By volume, dry air contains 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other gases. Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor. Except for the water vapor content, the composition of the troposphere is essentially uniform. The source of water vapor is at the Earth's surface through the process of evaporation. The temperature of the troposphere decreases with altitude. And, saturation vapor pressure decreases strongly as temperature drops. Hence, the amount of water vapor that can exist in the atmosphere decreases strongly with altitude and the proportion of water vapor is normally greatest near the surface of the Earth.
Composition
Troposphere
Troposphere | Composition
Nitrogrn, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide and small amounts of other gases. t contains 75% of the atmosphere's mass and 99% of the total mass of water vapour and aerosols. It contains 75% of the atmosphere's mass and 99% of the total mass of water vapour and aerosols. It contains 75% of the atmosphere's mass and 99% of the total mass of water vapour and aerosols
the general surface wind circulation associated with the high-pressure center (h) is most likely
user
A high-pressure area, high ,or anticyclone.
assistant
how is it formed?
user
Winds within high-pressure areas flow outward from the higher pressure areas near their centers towards the lower pressure areas further from their centers. Gravity adds to the forces. The winds are further twisted due to Coriolis effect.
assistant
could i know more about the effect mentioned above?
user
This is an apparent, but fictitious, force that arises when an observer is in a rotating reference frame, due to the conservation of angular momentum of the air as it moves towards or away from the Earth's axis of rotation.
assistant
how is it related to the wind conditions?
user
They are associated with light winds at the surface and subsidence through the lower portion of the troposphere.
assistant
what is the last term used above?
user
It is the lowest layer of earth's atmosphere.
assistant
what does it consist of?
user
By volume, dry air contains 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other gases. Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor. Except for the water vapor content, the composition of the troposphere is essentially uniform. The source of water vapor is at the Earth's surface through the process of evaporation. The temperature of the troposphere decreases with altitude. And, saturation vapor pressure decreases strongly as temperature drops. Hence, the amount of water vapor that can exist in the atmosphere decreases strongly with altitude and the proportion of water vapor is normally greatest near the surface of the Earth.
Troposphere | Composition
Earth's atmosphere consists of a number of layers that differ in properties such as composition, temperature and pressure. The lowest layer is the troposphere, which extends from the surface to the bottom of the stratosphere. Three quarters of the atmosphere's mass resides within the troposphere, and is the layer within which the Earth's terrestrial weather develops. The depth of this layer varies between 17 km at the equator to 7 km at the poles. The stratosphere, extending from the top of the troposphere to the bottom of the mesosphere, contains the ozone layer. The ozone layer ranges in altitude between 15 and 35 km, and is where most of the ultraviolet radiation from the Sun is absorbed.
Atmosphere | Earth's atmosphere
The troposphere is the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere, and is also where nearly all weather conditions take place. It contains 75% of the atmosphere's mass and 99% of the total mass of water vapour and aerosols. The average height of the troposphere is in the tropics, in the middle latitudes, and in the polar regions in winter. The total average height of the troposphere is . The lowest part of the troposphere, where friction with the Earth's surface influences airflow, is the planetary boundary layer. This layer is typically a few hundred meters to deep depending on the landform and time of day.
Troposphere | Introduction
This is decreased when the air is humid. The relative concentration of gases remains constant until about .
Atmosphere of Earth | Composition
The troposphere is the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere. It extends from Earth's surface to an average height of about , although this altitude varies from about at the geographic poles to at the Equator, with some variation due to weather. The troposphere is bounded above by the tropopause, a boundary marked in most places by a temperature inversion (i.e. a layer of relatively warm air above a colder one), and in others by a zone which is isothermal with height. Although variations do occur, the temperature usually declines with increasing altitude in the troposphere because the troposphere is mostly heated through energy transfer from the surface.
Atmosphere of Earth | Troposphere
Thus, the lowest part of the troposphere (i.e. Earth's surface) is typically the warmest section of the troposphere. This promotes vertical mixing (hence, the origin of its name in the Greek word τρόπος, "tropos", meaning "turn"). The troposphere contains roughly 80% of the mass of Earth's atmosphere. The troposphere is denser than all its overlying atmospheric layers because a larger atmospheric weight sits on top of the troposphere and causes it to be most severely compressed. Fifty percent of the total mass of the atmosphere is located in the lower of the troposphere. Nearly all atmospheric water vapor or moisture is found in the troposphere, so it is the layer where most of Earth's weather takes place.
Atmosphere of Earth | Troposphere
The lowest part of the troposphere is called the "atmospheric boundary layer (ABL)" or the "planetary boundary layer (PBL)" . The air temperature of the atmosphere decreases with increasing altitude until it reaches what is called an "inversion layer" (where the temperature increases with increasing altitude) that caps the Convective Boundary Layer, typically to about 1.5 to 2.0 km in height. The upper part of the troposphere (i.e., above the inversion layer) is called the "free troposphere" and it extends up to the tropopause (the boundary in the Earth's atmosphere between the troposphere and the stratosphere). In tropical and mid-latitudes during daytime, the Free convective layer can comprise the entire troposphere, which is up to 10 km to 18 km in the Intertropical convergence zone.
