Geography
The Atmosphere
The atmosphere is the layer of gases that surrounds the Earth, providing the air we breathe and playing a crucial role in regulating the planet's temperature. It is composed of several layers, each with distinct characteristics and functions. The atmosphere also interacts with other Earth systems, such as the hydrosphere and biosphere, influencing weather patterns and climate.
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10 Key excerpts on "The Atmosphere"
eBook - PDF- Amrita Pandey(Author)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Delve Publishing(Publisher)
A brief introduction to the permanent and variable gases has also been explained in brief. A short description of major elements of The Atmosphere are also discussed. Towards the end of this chapter, two major atmospheric environmental concerns have also been described. 3.1. INTRODUCTION The Atmosphere of the earth is a critical system for life on the planet. Similar to the oceans, The Atmosphere also shapes the climate as well as weather patterns of the earth and also makes few regions much more habitable as compared to others. However, the climate of the earth is not static; it is considered to be variable. The term “atmosphere” is basically derived from Ancient Greek ἀ τμός (atmos) , which means ‘vapor,’ and σφα ῖ ρα (sphaira) , which means ‘ball’ or ‘sphere.’ It is a layer or a set of layers of gases that surround the planet or various other material body. The earth comprises an atmosphere, which is generally known as air. Air includes oxygen, which is used for breathing purpose mainly, nitrogen and very less amount of various other gases such as greenhouse gases, which keep the earth quite warm and are appropriate for life. In addition, the air contains the pollution also. Some of the pollution is natural such as dust from the volcanoes but a great amount of pollution is the result of human activities and arises from the burning of fuels for electricity, heat, energy and transportation. In addition, the air comprises a huge amount of water in the form of moisture. When it rains, it can be seen. Rest of the time, the water is present in air in the form of invisible vapor and it is frequently recycled between The Atmosphere and the earth through water cycle. Moisture present in The Atmosphere is a major cause of the weather. Atmosphere: A Component of Earth Ecosystem 47 Most of the air lies near the surface of the earth that is in the lowest layer of The Atmosphere known as the troposphere.
No longer available |Learn more- James Petersen, Dorothy Sack, Robert Gabler(Authors)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
81 The Atmosphere SURROUNDS OUR PLANET like an ocean of air. Held in place by our Earth’s gravitational force, its unique composition of gases maintains life on our planet. As a dynamic system, its interactions with the biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere are essential to the life- giving environmental conditions existing on Earth. Atmospheric processes drive characteristics of weather and climate through changes in winds, variations in air pressure, and the movement of moisture from the oceans to the land. The Atmosphere profoundly affects the solar energy that heats Earth’s surface and it blocks harmful radiation from space. Absorbing and storing energy, along with redistribution and transfer of heat, are other important atmospheric interactions with the environment. Our atmosphere’s composition, structure, dynamic air circulation, and winds play critical roles in the operation of the Earth system and in producing environmental conditions that support life on our planet. The Atmosphere provides oxygen and water that are vital for the survival of animals and humans as well as the water and carbon dioxide that plants require. Compared to our planet’s size, The Atmosphere is a rather thin film of air (● Fig. 4.1), yet it serves as an effective insulator, maintaining the viable temperatures we experience on Earth. Most living things cannot survive extreme temperatures, ■ 4.1 List several reasons why our planet’s atmosphere is essential to life on Earth. ■ 4.2 Outline the major gases found in The Atmosphere. ■ 4.3 Conceptualize the ways that solar energy interacts with Earth’s atmosphere and surface. ■ 4.4 Explain how the solar energy that reaches Earth’s surface is transferred to The Atmosphere. ■ 4.5 Discuss the processes and the important roles that water plays in heat transfer. ■ 4.6 Outline the characteristics of the temperature-based layers of The Atmosphere. ■ 4.7 Describe the controls on horizontal distribution of Earth’s surface temperatures.
