-Composition of Atmosphere

-Atmospheric Pressure and Temperature

-Layers of the Atmosphere
 COMPOSITION OF
ATMOSPHERE

The composition of Earth's atmosphere is largely

governed by the by-products of the life that it sustains. Dry air
from Earth’s atmosphere contains 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95%
oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, and traces of
hydrogen, helium, and other "noble" gases (by volume), but
generally a variable amount of water vapor is also present, on
average about 1% at sea level.
 NITROGEN

• The most common atmospheric gas

• Nitrogen gas is largely inert, meaning that it

does not readily react with other substances
to form new chemical compounds.
 OXYGEN

• The next most common gas, oxygen (O2),

makes up about 21% of the atmosphere.
• Oxygen is required for the respiration
(breathing) of all animal life on Earth, from
humans to bacteria. In contrast to nitrogen,
oxygen is extremely reactive..
 ARGON

• Just under 1% of the atmosphere is made up

of argon (Ar), which is a very inert noble gas,
meaning that it does not take part in
any chemical reaction under normal
circumstances
 OTHER GASES

• Carbon dioxide (CO2) affects the earth's climaote and

plays a large support role in the biosphere, the collection
of living things that populate the earth's surface. Only
about 0.0325% of the atmosphere is CO2.

• Carbon dioxide is also one of a class of compounds

called greenhouse gases.
 OTHER GASES

• Water vapor (H2O) is found in the atmosphere in small and

highly variable amounts. While it is nearly absent in most of
the atmosphere, its concentration

• can range up to 4% in very warm, humid areas close to the

surface.

• Water vapor is also an important greenhouse gas. It is

concentrated near the surface and is much more prevalent
 OTHER GASES

• Ozone (O3) is almost all found in a layer about 9–36

mi (15–60 km) in attitude. Ozone gas is irritating to
peo ples' eyes and skin, and chemically attacks
rubber and plant tissue.
• This layer, as thin as it is, is sufficient to shield the
earth's occupants from harmful solar radiation.
As Altitude Increases, Air Pressure Decreases

The atmosphere is held around the Earth by gravity. Gravity pulls

gas molecules in the atmosphere toward the Earth’s surface,
causing air pressure. Air pressure Air pressure is the measure of the
force with which air molecules push on a surface. Air pressure is
strongest at the Earth’s surface because more air is above you. As
you move farther away from the Earth’s surface, fewer gas
molecules are above you. So, as altitude (distance from sea level)
increases, air pressure decreases.
Atmospheric Composition Affects Air
Temperature Air

Temperature also changes as altitude increases. The

temperature differences result mainly from the way solar
energy is absorbed as it moves through the atmosphere.
Some parts of the atmosphere are warmer because they
contain a high percentage of gases that absorb solar
energy
 TROPOSPHERE
The Layer which we live

• The lowest layer of the atmosphere, which lies next to the

Earth’s surface, is called the troposphere. The troposphere is
also the densest atmospheric layer. It contains almost 90% of
the atmosphere’s total mass! Almost all of the Earth’s carbon
dioxide, water vapor, clouds, air pollution, weather, and life-
forms are in the troposphere.
 STRATOSPHERE
Home of Ozone of Layer

• The atmospheric layer above the troposphere is called the

stratosphere. Shows the boundary between the stratosphere
and the troposphere. Gases in the stratosphere are layered
and do not mix as much as gases in the troposphere. The air is
also very thin in the stratosphere and contains little moisture.
The lower stratosphere is extremely cold.
 MESOSPHER & THERMOSPHERE
The Middle Layer

- Above the stratosphere is the mesosphere. The mesosphere is the middle

layer of the atmosphere. It is also the coldest layer. As in the troposphere,

the temperature decreases as altitude increases in the mesosphere.

- The uppermost atmospheric layer is called the thermosphere. In the

thermosphere, temperature again increases with altitude. Atoms of

nitrogen and oxygen absorb high-energy solar radiation and release

thermal energy, which causes temperatures in the thermosphere to be

1,000°C or higher.
 Atmospheric stability was defined as the
resistance of the atmosphere to vertical motion.
This definition and its explanation were based
on the parcel method of analysis appropriate to
a vertical temperature and moisture sounding
through the troposphere.
PARCEL METHOD
This method employs some assumptions: (1) The sounding applies to an atmosphere at
rest; (2) a small parcel of air in the sampled atmosphere, if caused to rise, does not
exchange mass or heat across its boundary; and (3) rise of the parcel does not set its
environment in motion. We learned that lifting under these conditions is adiabatic
lifting. Three characteristics of the sounding then determine the stability of the
atmospheric layer in which the parcel of air is embedded. These are: (1) The
temperature lapse rate through the layer; (2) temperature of the parcel at its initial

level; and (3) initial dew point of the parcel .

STABILITY DETERMINATIONS

The degree of stability or instability of an

atmospheric layer is determined by comparing its
temperature lapse rate, as shown by a sounding,
with the appropriate adiabatic rate. A
temperature lapse rate less than the dryadiabatic
rate of 5.5°F. per 1,000 feet for an unsaturated
parcel is considered stable, because vertical
motion is damped..
A lapse rate greater than dry-adiabatic
favors vertical motion and is unstable.
In the absence of saturation, an
atmospheric layer is neutrally stable if
its lapse rate is the same as the dry-
adiabatic rate. Under this particular
condition, any existing vertical motion
is neither damped nor accelerated.
In the case of a saturated parcel,
the same stability terms apply. In
this case, however, the comparison
of atmospheric lapse rate is made
with the moist-adiabatic rate
appropriate to the temperature
encountered
Layers of different lapse rates of
temperature may occur in a single
sounding, varying from superadiabatic
(unstable), usually found over heated
surfaces, to dry-adiabatic (neutral), and on
through inversions of temperature (very
stable). In a saturated layer with
considerable convective motion, the lapse
rate tends to become moist-adiabatic