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Weather. State or condition of all the variables in the atmosphere at a given location for any short period of time. Variables include:. Temperature Pressure Wind Moisture. Atmosphere. Sphere of Earth where weather takes place.
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Weather • State or condition of all the variables in the atmosphere at a given location for any short period of time. • Variables include: Temperature Pressure Wind Moisture
Atmosphere • Sphere of Earth where weather takes place. • Broken up into specific sections, each having specific characteristics.
Why is atmosphere important? • oxygen (for respiration/ breathing) • carbon dioxide (for photosynthesis) • nitrogen (needed for many organic compounds) • Helps control temperature • Protects living things from UV rays • Needed for sound transmission • Needed for flying critters and aircraft
Composition of the Atmosphere: All other gasses: CO2, Ar, Methane etc
What makes one layer different from the others? • Temperature • Chemical make up • Density
Kilometer Scale: goes up by 10’s Mile Scale: goes up by 5’s 140 85 130 80 120 70 110 65 60 90 55 80 45 70 40 60 35 30 40 20 30 15 20 10 10 5
7 mi 11 km
As altitude increases, temperature in the troposphere______________ decreases
Handy Dandy Earth Science Reference Tables: Page 14 How High? 80miles 50miles 25miles 15miles
And in Km’s? 140km 115km 80km 50km 30km
Gets warmer- atoms moving faster Gets colder as you get higher Avg. temp at ground is 15°C Gets warmer as you get higher Temps get colder as you get higher
What are the layers of the atmosphere? • Troposphere • Stratosphere • Mesosphere • Thermosphere
Troposphere • Closest to earth’s surface • Height ~10 km (7 miles) • 90% of atmosphere is here • Components are well mixed • Almost all weather occurs here • Jet stream in upper troposphere • Temperature decreases with altitude (thermal lapse rate = 6.5 ‘C per kilometer)
Stratosphere • Very little moisture/ clouds are rare • Pilots fly here to avoid weather problems • Contains ozone (O3) layer (~25 km) • ozone blocks harmful levels of Ultraviolet radiation from reaching us • Warmer temperatures due to ozone’s reaction with UV light
Mesosphere • Temperature decreases with height • Coldest temperature reached in atmosphere -90 C (~ -130 F) • Air is very thin • 99.9% of atmosphere is below this layer • Protects us from meteors (falling stars)
Thermosphere • Warmer layer above mesosphere • Air is very thin, but molecules get lots of energy from the sun • Temperature would feel cold to you because there are so few particles present
Boundaries between layers(constant temperature) • Tropopause • Between troposphere and stratosphere • Stratopause • Between stratosphere and mesosphere • Mesopause • Between mesosphere and thermosphere
What happens to the number of particles as you increase altitude? What do you think happens to the weight of the air as a result ? What do you think happens to air pressure as altitude increases? What might this look like in a graph?