EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE

The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, commonly known as air, that surrounds the planet Earth and
is retained by Earth's gravity. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing
for liquid water to exist on the Earth's surface, absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface
through heat retention (greenhouse effect), and reducing temperature extremes between day and night.
By volume, dry air contains 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, and
small amounts of other gases. Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor, on average around 1% at
sea level, and 0.4% over the entire atmosphere.
COMPOSITION
The three major constituents of Earth's atmosphere are nitrogen, oxygen, and argon. Water vapor accounts for
roughly 0.25% of the atmosphere by mass.

NOTE:
PPMV (Parts Per Million by
Volume) The concentration
of component A is
1 ppmv means: For every 1
million unit volume of
mixture, there are 1 unit
volume of component A in it.
1:1,000,000

PROPERTIES
From highest to lowest:
EXOSPHERE
The exosphere is the outermost layer of Earth's atmosphere (i.e. the upper limit
of the atmosphere). It extends from the exobase, which is located at the top of
the thermosphere at an altitude of about 700 km above sea level, to about
10,000 km (6,200 mi; 33,000,000 ft) where it merges into the solar wind.
This layer is mainly composed of extremely low densities of hydrogen, helium
and several heavier molecules including nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide
closer to the exobase.
The temperature in the exosphere varies greatly and can range from 0 to over
1700 degrees Celsius. It is colder at night and much hotter during the day.
Pressure is about 0.0007 atmosphere (0.07 kPa) at its base to virtually nothing
in the outer reaches
The exosphere is located too far above Earth for any meteorological phenomena
to be possible. However, the aurora borealis and aurora australis sometimes
occur in the lower part of the exosphere, where they overlap into the
thermosphere. The exosphere contains most of the satellites orbiting Earth.
THERMOSPHERE
The thermosphere is the second-highest layer of Earth's atmosphere. It extends
from the mesopause (which separates it from the mesosphere) at an altitude of
about 80 km (50 mi; 260,000 ft) up to the thermopause (the uppermost region of
the thermosphere) at an altitude range of 500–1000 km (310–620 mi;
1,600,000–3,300,000 ft). The lower part of the thermosphere, from 80 to 550
kilometers (50 to 342 mi) above Earth's surface, contains the ionosphere.
The temperature of the thermosphere gradually increases with height. The
temperature of this layer can rise as high as 1500 °C (2700 °F.
This layer is completely cloudless and free of water vapor. However, non-
hydrometeorological phenomena such as the aurora borealis and aurora
australis are occasionally seen in the thermosphere. The International Space
Station orbits in this layer, between 350 and 420 km (220 and 260 mi).

MESOSPHERE
The mesosphere is the third highest layer of Earth's atmosphere,
occupying the region above the stratosphere and below the
thermosphere. It extends from the stratopause at an altitude of about
50 km (31 mi; 160,000 ft) to the mesopause (the uppermost region of the
mesosphere) at 80–85 km (50–53 mi; 260,000–280,000 ft) above sea
level.
Temperatures drop with increasing altitude to the mesopause that marks
the top of this middle layer of the atmosphere. It is the coldest place on
Earth and has an average temperature around −85 °C (−120 °F; 190 K).
Pressure at the mesosphere is around 0.0005 kPa.
STRATOSPHERE
The stratosphere is the second-lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere. It lies
above the troposphere and is separated from it by the tropopause. This
layer extends from the top of the troposphere at roughly 12 km (7.5 mi;
39,000 ft) above Earth's surface to the stratopause at an altitude of about
50 to 55 km (31 to 34 mi; 164,000 to 180,000 ft).
The atmospheric pressure at the top of the stratosphere is roughly 1/1000
the pressure at sea level. It contains the ozone layer, which is the part of
Earth's atmosphere that contains relatively high concentrations of that
gas. The stratosphere defines a layer in which temperatures rise with
increasing altitude. Although the temperature may be −60 °C (−76 °F;
210 K) at the tropopause, the top of the stratosphere is much warmer,
and may be near 0 °C.
 Pressure at the stratosphere is around 23 kPa.
The stratosphere is the highest layer that can be accessed by jet-
powered aircraft.

