition as air.
- Stratosphere: ozone layer (O3) is located here. It absorbs ultraviolet
radiation.
- Mesosphere: meteors burn up and disintegrate here. As a resul,t
shooting stars are visible
- Thermosphere: highest temperatures are registered here. It absorbs
infrared radiation and many atoms transform into charged particles. This
causes auroras.
- Exosphere: outermost layer. Mainly made up of hydrogen and helium
(in small amounts.)
Anwer in your
notebooks

• What is the ionosphere?

• Which layers of the

atmosphere are included in
the ionosphere?
 Anwer in your notebooks
• What is the ionosphere?
It is the part of the atmosphere where atoms transform
into charged particles (called ions) due to solar radiation.

• Which layers of the atmosphere are included in the

ionosphere?
Upper mesosphere, thermosphere and lower exosphere
are included in the ionosphere
Temperature variation in the atmosphere
3, 2, 1 - Bridge
Formation and evolution
 Formation and evolution
• It began to form 4600 millions years ago. The enormous volcanic
activity released a large amount of gases forming a primitive
atmosphere: nitrogen, carbon dioxide, water vapour, methane and
ammonia. In this primitive atmosphere there was no oxygen.

• About 3500 million years ago, the first living organisms (simple
bacteria) appeared in the primitive oceans. Later, photosynthetic
bacteria appeared and they started to release oxygen to the
atmosphere.
 Formation and evolution
• About 2000 million years ago, oxygen had accumulated in the
atmosphere, and much of the carbon dioxide went to the oceans and
rocks. The ozone layer appeared and atmosphere started to have the
current appearance.

• Today, humans are contributing to change the atmospheric

composition due to the burning of fossil fuels and the release of
pollutants. CO2 is increasing in the atmosphere and, as a result, the
greenhouse effect is increasing (with a global increase of
temperatures.)
 Pollution
• It changes the natural composition of air.

• It may be caused by:

- Substances in suspension (pollen, heavy metals…)
- Toxic gases that are not normally in the
atmosphere (nitrogen and sulfur oxides)
- Natural components of the atmosphere that
increase their concentration: CO2, methane…
 Consequences of pollution
- Destruction of the ozone layer: due to CFCs that destroy
the ozone molecules.
- Acid rain: due to nitrogen and sulfur oxides that react with
water vapour forming acid substances. These acids fall with
the rain affecting to life and soil.
- Enhanced greenhouse effect: due to gases such as
methane, carbon dioxide and water vapour. They
accumulate in the atmosphere and retain the solar radiation,
contributing to increase temperaturas.
- Respiratory problems and other health problems
 • Explain what the enhanced
greenhouse effect is.
Anwer in
your • Use the following images to
compare the differences between
notebooks the natural greenhouse effect and
the enhanced greenhouse effect.
Is there
something
that…
• Is not totally
clear?
• You would like
to highlight?