Atmospheric dispersion modeling | Atmospheric layers
The atmospheric pressure at Earth's sea level averages , with a scale height of about . A dry atmosphere is composed of 78.084% nitrogen, 20.946% oxygen, 0.934% argon, and trace amounts of carbon dioxide and other gaseous molecules. Water vapor content varies between 0.01% and 4% but averages about 1%. The height of the troposphere varies with latitude, ranging between at the poles to at the equator, with some variation resulting from weather and seasonal factors. Earth's biosphere has significantly altered its atmosphere. Oxygenic photosynthesis evolved , forming the primarily nitrogen–oxygen atmosphere of today. This change enabled the proliferation of aerobic organisms and, indirectly, the formation of the ozone layer due to the subsequent conversion of atmospheric into.
Earth | Atmosphere
Temperature varies greatly at different heights relative to the Earth's surface and this variation in temperature characterizes the four layers that exist in the atmosphere. These layers include: the Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, and Thermosphere. The troposphere is the lowest of the four layers, extending from the surface of the Earth to about 11 km (7 mi) into the atmosphere where the tropopause (the boundary between the troposphere stratosphere) is located. The width of the troposphere can vary depending on latitude, for example, the troposphere is thicker in the tropics (about 16 km or 10 mi) because the tropics are generally warmer, and thinner at the poles (about 8 km or 5 mi) because the poles are colder.
Atmospheric temperature | Temperature versus altitude
The Earth's homosphere starts at the Earth's surface and extends to the turbopause at about 100 km. It incorporates all of the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and the lower part of the thermosphere. Chemically the homosphere is composed of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and trace amounts of other molecules, such as argon and carbon dioxide. It contains over 99% of the mass of the Earth's atmosphere. The density of air decreases with height in the homosphere.
Homosphere | Earth's homosphere
From highest to lowest, the five main layers are:
Atmosphere of Earth | Stratification
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.
Atmosphere | Composition
It has basically all the weather-associated cloud genus types generated by active wind circulation, although very tall cumulonimbus thunder clouds can penetrate the tropopause from below and rise into the lower part of the stratosphere. Most conventional aviation activity takes place in the troposphere, and it is the only layer that can be accessed by propeller-driven aircraft.
Atmosphere of Earth | Troposphere
Atop the troposphere is the tropopause, which is the border between the troposphere and stratosphere. The tropopause is an inversion layer, where the air temperature ceases to decrease with height and remains constant through its thickness. The word "troposphere" is derived from the Greek "tropos" (meaning "turn, turn toward, change") and "sphere" (as in the Earth), reflecting the fact that rotational turbulent mixing plays an important role in the troposphere's structure and behaviour. Most of the phenomena associated with day-to-day weather occur in the troposphere.
Troposphere | Introduction
The troposphere is a dynamic part of the atmosphere, exhibiting strong winds, bright clouds and seasonal changes.
Uranus | Troposphere
The ionosphere is a shell of electrons and electrically charged atoms and molecules that surrounds the Earth, stretching from a height of about to more than . It exists primarily due to ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. The lowest part of the Earth's atmosphere, the troposphere extends from the surface to about . Above that is the stratosphere, followed by the mesosphere. In the stratosphere incoming solar radiation creates the ozone layer. At heights of above , in the thermosphere, the atmosphere is so thin that free electrons can exist for short periods of time before they are captured by a nearby positive ion.
Ionosphere | Geophysics
The Earth's exosphere is mostly hydrogen and helium, with some heavier atoms and molecules near the base.
Exosphere | Introduction
Earth's atmosphere has no definite boundary, slowly becoming thinner and fading into outer space. Three-quarters of the atmosphere's mass is contained within the first of the surface. This lowest layer is called the troposphere. Energy from the Sun heats this layer, and the surface below, causing expansion of the air. This lower-density air then rises and is replaced by cooler, higher-density air. The result is atmospheric circulation that drives the weather and climate through redistribution of thermal energy. The primary atmospheric circulation bands consist of the trade winds in the equatorial region below 30° latitude and the westerlies in the mid-latitudes between 30° and 60°.
Earth | Weather and climate
Within the five principal layers above, that are largely determined by temperature, several secondary layers may be distinguished by other properties: The average temperature of the atmosphere at Earth's surface is or , depending on the reference.
Atmosphere of Earth | Other layers
The pressure of the atmosphere is maximum at sea level and decreases with altitude. This is because the atmosphere is very nearly in hydrostatic equilibrium so that the pressure is equal to the weight of air above a given point. The change in pressure with altitude can be equated to the density with the hydrostatic equation where: Since temperature in principle also depends on altitude, one needs a second equation to determine the pressure as a function of altitude as discussed in the next section.