TROPOSPHERE
The troposphere is the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere. It extends
from Earth's surface to an average height of about 12 km (7.5 mi;
39,000 ft), although this altitude varies from about 9 km (5.6 mi;
30,000 ft) at the geographic poles to 17 km (11 mi; 56,000 ft) at
the Equator, with some variation due to weather.
Pressure at the troposphere ranges from 1000 millibars (100 kPa) to
200 millibars (20 kPa). The considered constant for atmospheric
pressure, however, is 101.325 kPa.
Although variations do occur, the temperature usually declines with
increasing altitude in the troposphere because the troposphere is mostly
heated through energy transfer from the surface. Thus, the lowest part of
the troposphere (i.e. Earth's surface) is typically the warmest section of
the troposphere. Global average temperature range decreases from 15
degrees Celsius on the surface to -51 degrees Celsius at the top. The
troposphere contains roughly 80% of the mass of Earth's atmosphere.
The troposphere is denser than all its overlying atmospheric layers
because a larger atmospheric weight sits on top of the troposphere and
causes it to be most severely compressed. Fifty percent of the total mass
of the atmosphere is located in the lower 5.6 km (3.5 mi; 18,000 ft) of the
troposphere.
ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENA

22 Degree Halos
Large, beautiful circles that appear around the Sun or Moon if the right
conditions are present in the atmosphere. Light from the Sun and Moon
can be refracted off of ice crystals at high altitudes if the crystals are
present, and then detected by the eye.

Alpenglow
Alpenglow is a phenomenon that is very similar to the Belt of Venus, and
occurs just after sunset. The term was coined because the pink light that
appears in the sky, opposite of the sunset, gives mountains a pinkish
“glow”.

Aurora
Resulting from solar particles entering Earth’s atmosphere near the north
and south poles, these beautiful phenomena can typically only been
seen near the arctic circles.
Belt of Venus
A pink or red band that sits approximately 10 degrees above the eastern
horizon right after the Sun sets in the west, or 10 degrees above the
western horizon before Sun rises in the east. The pink band rests on top
of a darker grey or blue band which is the Earth’s shadow.

Crepuscular Rays
Large rays of sunlight in the sky that appear to meet or converge at the
Sun from an observer’s perspective. These rays of sunlight are actually
parallel, but they appear to come together due to the long distances
between the observer, the horizon and the Sun.

Green Flashes
An almost mythical phenomena that results when green in the light
spectrum is refracted in the atmosphere as the Sun sets or rises. It lasts
only seconds, and those who see it are said to be lucky.

Zodiacal Light
Zodiacal light is a faint light reflected off of planets, dust and asteroid in
our solar system. As these objects all lie on the same, flat plane (the
ecliptic plane), the light reflected off of them can be seen under special
circumstances. This phenomenon is similar to the way dust and stars in
the Milky Way create a beautiful band across a dark, nighttime sky.
Rainbow
Rainbows are meteorological phenomenon that is caused
by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water
droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the
sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc.
Rainbows caused by sunlight always appear in the section
of sky directly opposite the sun.

OZONE LAYER

The ozone layer or ozone shield is a region of Earth's stratosphere that absorbs most of
the Sun's ultraviolet radiation. The ozone layer contains less than 10 parts per million of ozone (O3), while the
average ozone concentration in Earth's atmosphere as a whole is about 0.3 parts per million. The ozone layer
is mainly found in the lower portion of the stratosphere, from approximately 15 to 35 kilometers (9.3 to 21.7 mi)
above Earth, although its thickness varies seasonally and geographically.

GLOBAL WARMING
A gradual increase in the overall temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere generally attributed to the
greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of greenhouse gases, being carbon dioxide,
chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants.

GREENHOUSE EFFECT

The trapping of the sun’s warmth of the planet’s lower atmosphere, due to the greater transparency of the
atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet’s surface.
Caused by the presence of water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and certain other gases in the air.

GREENHOUSE GASES

These are gases that absorb and emit radiant energy within the thermal infrared range. Greenhouse gases
cause the greenhouse effect on planets. The primary greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere are water
vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone.

ACID RAIN

Rainfall made sufficiently acidic by atmospheric pollution that it causes environmental harm, typically to
forests and lakes. The main cause is the industrial burning of coal and other fossil fuels, waste gases from
which contain sulfur and nitrogen oxides, are released into the atmosphere and combine with atmospheric
water to form acids.

TEMPERATURE INVERSION
A deviation in normal change of an atmospheric property with altitude. During an inversion, warmer air is held
above cooler air, inverting the normal temperature profile. An inversion traps air pollution, such as smog,
close to the ground.

Inversion occurs when warmer, less dense air mass moves over a cooler, denser air mass. Usually occurring
along coastlines and in polar regions during winter. An inversion is also produced when radiation from the
earth’s surface exceeds the amount of radiation received from the sun, commonly happening at night, or at
winter.