The Earth and Its Atmosphere

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The Earth and Its Atmosphere

• Chapter 1

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Air is with us from birth, and we cannot detach
ourselves from its presence. In the open air, we
can travel for many thousands of kilometers in
any horizontal direction, but, should we move a
mere eight kilometers above the surface, we
would suffocate. We may be able to survive
without food for a few weeks, or without water
for a few days, but, without our atmosphere, we
would not survive more than a few
minutes. Meteorology Today, C. Donald Ahrens
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Overview of the Earths Atmosphere

• The atmosphere is a delicate life giving blanket
  of air surrounding the Earth.
• Without the atmosphere the Earth would not have
  lakes or oceans.
• Radiant energy from the sun energizes the
  atmosphere driving day to day weather.

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Overview of the Earths Atmosphere

• Atmosphere is a thin gaseous layer composed
  mostly of
• N2 78 and O2 21, with small amounts of other
  gases
• 99 of the atmosphere is within 30km of the
  Earths surface
• The percentages represent a constant amount of
  gas, but cycles of destruction and production are
  constantly maintaining this amount. ( is fairly
  constant up to 80km)
• A Breath of Fresh Air
• 1 breath of air 1022 molecules (near sea level)
• 1022 stars in the universe (astronomers
  estimation)
• In the entire atmosphere, there are nearly
• In the entire atmosphere, there are about 1022
  breaths of air.

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There is no upper limit of the atmosphere, but it
rather becomes thinner and thinner, merging with
empty space.
greenhouse effect warming that results when
solar radiation is trapped by the atmosphere
caused by atmospheric gases that allow sunshine
to pass through but absorb heat that is radiated
back from the warmed surface of the earth.