Troposphere | Pressure
Although the temperature may be at the tropopause, the top of the stratosphere is much warmer, and may be near 0 °C. The stratospheric temperature profile creates very stable atmospheric conditions, so the stratosphere lacks the weather-producing air turbulence that is so prevalent in the troposphere. Consequently, the stratosphere is almost completely free of clouds and other forms of weather. However, polar stratospheric or nacreous clouds are occasionally seen in the lower part of this layer of the atmosphere where the air is coldest. The stratosphere is the highest layer that can be accessed by jet-powered aircraft.
Atmosphere of Earth | Stratosphere
Earth’s atmosphere consists of multiple layers with different temperature and density characteristics; common atmospheric models include the International Standard Atmosphere and the US Standard Atmosphere. A good approximation for many purposes is a polytropic troposphere of 11 km height with a lapse rate of 6.5 K/km and an isothermal stratosphere of infinite height (Garfinkel 1967), which corresponds very closely to the first two layers of the International Standard Atmosphere. More layers can be used if greater accuracy is required.
Air mass (astronomy) | Layered atmosphere
Further note that since g, Earth's gravitational acceleration, is approximately constant with altitude in the atmosphere, the pressure at height h is proportional to the integral of the density in the column above h, and therefore to the mass in the atmosphere above height h. Therefore the mass fraction of the troposphere out of all the atmosphere is given using the approximated formula for p: For nitrogen, it is 75% , while for oxygen this is 79%, and for carbon dioxide - 88%.
Density of air | Total content
It is convenient to separate the atmospheric regions according to the two temperature minima at about 12 km altitude (the tropopause) and at about 85 km (the mesopause) (Figure 1). The thermosphere (or the upper atmosphere) is the height region above 85 km, while the region between the tropopause and the mesopause is the middle atmosphere (stratosphere and mesosphere) where absorption of solar UV radiation generates the temperature maximum near 45 km altitude and causes the ozone layer. The density of the Earth's atmosphere decreases nearly exponentially with altitude. The total mass of the atmosphere is M = ρ H ≃ 1 kg/cm within a column of one square centimeter above the ground (with ρ = 1.29 kg/m the atmospheric density on the ground at z = 0 m altitude, and H ≃ 8 km the average atmospheric scale height).
Thermosphere | Neutral gas constituents
The troposphere is the lowest and densest part of the atmosphere and is characterised by a decrease in temperature with altitude. The temperature falls from about 320 K at the base of the troposphere at −300 km to about 53 K at 50 km. The temperature at the cold upper boundary of the troposphere (the tropopause) actually varies in the range between 49 and 57 K depending on planetary latitude, with the lowest temperature reached near 25° southern latitude. The troposphere holds almost all of the mass of the atmosphere, and the tropopause region is also responsible for the vast majority of the planet's thermal far infrared emissions, thus determining its effective temperature of .
Atmosphere of Uranus | Troposphere
The tropopause is the boundary in the Earth's atmosphere between the troposphere and the stratosphere. It is a thermodynamic gradient stratification layer, marking the end of the troposphere. It lies, on average, at above equatorial regions, and about over the polar regions.
Tropopause | Introduction
a Here, the term "Earth" does not refer to planet Earth, known by modern science to be composed of a large number of chemical elements. Modern chemical elements are not conceptually similar to Aristotle's elements; the term "air", for instance, does not refer to breathable air.
Aristotelian physics | Notes
The stratosphere is the second-lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere. It lies above the troposphere and is separated from it by the tropopause. This layer extends from the top of the troposphere at roughly above Earth's surface to the stratopause at an altitude of about . The atmospheric pressure at the top of the stratosphere is roughly 1/1000 the pressure at sea level. It contains the ozone layer, which is the part of Earth's atmosphere that contains relatively high concentrations of that gas. The stratosphere defines a layer in which temperatures rise with increasing altitude. This rise in temperature is caused by the absorption of ultraviolet radiation (UV) radiation from the Sun by the ozone layer, which restricts turbulence and mixing.
Atmosphere of Earth | Stratosphere
80% of that mass is concentrated within the troposphere. The mass of the thermosphere above about 85 km is only 0.002% of the total mass. Therefore, no significant energetic feedback from the thermosphere to the lower atmospheric regions can be expected. Turbulence causes the air within the lower atmospheric regions below the turbopause at about 110 km to be a mixture of gases that does not change its composition. Its mean molecular weight is 29 g/mol with molecular oxygen (O) and nitrogen (N) as the two dominant constituents. Above the turbopause, however, diffusive separation of the various constituents is significant, so that each constituent follows its barometric height structure with a scale height inversely proportional to its molecular weight.
Thermosphere | Neutral gas constituents
Earth's atmosphere consists of approximately 21% oxygen.
Pocket mask | Design
In general, air pressure and density decrease with altitude in the atmosphere. However, temperature has a more complicated profile with altitude, and may remain relatively constant or even increase with altitude in some regions (see the temperature section, below). Because the general pattern of the temperature/altitude profile, or lapse rate, is constant and measurable by means of instrumented balloon soundings, the temperature behavior provides a useful metric to distinguish atmospheric layers. In this way, Earth's atmosphere can be divided (called atmospheric stratification) into five main layers. Excluding the exosphere, the atmosphere has four primary layers, which are the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere.
