Layers of

Earth’s
Atmospher
e
Meteorology
•Branch of science that deals with
the study of the atmosphere and its
corresponding weather patterns.
People who study the atmosphere
are called meteorologists.
Atmosphere
•The blanket or envelope of gases
surrounding the earth.
•Atmosphere contains:
• 78% nitrogen
• 21% oxygen
• 1% trace gases
• Nitrogen is the most abundant gas and is
essential for all living things to grow.
• Oxygen is necessary for humans and animals
for survival and this gas is given off by the
plants as a by-products during photosynthesis.
• Trace gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide,
ozone, argon, neon, helium, hydrogen, dust
particles and chlorofluorocarbons).
•Suppose the percentage of nitrogen and
oxygen in air were reversed, what do
you think would happen?
•What if concentration of carbon dioxide
and nitrogen were reversed? Would life
exist on Earth?
Functions of Atmosphere
1.It keeps us warm
2.It gives us oxygen to breath
3.It is where weather happen
Layers of the Atmosphere
• The temperature profile of the atmosphere is the
basis for dividing the atmosphere into several layers;
1. Troposphere
2. Stratosphere
3. Mesosphere
4. Thermosphere
5. Exosphere
Troposphere
• “Tropo” means “change”. This layer gets its name from
the changes in the weather.
• The lowest layer of the atmosphere. It is the layer where
we live and it makes up approximately 75% of the total
mass of the atmosphere and contain 99% of
atmosphere’s water. It is where weather phenomena take
place.
• The temperature in troposphere decreases as altitude
increases.
Stratosphere
• The second layer of the Earth’s atmosphere. “Strat”
means “layer”.
• It is the layer where you can find the ozone layer. The
air in the stratosphere is more stable compared to
troposphere, it is where most aircrafts fly.
• The temperature increases as altitude increases.
• Ozone is a form of oxygen which absorbs the ultraviolet
rays from the sun, which eventually releases heat.
Mesosphere
• Third layer of the atmosphere. “Meso” means
middle.
• It is the coldest layer of the atmosphere. It
burns most meteors an asteroid before they
reach the earth’s surface. The temperature in
the mesosphere decreases as the altitude
increases.
Thermosphere
• “Thermo” means heat. The temperature of this gas
layer can go beyond 1000⁰C.
• Comparatively Closer to the sun and it absorb a large
amount of solar radiation. It is where the international
space station orbits.
• The temperature from this layer increases as the
distance from the earth increases.
• Where the aurora borealis and australis can be seen.
Ionosphere
• A layer in the thermosphere, called
ionosphere, is made of gas particles charged
by solar energy.
• Ionosphere bounces off radio waves from
different parts of world.
• A remarkable feature that is happening in the
ionosphere is the occurrence of auroras.
Auroras
•Auroras are band of
light with different
color, It is called
aurora borealis in the
north and aurora
australis in the south
region.
Exosphere
•“Exo” means outside.
•Exosphere is located outside the earth; it
is where the artificial satellites are being
place as there is little friction.
•The temperature varies from very cold
to very hot.
 Role of Atmosphere is Sustaining
Life on Earth
• Surrounding earth is layer of gas which is a critical
factor in sustaining life on the planet.
• This layer of gas called the atmosphere, is held
together by earth’s gravity.
• It makes earth “livable” by regulating solar energy
which drives all life processes on Earth.
• Because of the atmosphere earth is not too hot or too
cold to sustain life.