Structure and Composition of the Atmosphere
- 1. Ryan BeaudryIntroduction to the Structure and Composition of Earths Atmosphere
- 2. TermsAtmosphere-The gases, droplets, and particles surrounding Earth’s surface.Weather-Day to Day conditions of the atmosphere.Climate-The statistical properties of the atmosphere, including measures of average conditions, variability, etc.Climatology-The study of long term atmospheric conditions.
- 3. CRAZY FACT-The total mass of the atmosphere is equivelant to 5.65 billion million tons. “Understanding Weather and Climate”, Fifth Edition, Aguado and Burt, page 5
- 4. Vertical StructureTroposphere-Lowest layer of the atmosphere. Where almost all weather takes place. Decreasing temperatures. Depth= 8 to 16km(3.6 to 10 miles).Stratosphere-Second lowest layer of atmosphere. Very little weather occurs. Increasing temperatures. Depth=Approx. 20km(12 miles).
- 5. Vertical Structure CONT.Mesosphere- Third layer in the atmosphere. Decreasing temperatures. Depth=Approx. 80km(50 miles).Thermosphere- Outermost layer of atmosphere. Increasing temperatures. Depth=Begins at 80km
- 6. ADDITIONSTropopause-Transition zone where the temperature ceases to decrease.Stratopause-Top of stratosphere, temperatures continue to increase.
- 7. ADDITIONS CONT.Ozone Layer-Within the stratosphere where the gas, ozone, is abundant.Mesopause-Very top of the mesosphere, continuing into the thermosphere.Ionosphere-Extends from the upper mesopshere into the thermosphere.
- 10. Made up of: -Mixture of invisible gases -Large number of suspended microscopic particles and water droplets.
- 11. Relevant TermsHomosphere-The lowest 80km of the atmosphere, which the relative abundance of the permanent gases is constant.Heterosphere-The high atmosphere where gases are not well mixed but rather are stratified according to weight. Where lighter weighing gases are found.
- 12. Gases Making Up AtmospherePermanent Gases-Those gases whose relative abundance is constant within the homosphere.Variable Gases-Gases present in amounts that vary greatly in abundance, either vertically, horizontal, or seasonal. Water vapor is the most important variable gas.
- 14. RESOURCES Information from the book:Aguado: Understanding Weather and Climate, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.Pictures on Page 1- planetgreen.discovery.com(left), windows2universe.org(right)Atmosphere Structure picture- http://burro.cwru.edu/Academics/Astr201/Atmosphere/structure.jpgComposition chart- http://geogrify.net/GEO1/Images/FOPG/03T2.jpgSlide 10 Picture -http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID47225/images/causes02.jpg