Atmosphere of Earth | Stratification
The three-cell model of the atmosphere attempts to describe the actual flow of the Earth's atmosphere as a whole. It divides the Earth into the tropical (Hadley cell), mid-latitude (Ferrel cell), and polar (polar cell) regions, to describe energy flow and global atmospheric circulation (mass flow). Its fundamental principle is that of balance – the energy that the Earth absorbs from the sun each year is equal to that which it loses to space by radiation. This overall Earth energy balance, however, does not apply in each latitude due to the varying strength of the sun in each "cell" as a result of the tilt of the Earth's axis concerning its orbit.
Troposphere | Three-cell model
The exosphere is the outermost layer of Earth's atmosphere (i.e. the upper limit of the atmosphere). It extends from the exobase, which is located at the top of the thermosphere at an altitude of about 700 km above sea level, to about 10,000 km (6,200 mi; 33,000,000 ft) where it merges into the solar wind. This layer is mainly composed of extremely low densities of hydrogen, helium and several heavier molecules including nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide closer to the exobase. The atoms and molecules are so far apart that they can travel hundreds of kilometers without colliding with one another.
Atmosphere of Earth | Exosphere
All terrestrial matter consists of these four elements. Various ratios of the elements combine to create the diverse materials found in nature.
Meteorology (Aristotle) | Four elements
The result is a circulation of the atmosphere that transports warm air poleward from the tropics and cold air equatorward from the poles. The effect of the three cells is the tendency to even out the heat and moisture in the Earth's atmosphere around the planet.
Troposphere | Three-cell model
Comprised of is an expression in English that means "to compose or constitute". While its use is common in writing and speech, it has been regarded by some language professionals as incorrect, stemming from the fact that "comprise" on its own already means "composed of". The "Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary", "Collins English Dictionary" and the "Oxford Dictionaries" regard the form "comprised of" as standard English usage, but according to "Oxford" the construction "x "comprises" of y and z" is considered incorrect. Synonymous phrasing includes "composed of", "consists of" and "comprises".
Comprised of | Introduction
Discussion of the layers in the Earth's atmosphere is needed to understand where airborne pollutants disperse in the atmosphere. The layer closest to the Earth's surface is known as the "troposphere". It extends from sea-level to a height of about 18 km and contains about 80 percent of the mass of the overall atmosphere. The "stratosphere" is the next layer and extends from 18 km to about 50 km. The third layer is the "mesosphere" which extends from 50 km to about 80 km. There are other layers above 80 km, but they are insignificant with respect to atmospheric dispersion modeling.
Atmospheric dispersion modeling | Atmospheric layers
32% each, magnesium and silicon c. 15% each, calcium, aluminium and nickel c. 1.5% each). Carbon accounts for 0.03%, water for 0.02%, and the atmosphere for about one part per million.
Earth mass | Composition
Clouds in the troposphere assume five physical forms based on structure and process of formation. These forms are commonly used for the purpose of satellite analysis. They are given below in approximate ascending order of instability or convective activity.
Cloud | Physical forms
The layer of an ecosphere that exists as a gas. The atmosphere is the most distant component sphere of matter from the planet's Center of mass, beyond which is Outer space.
Ecosphere (planetary) | <a href="Atmosphere">Atmosphere</a>
Fluid that is less dense than its surroundings tends to rise until it has the same density as its surroundings. If there is not much energy input to the system, it will tend to become stratified. On a large scale, Earth's atmosphere is divided into a series of layers. Going upwards from the ground, these are the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere. The density of air is mainly determined by temperature and water vapor content, the density of sea water by temperature and salinity, and the density of lake water by temperature. Where stratification occurs, there may be thin layers in which temperature or some other property changes more rapidly with height or depth than the surrounding fluid.
Geophysical fluid dynamics | Buoyancy and stratification
t = June 21 is the date of northern summer solstice, and τ = 15:00 is the local time of maximum diurnal temperature.
Thermosphere | Dynamics
Temperatures in the atmosphere decrease with height at an average rate of 6.5°C/km. Because the troposphere experiences its warmest temperatures closer to Earth's surface, there is great vertical movement of heat and water vapour, causing turbulence. This turbulence, in conjunction with the presence of water vapour, is the reason that weather occurs within the troposphere. Following the tropopause is the stratosphere. This layer extends from the tropopause to the stratopause which is located at an altitude of about 50 km (31 mi). Temperatures remain constant with height from the tropopause to an altitude of 20 km (12.5 mi), after which they start to increase with height.
Atmospheric temperature | Temperature versus altitude
The atmosphere appears to be significantly out of chemical equilibrium and possibly escaping.
WASP-121b | Atmospheric composition
Thus the standard consists of a tabulation of values at various altitudes, plus some formulas by which those values were derived.
