A COZY BLANKET AROUND THE

EARTH
(ATMOSPHERE)
 ATMOSPHERE
 The envelope of gases that surround
Earth.
 Divided into Layers based on the Temperature:
1. Troposphere
2. Stratosphere
3. Mesosphere
4. Thermosphere
5. Exosphere
 Air: 99% - Nitrogen Gas
 21% - Oxygen Gas
 1% - Other (i.e. Argon, Carbon Dioxide, and
traces gas like Helium, Hydrogen, and Ozone
 Ex. CO ₂ - are called greenhouse gases because they trap heat energy and keep
Earth’s surface from being entirely frozen. It is only 0.35% present of the
atmosphere but even this small amount is an important influence on global climate
 The upper portion of the atmosphere protects the organisms of the biosphere
from the sun's ultraviolet radiation. It also absorbs and emits heat. When air
temperature in the lower portion of this sphere changes, weather occurs.
 The study of the atmosphere, particularly weather and climate, is called meteorology.
 Troposphere
 This is the layer closest to Earth where most of the
life on the surface exists
 This is the layer where clouds are develop, birds
fly, and pollution collects
 Height depends on the seasons and latitude. It
extends from ground level up to about 16 km (10
miles) at the equator, and to 9 km (5 miles) at the
North and South Poles.
 The prefix "tropo" means change. Changing
conditions in the Troposphere result in our weather.
 Temperature decreases with increasing altitude.
Warm air rises, then cools and falls back to Earth.
This process is called convection, and results in huge
movements of air. Winds in this layer are mostly
vertical.
 Contains more air molecules than all the other layers
combined.
 Stratosphere
 Derived from the Latin word stratus meaning 'spreading out’
 Extends out to about 50 km (30 miles).
 It contains very little water vapor. The temperature rises within the
stratosphere, but they still remain below freezing point.
 Due to lack of humidity, there is less cloud formation in this layer
 The upper part of the Stratosphere holds the high winds known as
the jet streams. The air is very dry and about a thousand
times thinner than it is at sea level and this is the reason
why jet aircraft and weather balloons can fly.
 Contains the "ozone layer" located between 15 - 40 km ( 10 - 25
miles) above the surface, it is very effective at absorbing the
harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays of the sun and protecting life on
Earth.
 Ozone (O₃) is a molecule made of three oxygen atoms. The oxygen
molecule we need to breathe contains two oxygen atoms.
 The temperature is cold, about -55 °C (-67 °F) in the lower part, and
 Stratosphere
Composition of gases:
 Atomic oxygen (O) is found in the
upper region. UV rays break the
ozone (O₃) molecule into atomic
oxygen and diatomic oxygen (O₂).
 This layer incorporates the ozone

layer and to protect the ozone layer

we need to increase the oxygen and
decrease the CFCs
(Chlorofluorocarbons) in the air.
 Planting trees is a solution each one

of us can follow, to protect our

earth from the harmful effects of
ozone depletion
 Mesosphere
 Extends out to about 50 - 80
km (65 miles).
 This layer of the atmosphere
is the coldest with the
temperature as low as -93
°C and therefore water vapor 
The gases of the
is frozen into ice clouds here
atmosphere like
and called the Noctilucent
oxygen become
clouds
thinner and thinner
 Protects earth from meteors as they reach the
or rock fragments. height of
mesosphere.
 thermosphere
 The high energy UV rays as well as the X-
ray radiation from the sun are absorbed
by the gaseous molecules in this layer.
 Even though the temperature is really
high, one would still feel cold in this
layer. This is because the air in this layer
of the atmosphere is very thin and there
are very few gaseous molecules that will
carry the heat to the skin.
 It is where the spaceshuttles flew and
where the International Space Station
 orbits on Earth.
 Meteors, or "shooting stars," start to burn
up around 110-130 km (70-80 miles) above
the earth.
 Exosphere
 The exosphere extends from the
excobase upwards.
 It composed a very widely
dispersed particles of hydrogen
and helium. The hydrogen and
helium particles rarely collide as
they are far away from each other
and some heavier molecules such
as nitrogen, oxygen and carbon
dioxide closer to the exobase.  It is in this layer the
 The is the highest layer and satellites sent from
extremely thin. Where the earth are in orbit and
atmosphere merges into outer has the influences over
space. the radio propagation
on the earth.