• About 99% of the atmosphere is composed of nitrogen and oxygen.

• The remaining one percent consisting of small amounts of argon, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and other gases.

Atmosphere Basics• Air is a combination of many gases, each with

its own unique characteristics.

Atmospheric Basics

Atmosphere

The surrounding air of the Earth

Atmospheric Basics

Composition of Air

• There are many different types of gasses in the atmosphere

• They include nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide and other noble gasses

• The gas that is most abundant is nitrogen

• Each layer differs in composition and temperature.

Structure of the Atmosphere• The atmosphere is made up of several

different layers.

Atmospheric Basics

Layers of the atmosphere

• There are 4 layers in the atmosphere

• They are the troposphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and stratosphere

Troposphere

• This is the layer that is closest to the surface of the earth

• It’s elevation ranges from 0 to 10 km

Atmospheric CompositionLower Atmospheric Layers

Atmospheric Basics

– The troposphere, the layer closest to Earth’s surface, contains most of the mass of the atmosphere, including water vapor.

– Most weather takes place in and most air pollution collects in the troposphere.

Stratosphere

• This layer sits on top of the troposphere

• It’s elevation ranges from 10 km to around 25 km

• This layer contains the ozone layer, which protects us from harmful sunlight

Atmospheric CompositionLower Atmospheric Layers

Atmospheric Basics

– The stratosphere, is where most ozone is located.

– Its referred to as stratospheric ozone.

– Planes like to fly here because there is less moisture so less clouds so less weather to jostle the planes.

Mesosphere

• This layer is above the stratosphere

• It’s elevation ranges from 25 to 100 km

Thermosphere

• This is the highest layer of the atmosphere

• It’s height ranges from 100 to 400 km

• This is where most small meteorites burn up and is also the location in the atmosphere that the northern lights occur (aurora borealis)

Atmospheric CompositionUpper Atmospheric Layers

Atmospheric Basics

– The mesosphere is the coldest layer of the atmosphere. It has very strong winds. This is where you would see meteors shooting through.

– The thermosphere is the farthest layer from the surface and it contains a very small part of the atmosphere’s mass.

– This is the hottest layer because it is closer to the sun and it absorbs the heat from it.

Atmospheric CompositionAtmospheric Basics

– The thermosphere is divided into two parts.

– The ionosphere is important for radio communications because it bounces waves back to earth. This is also where the aurora bolealis occurs.

– The exosphere, which is composed of light gases such as helium and hydrogen, so satellites can travel here very easily

– Molecules are actually traveling so fast that some are able to escape from earth’s gravity.

– There is no clear boundary between the atmosphere and space.

Atmospheric Basics

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