U.S. Standard Atmosphere | Methodology
The lower atmosphere also typically contains a boundary between two distinct regions (the troposphere and stratosphere), but that boundary (the tropopause) displays quite different behavior. However, atmospheric thermoclines, or "inversions", can occur, e.g. as nighttime cooling of the Earth's surface produces cold, dense, often calm air adjacent to the ground. The coldest air is next to the ground, with air temperature increasing with height. At the top of this nighttime boundary layer (which may be only a hundred meters) the normal adiabatic temperature profile of the troposphere (i.e. temperature decreasing with altitude) is again observed. The thermocline or inversion layer occurs where the temperature profile changes from positive to negative with increasing height.
Thermocline | Atmosphere
There is no mesosphere.
Uranus | Atmosphere
The atmosphere of the Earth serves as a key factor in sustaining the planetary ecosystem. The thin layer of gases that envelops the Earth is held in place by the planet's gravity. Dry air consists of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% argon and other inert gases, and carbon dioxide. The remaining gases are often referred to as trace gases. The atmosphere includes greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Filtered air includes trace amounts of many other chemical compounds. Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor and suspensions of water droplets and ice crystals seen as clouds.
Natural environment | Atmosphere, climate and weather
The troposphere is the lowest and densest part of the atmosphere and is characterised by a decrease in temperature with altitude. The temperature falls from about at the base of the nominal troposphere at −300 km to at 50 km. The temperatures in the coldest upper region of the troposphere (the tropopause) actually vary in the range between depending on planetary latitude. The tropopause region is responsible for the vast majority of Uranus's thermal far infrared emissions, thus determining its effective temperature of . The troposphere is thought to have a highly complex cloud structure; water clouds are hypothesised to lie in the pressure range of , ammonium hydrosulfide clouds in the range of , ammonia or hydrogen sulfide clouds at between and finally directly detected thin methane clouds at .
Uranus | Troposphere
Over 99% of the crust is composed of 11 oxides, principally silica, alumina, iron oxides, lime, magnesia, potash and soda.
Earth | Chemical composition
Thus the standard consists of a tabulation of values at various altitudes, plus some formulas by which those values were derived. To accommodate the lowest points on Earth, the model starts at a base geopotential altitude of "below sea level", with standard temperature set at 19 °C. With a temperature lapse rate of −6.5 °C (-11.7 °F) per km (roughly −2 °C (-3.6 °F) per 1,000 ft), the table interpolates to the standard mean sea level values of temperature, (1 atm) pressure, and a density of . The tropospheric tabulation continues to , where the temperature has fallen to , the pressure to , and the density to .
International Standard Atmosphere | Description
The ionization is so weak that when night falls, and the source of ionization is removed, the free electron and ion form back into a neutral molecule. The mesosphere has been called the "ignorosphere" because it is poorly studied relative to the stratosphere (which can be accessed with high-altitude balloons) and the thermosphere (in which satellites can orbit). A deep sodium layer is located between . Made of unbound, non-ionized atoms of sodium, the sodium layer radiates weakly to contribute to the airglow. The sodium has an average concentration of 400,000 atoms per cubic centimetre. This band is regularly replenished by sodium sublimating from incoming meteors.
Mesosphere | Dynamic features
The troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere are the five layers which make up Earth's atmosphere. 75% of the gases in the atmosphere are located within the troposphere, the lowest layer. In all, the atmosphere is made up of about 78.0% nitrogen, 20.9% oxygen, and 0.92% argon. In addition to the nitrogen, oxygen, and argon there are small amounts of other gases including CO and water vapor. Water vapor and CO allow the Earth's atmosphere to catch and hold the Sun's energy through a phenomenon called the greenhouse effect. This allows Earth's surface to be warm enough to have liquid water and support life.
Earth science | Earth's atmosphere
Notes: the concentration of CO and CH vary by season and location. The mean molecular mass of air is 28.97 g/mol. Ozone (O) is not included due to its high variability.
Atmospheric chemistry | Atmospheric composition
The geological composition of the terrain consists of limestone, dolomite, and schist.
Nikaj-Mërtur | Geology
Thus, the exosphere no longer behaves like a gas, and the particles constantly escape into space. These free-moving particles follow ballistic trajectories and may migrate in and out of the magnetosphere or the solar wind. The exosphere is located too far above Earth for any meteorological phenomena to be possible. However, the aurora borealis and aurora australis sometimes occur in the lower part of the exosphere, where they overlap into the thermosphere. The exosphere contains most of the satellites orbiting Earth.
Atmosphere of Earth | Exosphere
Ozone (O) is a trace gas of the troposphere, with an average concentration of 20–30 parts per billion by volume (ppbv), with close to 100 ppbv in polluted areas. Ozone is also an important constituent of the stratosphere, where the ozone layer exists which is located between 10 and 50 kilometers above the earths surface. The troposphere is the lowest layer of the Earth's atmosphere. It extends from the ground up to a variable height of approximately 14 kilometers above sea level. Ozone is least concentrated in the ground layer (or planetary boundary layer) of the troposphere. Ground level or tropospheric ozone is created by chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen (NOx gases) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Tropospheric ozone | Introduction
Tables of historical data for some elements of their relative abundance in Earth's crust.
