Riddles

1. What happens when you throw a yellow rock into a purple stream?

2. What starts with a T, ends with a T, and has T in it?

Introduction to the Atmosphere

The air around us.

What is the atmosphere?

• The Earth is surrounded by a blanket of air, which we call the atmosphere. It reaches over 560 kilometers (348 miles) from the surface of the Earth, so we are only able to see what occurs fairly close to the ground.

• This “blanket” moderates temperature, protects us from harmful radiation and supports life.

Composition of the Atmosphere The present composition of

the atmosphere is: 21% OXYGEN (O2) 78% NITROGEN (N2) 0.04% CARBON DIOXIDE

(CO2) ~0.9% ARGON (Ar) Besides water vapor, several

other gases are also present in much smaller amounts:

Carbon monoxide (formula CO)

Neon (Ne) Oxides of nitrogen Methane (CH4) Krypton (Kr)

THE FIRST BILLION YEARS

The Earth's surface was originally molten, as it cooled the volcanoes out gassed out massive amounts of:

CARBON DIOXIDE, STEAM (H2O vapor), AMMONIA and METHANE. There was NO

OXYGEN. The STEAM condensed to form water which then produced shallow seas.

Layers of the Atmosphere

The Troposphere Troposphere: The

troposphere is the lowest region in the Earth's (or any planet's) atmosphere.

On the Earth, it goes from ground (or water) level up to about 11 miles (17 kilometers) high.

Weather and clouds occur in the troposphere.

In the troposphere, the temperature generally decreases as altitude increases.

The Stratosphere The stratosphere : 11 and

31 miles (17 to 50 kilometers) above the earth's surface.

The earth's ozone layer is located in the stratosphere. Ozone, a form of oxygen, is crucial to our survival; this layer absorbs a lot of ultraviolet solar energy.

Only the highest clouds (cirrus, cirrostratus, and cirrocumulus) are in the lower stratosphere.

The Troposphere vs. the Stratosphere

The Mesosphere The mesosphere : 31 and 50

miles (17 to 80 kilometers) above the earth's surface

Temperatures in the mesosphere drop with increasing altitude to about -100°C

In the mesosphere temperatures that quickly decrease as height increases.

The mesosphere is also the layer in which a lot of meteors burn up while entering the Earth's atmosphere. From the Earth they are seen as shooting stars.

The Thermosphere Temperature increases

with altitude. Due to the Suns energy.

Temperatures in this region

can go as high as 1,727 degrees Celsius.

Radiation causes the scattered air particles in this layer to become electrically charged (see ionosphere), enabling radio waves to bounce off and be received beyond the horizon.

The Ionosphere The thermosphere can

be identified in two parts- the ionosphere and the exosphere.

Ionosphere: 70 km-640 (about 400 miles = 640 km).

It contains many ions and free electrons (plasma).

Auroras occur in the ionosphere.

The Aurora , or northern lights are a result of particles from the sun coming into contact with the Earth’s atmosphere.

The Exosphere Exosphere: the outermost

layer of the Earth's atmosphere.

From about 400 miles (640 km) high to about 800 miles (1,280 km).

The lower boundary of the exosphere is called the critical level of escape, where atmospheric pressure is very low (the gas atoms are very widely spaced) and the

temperature is very low In this region, atoms and

molecules escape into space.

Pressure gradient force:

Air moves from high to low pressure

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The lower the pressure area the stronger the wind.

Coriolis Effect: The force due to the Earth's rotation that cause objects in motion to veer to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.

Hypothetical look ofplanetary wind on planet if:

1. All the surface was water.

2. No rotation of the planet. Which would mean no coriolis effect.

Global Wind Patterns: Winds named for the direction they come from

Doldrums - an area of low pressure occurring where the trade winds meet along the equator. Winds here are usually calm or very light and so ships would avoid the area because they would only be pushed along very slowly.

ITCZ - The easterly trade winds of both hemispheres meet at an area near the equator called the "Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)

Horse Latitudes - These are located mostly over the oceans, at about 30° latitude in both of the hemispheres. Stories say that sailors gave the region of the subtropical high the name "horse latitudes" because ships relying on wind power stalled; fearful f running out of food and water, sailors threw their horses and cattle overboard to save on provisions.

Surface wind bands on Earth

Trade Winds - These are found from 0-30 degrees latitude (aka Tropical Easterlies)Prevailing Westerlies - These are found from the 30-60 degrees latitude (aka Westerlies).Polar Easterlies - These are found from the 60-90 degrees latitude.

Different Kinds of Wind Across the Surface:

Sea (large open water) Breeze onto Land:

A sea-breeze (or onshore breeze) is a wind from the sea that develops over land. It is formed by increasing temperature differences between the land and water which create a pressure low over the land due to its relative warmth and forces higher pressure, cooler air from the sea to blow onto the land.

Land Breeze from sea or a Lake At night, the land cools off quicker than the open water, which forces

the dying of the daytime sea breeze. If the land cools below that

of the adjacent open water, the pressure over the water will be lower than that of the land. This

creates a land breeze flowing back out towards the open water.

Story of Bottled Water