The document discusses the greenhouse effect and the layers of Earth's atmosphere. It describes the key gases like carbon dioxide and methane that contribute to the greenhouse effect. The troposphere is the lowest layer and contains around 75% of the atmosphere. Higher layers get colder as altitude increases. The document outlines how increased carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels is creating more of the gas in the atmosphere and contributing to climate change effects like rising temperatures, changes in habitats, and extreme weather events.
4. TROPOSPHERE
Lowest portion of earth’s atmosphere
• 75% of the entire atmosphere mass
- Water vapor
- Aerosols
• 0 km – 10 km depth ~ 10 km
• Warmer nearest earth
• Colder the further you go
Travel back to the atmosphere
5. STRATOSPHERE
• Second layer of earth’s atmosphere
• 10 km – 50 km depth ~ 40 km
• Colder nearer the earth surface
• Warmer the further into the atmosphere
• Energy is transferred via heat absorption
by the ozone layer.
• Heating caused by conduction from
above and convection from below.
Travel back to the atmosphere
6. MESOSPHERE
• Middle layer of earth’s atmosphere
• 50 km – 90 km depth ~ 40 km
• Warmer closer to earth’s surface
• Colder the further you out you go
• This is where meteors burn as they
collide with gas particles
• Most poorly understood part of the
atmosphere
Travel back to the atmosphere
7. THERMOSPHERE
• 4th layer of earth’s atmosphere
• 80 km – 500 km depth ~ 420 km
• Colder near earth’s surface
• Warmer as you go further into
thermosphere
• This layer absorbs radiation which in
turn electrically charge particles.
Travel back to the atmosphere
8. EXOSPHERE
• Outer layer of the atmosphere
• 500 km – 10,000 km depth ~ 9,500 km
• Only layer of atmosphere where gases can
escape
• Main gases found here:
- Hydrogen
- Helium
- Carbon dioxide
Travel back to the atmosphere
10. KEY TERMS
• Condensation - process by which gas or vapor changes into a
liquid or solid
• Evaporation - the process by which a liquid changes into a gas
• Convection - upward movement of heat or other atmospheric
properties within the atmosphere
• Photosynthesis – the synthesis of complex organic materials from
carbon dioxide, water, and inorganic salts using light as an energy
source
• Radiation – energy that is transmitted in the form of rays
• Conduction – spontaneous transfer of energy through matter,
from a region of higher temperature to a region of lower
temperature
11. GASES
• CO2 - carbon dioxide
• MH4 - methane
• O2 – oxygen gas
• O3 - ozone
• N2 – nitrogen gas
• Ar – argon gas
• H2 – hydrogen gas
• He - helium
12. INCREASE IN CO2
• Increased by the burning of fossil
fuels- coal, oil, and gas
• Too much is harmful to our planet
• Creates a cycle of
carbon dioxide
within our atmosphere
• Contributes to the
hole in the ozone
layer
15. OZONE LAYER
• Three oxygen atoms bonded
together
• Forms a layer above earth that
protects us from harmful UVA
UVB rays
• The ozone hole is a depletion of
the ozone in the atmosphere.
16. WHAT IS CAUSING THINNING OZONE HOLE ?
• Cars
• Factories
• Pollution
• Deforestation