Clarke number | Of the mass of 10 mile-thick lithosphere plus hydrosphere and atmosphere
In addition to hydrocarbons, the stratosphere contains carbon monoxide, as well as traces of water vapor and carbon dioxide. The mixing ratio of carbon monoxide—3—is very similar to that of the hydrocarbons, while the mixing ratios of carbon dioxide and water are about 10 and 8, respectively. These three compounds are distributed relatively homogeneously in the stratosphere and are not confined to a narrow layer like hydrocarbons.
Atmosphere of Uranus | Stratosphere
Phonolite and trachyte are absent. The magmas ultimately originated at depths of .
Haruj | Composition
Specifically, "comprised" within "comprised of" is a "participial adjective".
Comprised of | Syntax
A planet's initial atmospheric composition is related to the chemistry and temperature of the local solar nebula during planetary formation and the subsequent escape of interior gases. The original atmospheres started with a rotating disc of gases that collapsed to form a series of spaced rings that condensed to form the planets. The planet's atmospheres were then modified over time by various complex factors, resulting in quite different outcomes. The atmospheres of the planets Venus and Mars are primarily composed of carbon dioxide, with small quantities of nitrogen, argon, oxygen and traces of other gases. The composition of Earth's atmosphere is largely governed by the by-products of the life that it sustains.
Atmosphere | Composition
Earth's core is depleted in germanium and gallium.
Planetary core | Determining primary composition – Earth
The cloud deck instead absorbs the sun's radiation; between that and the hot, high pressure gas surrounding the mantle, exists a stratosphere of cooler gas. The outer shell of dark, opaque, hot cloud is assumed to consist of vanadium and titanium oxides, but other compounds like tholins cannot be ruled out yet.
Upsilon Andromedae b | Physical characteristics
The thermosphere is the second-highest layer of Earth's atmosphere. It extends from the mesopause (which separates it from the mesosphere) at an altitude of about up to the thermopause at an altitude range of . The height of the thermopause varies considerably due to changes in solar activity. Because the thermopause lies at the lower boundary of the exosphere, it is also referred to as the exobase. The lower part of the thermosphere, from above Earth's surface, contains the ionosphere. The temperature of the thermosphere gradually increases with height. Unlike the stratosphere beneath it, wherein a temperature inversion is due to the absorption of radiation by ozone, the inversion in the thermosphere occurs due to the extremely low density of its molecules.
Atmosphere of Earth | Thermosphere
Apart from wood and leaf cuticles there is little organic matter present in the section—the sediments comprise sand, silt and mud—and thus there is no possibility of contamination by marine carbon.
Sorthat Formation | Terrestrial palynology
Consequently, for entry trajectories causing lower heat flux, carbon phenolic is sometimes inappropriate and lower-density TPS materials such as the following examples can be better design choices:
Atmospheric entry | Ablative
The total surface area of Earth is about . Of this, 70.8%, or , is below sea level and covered by ocean water. Below the ocean's surface are much of the continental shelf, mountains, volcanoes, oceanic trenches, submarine canyons, oceanic plateaus, abyssal plains, and a globe-spanning mid-ocean ridge system. The remaining 29.2%, or , not covered by water has terrain that varies greatly from place to place and consists of mountains, deserts, plains, plateaus, and other landforms. Tectonics and erosion, volcanic eruptions, flooding, weathering, glaciation, the growth of coral reefs, and meteorite impacts are among the processes that constantly reshape Earth's surface over geological time.The continental crust consists of lower density material such as the igneous rocks granite and andesite.
Earth | Surface
All but 2% of the remaining plasma mass (i.e., 65%) is helium, at the center of the Sun.
Solar core | Composition
Higher than the troposphere, at the tropopause, the temperature is approximately constant with altitude (up to ~20 km) and is 220 K. This means that at this layer L = 0 and T= 220K, so that the exponential drop is faster, with H = 6.3 km for air (6.5 for nitrogen, 5.7 for oxygen and 4.2 for carbon dioxide). Both the pressure and density obey this law, so, denoting the height of the border between the troposphere and the tropopause as U:
Density of air | Tropopause
Aspects of the anthroposphere include: mines from which minerals are obtained; automated agriculture which produces the food consumed by 7+ billion Sapiens; oil and gas fields; computer-based systems including the Internet; educational systems; landfills; factories; atmospheric pollution; artificial satellites in space, both active satellites and space junk; forestry and deforestation; urban development; transportation systems including roads, highways, and subways; nuclear installations; warfare.
Anthroposphere | Introduction
The Earth's heterosphere begins at about 100 km altitude and extends to the outer reaches of its atmosphere. It incorporates most of the thermosphere and all of the exosphere. The major constituents of Earth's heterosphere are nitrogen, oxygen, helium, and hydrogen. Nitrogen and oxygen compose the lower portion of the heterosphere. In the higher levels of the heterosphere, above about 1,000 km, helium and hydrogen are the dominant species present. The heterosphere also incorporates the ionosphere with ions present in the heterosphere's lower levels. These include O, NO, O, and N. Due to the diffused nature of the heterosphere's gases, its density at any given height is not entirely dependent on the temperature.
