Earth's Atmosphere: Layers and Features

1. IS 9 – Mrs. Kaplan Warm up: List the layers of the atmosphere in order, and give the defining feature of each layer. No, you DO NOT have a reflection today! Date: 4/9/18 Unit: Atmosphere and Weather Learning Goal: To understand how the transfer of energy through earth's atmosphere, the earth's rotation, and absorption and radiation of energy create weather patterns.

2. IS 9 – Mrs. Kaplan Structure of Earth’s Atmosphere • Troposphere • 75% Earth’s air mass • Only ~12-17 km thick (~7-15.5 miles) • Closest to Earth’s surface • Most weather events occur here • Temperatures decrease as altitude increases. • Winds increase as altitude increases. • Moisture (water in the air) decreases as altitude increases. • WHY? Date: 4/9/18 Unit: Atmosphere and Weather Learning Goal: To understand how the transfer of energy through earth's atmosphere, the earth's rotation, and absorption and radiation of energy create weather patterns.

3. IS 9 – Mrs. Kaplan Structure of Earth’s Atmosphere • Ozone layer • Near the boundary of the stratosphere & troposphere (tropopause) • Layer known as the “ozone layer” that contains Ozone - O3 • O3 absorbs much of the damaging UVB (ultraviolet) radiation from the sun & prevents this radiation from reaching the Earth's surface • Ozone is present in low concentrations throughout the atmosphere • Why is the ozone layer important to living organisms? Date: 4/9/18 Unit: Atmosphere and Weather Learning Goal: To understand how the transfer of energy through earth's atmosphere, the earth's rotation, and absorption and radiation of energy create weather patterns.

4. IS 9 – Mrs. Kaplan Structure of Earth’s Atmosphere • Stratosphere • Extends to ~50 km above sea level. • Relatively calm • Volcanic ash or human caused pollution can remain in suspension in the stratosphere for many years, trapping solar radiation responsible for the greenhouse effect (intense warming of the Earth’s atmosphere). Date: 4/9/18 Unit: Atmosphere and Weather Learning Goal: To understand how the transfer of energy through earth's atmosphere, the earth's rotation, and absorption and radiation of energy create weather patterns.

5. IS 9 – Mrs. Kaplan Structure of Earth’s Atmosphere • Mesosphere • Extends to ~80 km above sea level. • The coolest layer of the atmosphere on average. • In this layer, meteors and asteroids are mostly burned up as the air becomes more dense. • By the time they reach earth’s surface, they’re as small as grains of sand. Date: 4/9/18 Unit: Atmosphere and Weather Learning Goal: To understand how the transfer of energy through earth's atmosphere, the earth's rotation, and absorption and radiation of energy create weather patterns.

6. IS 9 – Mrs. Kaplan Structure of Earth’s Atmosphere • Thermosphere • Extends to ~120 km above sea level. • The warmest layer of the atmosphere on average. • In this layer, molecules get so hot that they become electrically charged. • We call electrically charged particles ions. • This causes them to create vivid color ‘rivers’ in the sky known as auroras. Date: 4/9/18 Unit: Atmosphere and Weather Learning Goal: To understand how the transfer of energy through earth's atmosphere, the earth's rotation, and absorption and radiation of energy create weather patterns.

7. IS 9 – Mrs. Kaplan Atmospheric Processes – The Water (Hydrological) Cycle Date: 4/9/18 Unit: Atmosphere and Weather Learning Goal: To understand how the transfer of energy through earth's atmosphere, the earth's rotation, and absorption and radiation of energy create weather patterns.

8. IS 9 – Mrs. Kaplan Atmospheric Processes – The Water (Hydrological) Cycle • Evaporation – • The sun heats up water in rivers, lakes or the ocean • Turns it into vapor or steam • Water vapor or steam leaves rivers, lakes, or oceans & goes into the atmosphere • Transpiration – • Plants lose water out of their leaves • Transpiration puts water vapor back up into the atmosphere. • So…you might ask…do plants sweat? Well, sort of.... people perspire (sweat) and plants transpire. • Condensation – • Water vapor in the atmosphere gets cold & changes back into liquid, forming clouds, in the atmosphere Date: 4/9/18 Unit: Atmosphere and Weather Learning Goal: To understand how the transfer of energy through earth's atmosphere, the earth's rotation, and absorption and radiation of energy create weather patterns.

9. IS 9 – Mrs. Kaplan Atmospheric Processes – The Water (Hydrological) Cycle Water Makes Clouds Clouds can come in all sizes and shapes, and can form near the ground or high in the atmosphere. Clouds are groups of tiny water droplets or ice crystals in the sky and are formed by different processes. They can make different kinds of precipitation depending on the atmosphere's temperature. Date: 4/9/18 Unit: Atmosphere and Weather Learning Goal: To understand how the transfer of energy through earth's atmosphere, the earth's rotation, and absorption and radiation of energy create weather patterns.

10. IS 9 – Mrs. Kaplan Atmospheric Processes – The Water (Hydrological) Cycle • Precipitation – • Water has condensed to the point that the air in the atmosphere cannot hold it anymore.  • Clouds get heavy & water falls back to the earth in the form of rain, hail, sleet or snow • Collection/Infiltration/Runoff – • Water falls back to earth from the atmosphere as precipitation • May fall into oceans, lakes or rivers or on land • “Collection” • On land, it will either soak into the earth or become part of the groundwater that plants & animals use to drink • “Infiltration” • May run over the soil & collect in oceans, lakes or rivers where the cycle starts all over again • “Runoff” Date: 4/9/18 Unit: Atmosphere and Weather Learning Goal: To understand how the transfer of energy through earth's atmosphere, the earth's rotation, and absorption and radiation of energy create weather patterns.