eBook - PDF- Rainer Roldan Fiscal(Author)
- 2023(Publication Date)
- Arcler Press(Publisher)
The classification system of the zones of the environment is based on how global-local living spaces create a balance among local living spaces while synchronizing with the environment and space around it (Williams et al., 2017). An important step in understanding The Atmosphere is to classify it into zones. There are different classifications according to their altitude, the one used here being zonal spheres (after Erdmann). Zonal spheres are separated by a combination of temperature and pressure. Rising air expands and cools adiabatically. This can be up to 3000 m higher than its source, depending on the pressure and temperature at both levels (Figure 1.3). Figure 1.3. Layers of The Atmosphere. Source: Image by NIWA. The most settled environmental system on Earth has been the Earth’s crust. The features of the crust are rocks and they make up the outermost layer of solid matter of our planet. The rocks are then sub-divided into three main layers, which include the lithosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. The lithosphere is studied more intensively as it consists of a solid surface separating the Earth’s interior from its atmosphere. The Atmosphere includes multiple layers to fulfill its role as a protector of the surface below it. Intuitively, the planet we live in is made up of four main layers: lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. The lithosphere includes the crust and uppermost mantle, while the hydrosphere includes oceans, seas, and water on the surface. The lithosphere is separated from Classification of the Environment 5 the hot interior of the Earth by the thin layer of the mantle. Most of the hydrosphere is found on the surface, with over 71% covered by the ocean. The Atmosphere contains 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen (Wang et al., 2009) (Figure 1.4). Figure 1.4. A representation of the behaviors that rekindle The Atmosphere.
eBook - PDFThe Oryx Guide to Natural History
The Earth and All Its Inhabitants
- Patricia Barnes-Svarney, Thomas E. Svarney(Authors)
- 1999(Publication Date)
- Greenwood(Publisher)
4* Atmosphere Introduction An atmosphere is a collection of gases around a planet or satellite. Besides Earth, several other bod- ies in the solar system have an at- mosphere, including Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, and many of the outer planets' sat- ellites. But these atmospheres ap- pear to be too hostile to support life, currently making Earth the only known planet that contains abun- dant flora and fauna. Our atmo- sphere is one of the layers of the Earth's biosphere, a thin blanket that keeps the flora and fauna alive. It has always had an important con- nection to the natural history of the planet—especially to all organisms that need its many gases to survive. (bya=billion years ago; mya=million years ago) Date Event Prehistoric Events -4.3 bya Carbon dioxide makes up 54 percent of the Earth's atmosphere; oxy- gen is almost nonexistent. ~2 bya Plants begin to produce oxygen through the process of photosynthe- sis (although the idea of when oxygen truly began to accumultate has recently been challenged). ~2 bya Oxygen rises to 1 percent of the atmospheric composition; carbon dioxide decreases from 54 percent to about 4 percent, the excess is taken up by rocks and plants; the protective ozone layer also develops at this time -600 mya Oxygen levels continue to rise as more life spreads around the planet; levels reach 21 percent oxygen, similar to the modern percentage. Modern Events and Discoveries 1643 Italian physicist and mathematician Evangelista Torricelli (1608-1647) invents the mercury barometer. 1646 French mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) con- firms that the atmospheric air has weight. 1650 German scientist Bernhard Varen (Bernhardus Varenius, 1622-1650) proposes that the air in the equatorial regions is thinned by the Sun's heat, and in response, the cold, heavier air of the polar regions flows toward the equator.
eBook - PDF- P. D. Osborn(Author)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- Butterworth-Heinemann(Publisher)
There are wide variations in the thickness of the layer depending on topography and weather conditions and there are some exceptional forms of life which can survive above the Boundary layer. l 2 The Atmosphere Finally it is useful to define some other prefixes of -sphere which are used: Lithosphère Rock and soil of Earth's surface Hydrosphere Seas and lakes Atmosphere The air close to the surface Biosphere The zone of life Ecosphere The field of ecology which is concerned with the balance of all the factors which have a bearing on the survival of life in all its forms. The word 'atmosphere' when used in this book without further definition has its common parlance meaning namely the part of the troposphere in which creatures can live and breathe. The chemistry of the upper layers is examined at A.3.1 because the reactions which are taking place there have a critical influence on our environment, but the rest of the book concerns itself with the boundary layer. A.l Some historical concepts of The Atmosphere and its make up There have always been airborne contaminants but, until the industrial age and the concurrent explosion in human population, man's contribution was of no conse-quence compared with what were generally regarded as the infinite resources of the planet. Even since the industrial age and up to the first few decades of the twentieth century man's effect on the total environment remained small and localized. How-ever, as we approach the last decade of this century the rate of increase in pollution generally threatens most of the major population centres of the world. This book is not concerned with the emotional and political aspects of pollution and is confined to contamination of The Atmosphere; this alone has spawned national and international research and monitoring programmes using technology and novel approaches unheard of a generation ago.