Heterosphere | Earth's Heterosphere
In some cases, such as in discussing the weather, the sky refers to only the lower, denser layers of the atmosphere.
Sky | Introduction
Bacterial life survives in the stratosphere, making it a part of the biosphere. In 2001, dust was collected at a height of 41 kilometres in a high-altitude balloon experiment and was found to contain bacterial material when examined later in the laboratory.
Stratosphere | Bacteria
The temperature of the troposphere generally decreases as altitude increases. The rate at which the temperature decreases, formula_2, is called the environmental lapse rate (ELR). The ELR is nothing more than the difference in temperature between the surface and the tropopause divided by the height. The ELR assumes that the air is perfectly still, i.e. that there is no mixing of the layers of air from vertical convection, nor winds that would create turbulence and hence mixing of the layers of air. The reason for this temperature difference is that the ground absorbs most of the sun's energy, which then heats the lower levels of the atmosphere with which it is in contact.
Troposphere | Temperature
Filtered air includes trace amounts of many other chemical compounds. Many substances of natural origin may be present in locally and seasonally variable small amounts as aerosols in an unfiltered air sample, including dust of mineral and organic composition, pollen and spores, sea spray, and volcanic ash. Various industrial pollutants also may be present as gases or aerosols, such as chlorine (elemental or in compounds), fluorine compounds and elemental mercury vapor. Sulfur compounds such as hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide (SO) may be derived from natural sources or from industrial air pollution. The average molecular weight of dry air, which can be used to calculate densities or to convert between mole fraction and mass fraction, is about 28.946 or 28.96 g/mol.
Atmosphere of Earth | Composition
The top of the mesosphere, ranges from 50 to 85 km, and is the layer wherein most meteors burn up. The thermosphere extends from 85 km to the base of the exosphere at 400 km and contains the ionosphere, a region where the atmosphere is ionized by incoming solar radiation. The ionosphere increases in thickness and moves closer to the Earth during daylight and rises at night allowing certain frequencies of radio communication over a greater range. The Kármán line, located within the thermosphere at an altitude of 100 km, is commonly used to define the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space.
Atmosphere | Earth's atmosphere
The lighter constituent's atomic oxygen (O), helium (He), and hydrogen (H) successively dominate above about 200 km altitude and vary with geographic location, time, and solar activity. The ratio N/O which is a measure of the electron density at the ionospheric F region is highly affected by these variations. These changes follow from the diffusion of the minor constituents through the major gas component during dynamic processes. The thermosphere contains an appreciable concentration of elemental sodium located in a 10-km thick band that occurs at the edge of the mesosphere, 80 to 100 km above Earth's surface. The sodium has an average concentration of 400,000 atoms per cubic centimeter.
Thermosphere | Neutral gas constituents
Earth's atmosphere can be divided into five main layers. These layers are mainly determined by whether temperature increases or decreases with altitude. From highest to lowest, these layers are: Within the five principal layers determined by temperature there are several layers determined by other properties.
Natural environment | Principal layers
The troposphere is the lowest layer of the Earth's atmosphere; it is located right above the planetary boundary layer, and is the layer in which most weather phenomena take place. The troposphere contains the boundary layer, and ranges in height from an average of at the poles, to at the Equator. In the absence of inversions and not considering moisture, the temperature lapse rate for this layer is 6.5 °C per kilometer, on average, according to the "U.S. Standard Atmosphere". A measurement of both the tropospheric and the stratospheric lapse rates helps identifying the location of the tropopause, since temperature increases with height in the stratosphere, and hence the lapse rate becomes negative.
Tropopause | Location
Through infrared and ultraviolet measurements, trace amounts of benzene and other hydrocarbons have also been found. The interior contains denser materials—by mass it is roughly 71% hydrogen, 24% helium, and 5% other elements. The atmospheric proportions of hydrogen and helium are close to the theoretical composition of the primordial solar nebula. Neon in the upper atmosphere only consists of 20 parts per million by mass, which is about a tenth as abundant as in the Sun. Helium is also depleted to about 80% of the Sun's helium composition. This depletion is a result of precipitation of these elements into the interior of the planet.
Jupiter | Composition
Venus' atmosphere is mostly composed of carbon dioxide. It contains minor amounts of nitrogen and other trace elements, including compounds based on hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur, carbon, and oxygen. The atmosphere of Venus is much hotter and denser than that of Earth, though shallower. As greenhouse gases warm a lower atmosphere, they cool the upper atmosphere, leading to compact thermospheres. By some definitions, Venus has no stratosphere. The troposphere begins at the surface and extends up to an altitude of 65 kilometres (an altitude at which the mesosphere has already been reached on Earth). At the top of the troposphere, temperature and pressure reach Earth-like levels.
