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Atmosphere
Atmosphere
The atmosphere is the thin blanket of air that surrounds our earth. It acts like a giant duvet. It keeps most harmful rays out, protects us and keeps our valuable air in.
The air is made up of a mixture of gases; the most important one for all living organisms is oxygen (O2).
The atmosphere is made up of layers of air, clouds, storms, and even smog!
As we move away form the surface of the earth the atmosphere becomes thinner until at about 100 km there is no longer air for us to breathe. As we move away from the earth the air thins out until there is so little we could not breathe.
When we look at Earth from space, we usually see lots of clouds. Rain
and snow are often falling underneath the clouds, but you need radar to see them.
Some places on Earth, like the poles and the Equator, are almost always covered by clouds. If you look at the globe, you can see the line of clouds across the middle that closely follows the equator. There are also clouds over the jungles of Brazil, and lines of clouds along the leading edges of storms can be seen in the north and south Pacific and over North America. Other places, like the deserts in the American Southwest, are almost cloud-free.
Some places on Earth, like the poles and the Equator, are almost always covered by clouds. If you look at the globe, you can see the line of clouds across the middle that closely follows the equator. There are also clouds over the jungles of Brazil, and lines of clouds along the leading edges of storms can be seen in the north and south Pacific and over North America. Other places, like the deserts in the American Southwest, are almost cloud-free.
Layers of the Atmosphere
Layers of the Atmosphere
Troposphere
Troposphere
The troposphere begins at the surface of the earth and extends to between 9 km at the poles and 17 km at the equator. The troposphere is mostly heated by transfer of energy from the surface, so on average the lowest part of the troposphere is warmest and temperature decreases with altitude. The troposphere contains roughly 80% of the mass of the atmosphere. The tropopause is the boundary between the troposphere and stratosphere. Our weather occurs in this part of the atmosphere.
Stratosphere
Stratosphere
The stratosphere extends from the tropopause to about 51 km. It is very cold in this area; usually about −60 °C.
The stratopause is the boundary between the stratosphere and mesosphere and is between 50 and to 55 km above the earth.
Mesosphere
Mesosphere
The mesosphere extends from the stratopause to between 80–85 km.
It is in this layer where most meteors burn up when they enter our atmosphere. Temperatures may drop to −100 °C. Because of the cold temperature of the mesosphere, water vapor is frozen and this often forms ice clouds.
Thermosphere
Thermosphere
Above the mesosphere we find the next layer of our atmosphere.
The temperature of this layer can rise to 1,500 °C.
The International Space Station orbits in this layer, between 320 and 380 km above the earth.
Exosphere
Exosphere
This is the outermost part of our atmosphere.
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Weather
Weather
The weather is all around us, all the time. It is an important part of our lives and one that we cannot control. Instead the weather often controls how and where we live, what we do, what we wear and what we eat. Someone who studies the weather is called a meteorologist. Weather predictions are made by forecasters who you see on television.
Weather is made up of different things.
Wind
Precipitation (rain, snow)
Temperature
Sunshine
Visibility
Cloud
Pressure
Humidity
Weather Definition
Weather is the day-to-day conditions of a particular place. For example: It was raining today at school. Yesterday it was sunny at home.
Climate is often spoken about at the same time as weather, but it is something quite different. The climate is the common, average
weather conditions at a particular place over a long period of time (for example, more than 30 years). Deserts have a hot and dry climate
while the Antarctic has a very cold and dry climate.
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Practical
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Games and Simulations
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Climate Change
Climate Change
Is the climate of the whole Earth really changing?
Is the climate of the whole Earth really changing?
Earth has been getting warmer—and fast.
Earth has been getting warmer—and fast.
Global climate is the average climate over the entire planet. And the reason scientists and folks like you are concerned is that Earth's global climate is changing. The planet is warming up fast—faster than at any time scientists know about from their studies of Earth's entire history.
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