eBook - PDF- James M. Beard(Author)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
173 CHAPTER 8 Weather and Climate ATMOSPHERE: COMPOSITION, STRUCTURE, AND DYNAMICS Composition The Atmosphere is a very large and nearly homogeneous mixture. No matter where in the world one samples The Atmosphere, the composition of the major com-ponents, except one, would be roughly the same. The one component that varies from place to place is water. The concentration of water varies from as high as nearly 4% to air which has practically no water at all. Because the water concentration var-ies, the composition of The Atmosphere is usually given as a percentage of dry air. The composition of dry air was discussed in Chapter 5, where it was noted that the major components are nitrogen and oxygen. The only other gas present in a moderate concentration is argon, which, being one of the noble gases, is totally non-reactive. The remaining gases could be described as trace gases. All of these gases together make up less than 0.1% of The Atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is the trace gas that is present in the highest concentration. Although a trace gas, this compound is very important in element cycles (Chapter 5) and global warming (Chapter 11). The importance of carbon dioxide in The Atmosphere far outstrips its concentration. The exact composition of The Atmosphere is given in Table 8.1. Structure and Dynamics As much as it may appear from the ground that The Atmosphere is alike wher-ever one looks, this is not the case. We have noted earlier that the water content of air varies. Major changes take place in the nature of The Atmosphere as the altitude increases. The temperature, wind patterns, and atmospheric chemistry all vary with altitude. The Atmosphere is generally viewed as being made of layers that can be defined in terms of temperature, composition, or electrical properties. This chapter focuses on the layers defined in terms of temperature gradients. A temperature gradient is the temperature change per unit change in altitude. If the temperature
No longer available |Learn more- (Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Learning Press(Publisher)
______________________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ______________________________ Chapter- 2 Atmosphere of Earth Blue light is scattered more than other wavelengths by the gases in The Atmosphere, giving the Earth a blue halo when seen from space. ______________________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ______________________________ Limb view, of the Earth's atmosphere. Colours roughly denote the layers of The Atmosphere The Atmosphere of Earth is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by Earth's gravity. The Atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention (greenhouse effect), and reducing temperature extremes between day and night. Dry air contains roughly (by volume) 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.039% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other gases. Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor, on average around 1%. The Atmosphere has a mass of about 5 × 10 18 kg, three quarters of which is within about 11 km (6.8 mi; 36,000 ft) of the surface. The Atmosphere becomes thinner and thinner with increasing altitude, with no definite boundary between The Atmosphere and outer space. An altitude of 120 km (75 mi) is where atmospheric effects become noticeable during atmospheric reentry of spacecraft. The Kármán line, at 100 km (62 mi), also is often regarded as the boundary between atmosphere and outer space. ______________________________ WORLD TECHNOLOGIES ______________________________ Atmospheric chemistry Schematic of chemical and transport processes related to atmospheric composition Atmospheric chemistry is a branch of atmospheric science in which the chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere and that of other planets is studied. It is a multidisciplinary field of research and draws on environmental chemistry, physics, meteorology, computer modeling, oceanography, geology and volcanology and other disciplines.