Extraterrestrial atmosphere | Venus
Within the chamber are two hemispheres of 5 meter radii, made of perforated aluminum. These are opaque and acoustically transparent.
AlloSphere | Introduction
However, non-hydrometeorological phenomena such as the aurora borealis and aurora australis are occasionally seen in the thermosphere. The International Space Station orbits in this layer, between .
Atmosphere of Earth | Thermosphere
The stratosphere is a region of Earth's upper atmosphere. Stratosphere may also refer to:
Stratosphere (disambiguation) | Introduction
In scientific literature, the 1 bar pressure level is usually chosen as a zero point for altitudes—a "surface" of Jupiter. As with Earth, the top atmospheric layer, the exosphere, does not have a well defined upper boundary. The density gradually decreases until it smoothly transitions into the interplanetary medium approximately 5,000 km above the "surface". The vertical temperature gradients in the Jovian atmosphere are similar to those of the atmosphere of Earth. The temperature of the troposphere decreases with height until it reaches a minimum at the tropopause, which is the boundary between the troposphere and stratosphere. On Jupiter, the tropopause is approximately 50 km above the visible clouds (or 1 bar level), where the pressure and temperature are about 0.1 bar and 110 K.
Atmosphere of Jupiter | Vertical structure
The layer of an ecosphere that exists at a Terrestrial planet's Center of mass and which extends radially outward until ending in a solid and spherical layer known as the Crust (geology).
Ecosphere (planetary) | <a href="Geosphere">Geosphere</a>
The protonosphere is a layer of the Earth's atmosphere (or any planet with a similar atmosphere) where the dominant components are atomic hydrogen and ionic hydrogen (protons). It is the outer part of the ionosphere, and extends to the interplanetary medium. Hydrogen dominates in the outermost layers because it is the lightest gas, and in the heterosphere, mixing is not strong enough to overcome differences in constituent gas densities. Charged particles are created by incoming ionizing radiation, mostly from solar radiation.
Protonosphere | Introduction
lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere; (b) Only the lithosphere, which in their works just meant "the rocky crust of the earth". "Crust" here means (b).
Clarke number | Example data
Large rectennas consist of an array of many such dipole elements.
Rectenna | Introduction
This is what the composition is "about"" (p. 71).
Density 21.5 | Structure
The atmosphere is likely high in carbon monoxide and dioxide.
HD 149026 b | Physical characteristics
The term tropic refers to the tropics, a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. Tropic or Tropics may also refer to:
Tropic (disambiguation) | Introduction
The limited data available and unexplored nature of these structures have resulted in many theories as to their form.
Heliosphere | Structure
As energy transfer to a parcel of air by way of heat is very slow, it is assumed to not exchange energy by way of heat with the environment. Such a process is called an adiabatic process (no energy transfer by way of heat). Since the rising parcel of air is losing energy as it does work on the surrounding atmosphere and no energy is transferred into it as heat from the atmosphere to make up for the loss, the parcel of air is losing energy, which manifests itself as a decrease in the temperature of the air parcel. The reverse, of course, will be true for a parcel of air that is sinking and is being compressed.
Troposphere | Temperature
These two species can be found in the high, middle, or low levels of the troposphere depending on the stratocumuliform genus or genera present at any given time.
Cloud | Stable or mostly stable
The elevation of the land surface varies from the low point of at the Dead Sea, to a maximum altitude of at the top of Mount Everest. The mean height of land above sea level is about . The pedosphere is the outermost layer of Earth's continental surface and is composed of soil and subject to soil formation processes. The total arable land is 10.9% of the land surface, with 1.3% being permanent cropland. Close to 40% of Earth's land surface is used for agriculture, or an estimated of cropland and of pastureland.
Earth | Surface
The homosphere is the layer of an atmosphere where the bulk gases are homogeneously mixed due to turbulent mixing or eddy diffusion. The bulk composition of the air is mostly uniform so the concentrations of molecules are the same throughout the homosphere. The top of the homosphere is called the homopause, also known as the turbopause. Above the homopause is the heterosphere, where diffusion is faster than mixing, and heavy gases decrease in density with altitude more rapidly than lighter gases. Some of the processes driving this uniformity include heating convection and air flow patterns. In the troposphere, rising warm air replaces higher cooler air which mix gases vertically.
Homosphere | Introduction
However, this is kept at around 20% of Earthbound atmospheric pressure to regulate the rate of inspiration.
Breathing | Composition
The stratosphere () is the second major layer of Earth's atmosphere, just above the troposphere, and below the mesosphere. The stratosphere is stratified (layered) in temperature, with warmer layers higher and cooler layers closer to the Earth; this increase of temperature with altitude is a result of the absorption of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation (shortened UV) by the ozone layer. This is in contrast to the troposphere, near the Earth's surface, where temperature decreases with altitude. The border between the troposphere and stratosphere, the tropopause, marks where this temperature inversion begins. Near the equator, the lower edge of the stratosphere is as high as , at midlatitudes around , and at the poles about Temperatures range from an average of near the tropopause to an average of near the mesosphere.
Stratosphere | Introduction