- C. Donald Ahrens, Robert Henson(Authors)
- 2021(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
I WELL REMEMBER A BRILLIANT RED BALLOON which kept me completely happy for a whole afternoon, until, while I was playing, a clumsy movement allowed it to escape. Spellbound, I gazed after it as it drifted silently away, gently swaying, growing smaller and smaller until it was only a red point in a blue sky. At that moment I realized, for the first time, the vastness above us: a huge space without visible limits. It was an apparent void, full of secrets, exerting an inexplicable power over all the Earth’s inhabitants. I believe that many people, consciously or unconsciously, have been filled with awe by the immensity of The Atmosphere. All our knowledge about the air, gathered over hundreds of years, has not diminished this feeling. Theo Loebsack, Our Atmosphere C H A P T E R 1 Earth and Its Atmosphere L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S At the end of this section, you should be able to: LO1 List three ways the scientific method can be applied to studying The Atmosphere and weather. LO2 Outline the sequence of changes in nitrogen, oxygen, and water vapor over Earth’s history. LO3 Explain the role of gases (including water vapor, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and other greenhouse gases) and pollutants in Earth’s atmosphere. LO4 Describe how air density and air pressure are determined and how they vary as you move upward through Earth’s atmosphere. LO5 Describe the layers of The Atmosphere, including their altitudes, temperatures, compositions, and functions. LO6 Differentiate between weather and climate. LO7 Interpret a weather map, applying storm types and concepts such as low pressure, high pressure, and front. LO8 List the positive and negative effects of climate and weather on human health, agriculture, infrastructure, and the economy. 3 Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
eBook - PDF- Zeeya Merali, Brian J. Skinner(Authors)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
When these two components are ignored, three gases—nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), and ar- gon (0.93%)—make up 99.96% of dry air by volume (Figure 14.1B). The remaining gases (carbon diox- ide, 0.035%; neon, 0.0018%; and six others) are pre- sent in very small quantities. However, some of these minor gases are profoundly important for life on Earth. As we will see, they absorb certain wavelengths of sun- light. They act both as a warming blanket and as a shield against deadly ultraviolet radiation. arth is surrounded by air—a mixture of various gases that extends above the sur- face to a height of many kilometers. This envelope of air makes up Earth’s atmo- sphere (Figure 14.1). It is held in place by Earth’s gravity. Almost all The Atmosphere (97%) lies within 30 km (19 mi) of Earth’s surface. The upper limit of The Atmosphere is approximately 10,000 km (about 6000 mi) above the surface—a distance nearly as great as Earth’s diameter. Air is an invisible, normally odorless mixture of gases and suspended particles. The concentrations Describe the main chemical constituents of Earth’s atmosphere. Identify the four layers of The Atmosphere. Discuss how temperature varies through these layers. Explain the vital role of ozone to life on Earth and the impact of human activities on the ozone layer. LEARNING OBJECTIVES E A Air is the gaseous envelope that surrounds our planet, mak- ing up The Atmosphere. What an Earth Scientist Sees The Bora Bora Sunset Earth’s Atmosphere 427 Oxygen and carbon dioxide levels are maintained by complex chemical cycles; both gases are constantly being either removed from The Atmosphere or replen- ished by plants, animals, and chemical processes such as weathering. If anything affects the rates of replenish- ment or removal, the makeup of The Atmosphere will change. THE THERMAL STRUCTURE OF The Atmosphere Most incoming solar radiation passes through the at- mosphere and is absorbed by Earth’s surface.
eBook - PDFScience of Diving
Concepts and Applications
- Bruce Wienke(Author)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
The troposphere extends some 6 to 11 miles upward in The Atmosphere. Above the troposphere, extending to 31 miles is the stratosphere . Temperatures in the upper stratosphere are comparable to Earth temperatures, associated with the absorption of ultraviolet radiation by ozone. Beyond the stratosphere, up to about 50 miles , is the next layer, called the mesosphere . Temperatures in the mesosphere drop with relative elevation, and rocket data suggests that winds approaching 500 mi / hr are not uncommon in this layer. Similarity of temperature distributions in the mesosphere and troposphere suggest similar mixing processes. The thermosphere , the next atmospheric layer beyond the mesosphere, exhibits increasing temperature with height, up to 500 miles . Temperatures of 1,500 o K have been recorded at altitudes of 400 miles , a zone where many gases are partially ionized. The diffuse region beyond the thermosphere is called the exosphere , or magnetosphere . The temperature profile of The Atmosphere is given in Figure 5. Obviously, the amount of sunlight reaching The Atmosphere and surface of the Earth are crucial to all atmospheric processes, as well as the amount of sunlight reflected and scattered. The amount of scattered light by oceans or atmospheres is a determinant in their color perception. Color is, of course, a function of light spectrum. White light is composed of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet components. The perceived color of any particular area on Earth may change as one views it, because a cloud is passing overhead, or because the angle of the Sun Part 1 : Earth Atmosphere , Terrasphere , and Hydrosphere 21 changes, for example, near sunset. The reason for the blue color of the oceans and the sky is selective light scattering.
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