Understanding Earth's Atmosphere and Space Beyond | Explore Our Solar System

1. Atmosphere and Space

2. Atmosphere • The Atmosphere is the layer of air surrounding the Earth • The gases in the atmosphere are important because: • They block out dangerous rays from the sun, such as UV rays • They stabilize the temperature across the Earth by retaining heat • They include O2, which is essential for cellular respiration, and CO2, which is necessary for photosynthesis.

3. Atmosphere

4. Atmospheric Layers

5. Atmospheric Temperature

6. Atmospheric Protection

7. Atmospheric Pressure • Atmospheric pressure is cause by gravity pulling down the particles of the atmosphere • This is why atmospheric pressure decreases as you rise in the atmosphere. • 99% of the particles is present in the first 30 km above the surface • The atmosphere is considered to extend more than 10,000 km above the surface

8. Composition of the Atmosphere • Air is a mixture of gases, especially nitrogen and oxygen, that makes up the atmosphere • 78% of air is Nitrogen • 21% of air is Oxygen • 1% of air is other gases • Water only makes up a small portion of the air, but is still very important

9. Composition of the Atmosphere

10. Composition of the Atmosphere

11. Comparing Earth to other Planets • Let’s compare Earth to the other terrestrial planets • Mercury • Venus • Mars

12. Our Solar System

13. Mercury

14. Mercury • Closest planet to the sun • Little to no atmosphere • Almost no magnetic field • 0.6% of Earth’s • Surface temperatures range from -173°C to 127°C

15. Venus

16. Venus • 2nd closest planet to the Sun • Atmosphere mainly composed of CO2 (96.5%) and a little bit of N2 (3.5%) with traces of many other gases (SO2, H2O, Ar, CO, He, Ne) • Atmospheric pressure is roughly 92 times that of the Earth’s • No magnetic field • Temperatures range from -270°C to 420°C

17. Mars

18. Mars • 4th closest planet to the Sun • Very small atmosphere, about 0.6% atmospheric pressure of the Earth’s • 95.32 CO2, 2.7% N2 and traces of Ar, O2, NO, Ne, CO, H2O and, H2 • No magnetic field • Temperatures range from -87°C to 20°C

19. Jupiter

20. Jupiter • 5th planet from the Sun • Mainly composed of Hydrogen and Helium, possibly has a dense solid core • Spins so fast that it bulges at its equator • Its mass is 2.5 times that of all of the other planets combined • If its mass would increase by about 150%, due to stronger gravitational forces, it would actually get smaller

21. Jupiter • Red spot of Jupiter • There is a massive storm on Jupiter which is 24-40,000 km by 12-14,000 km which has been observed since at least 1831 • Jupiter has a very strong magnetic field, about 14 times as strong as the Earth • Has 66 natural satellites, most of which are less than 10km in diameter • Average temperature is -108°C

22. Saturn

23. Saturn • 6th planet from the Sun • Mainly composed of Hydrogen and Helium • Is also bulged at the equator due to it spinning • Is less dense than water (0.69 g/cm3) • May have a solid core, but scientists are unsure

24. Saturn • Rings of Saturn • The rings extend from 6,630 km to 120,700 km above Saturn's equator, average approximately 20 meters in thickness and are composed of 93% water ice • Size of the pieces range from dust to 10 m across • Has 62 moons surrounding it • Mean temperature of -139°C

25. Uranus

26. Uranus • 7th planet from the Sun • Mainly composed of ice, some hydrogen and helium, and some rock • Not much is known of the composition of the planet • It is said to have a solid core

27. Uranus • Has a very unsual magnetic field which does not originate from its center • Has 9 vertical rings which range from 26 840 to 103 000 km in range • Has 27 known satellites • Mean temperature is -197°C

28. Neptune

29. Neptune • 8th and furthest planet from the Sun • Atmosphere mainly composed of Hydrogen and Helium with a sheet of frozen water, ammonia and methane • Has a density of 1.638 g/mL • Has a solid rock core

30. Neptune • Neptune has a small ring system going from around 40-60,000 km from the surface of the Earth • Neptune has 13 known moons • The mean temperature of Neptune is -201°C

31. Atmospheric Circulation • Atmospheric circulation is the global-scale movement of the layer of air surrounding the Earth • The hot air rises and the cooler air drops • This is due to convection. • Without this movement, the temperature difference between the equator and the poles would be much greater

32. Coriolis Effect • The Coriolis effect change of the trajectory of air currents due to the rotation of the Earth • Without this effect, the wind would travel directly from the equator to the poles in a straight line

33. Coriolis Effect

34. Prevaling Winds • These are the winds which occur on the Earth. • They are due to a combination of all other factors • There are 3 pairs of cells with the jet stream between them.

35. Prevaling Winds

36. Prevaling Winds

37. Prevaling Winds

38. Strongest Earthquakes in History • May 22, 1960 Valdivia, Chile1960 Valdivia earthquake9.5 • March 27, 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA 1964 Alaska earthquake9.2 • December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean, Sumatra, Indonesia 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake9.1–9.3 • November 4, 1952Kamchatka, Russia (then USSR) 1952 Kamchatka earthquakes9.0 • March 11, 2011Pacific Ocean, Tōhoku region, Japan 2011 Tōhoku earthquake9.0 • November 25, 1833Sumatra, Indonesia 1833 Sumatra earthquake8.8–9.2 (est.) • January 31, 1906Ecuador – Colombia 1906 Ecuador-Colombia earthquake8.8 • February 27, 2010Maule, Chile2010 Chile earthquake8.8 • January 26, 1700Pacific Ocean, USA and Canada1700 Cascadia earthquake8.7–9.2 (est.) • July 8, 1730Valparaiso, Chile1730 Valparaiso earthquake8.7–9.0 (est.)

39. Air Masses • An air mass is a large expanse of the atmosphere with relatively uniform temperature and humidity • When two air masses collide, they do not simply combine • The cooler air mass slides below the warmer and the warmer air mass rises

40. Air Masses • Where warm and cold air masses collide is referred to as a front • Cold fronts occur when a mass of cold air meets a warm air mass • As the warm air rises it cools quickly and condenses into clouds • This produces puffy clouds called cumulus

41. Air Masses • A warm front is when a warm air mass meets a mass of cold air • In this case, the warm air rises more slowly forming light clouds called nimbostratus • On weather maps, cold fronts are represented by blue arrows and warm fronts are represented by red arrows

42. Cold Front

43. Warm Front

44. Anticyclones and Depressions • While most air masses move horizontally over the surface of the Earth, there is some vertical movement

45. Anticyclone • An area of atmospheric circulation surrounding a high pressure center • Clockwise for Northern hemisphere and counter-clockwise in the Southern hemisphere

46. Depression • An area of atmospheric circulation surrounding a low pressure center • Counter-clockwise for Northern hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern hemisphere

47. Depression • Strong depressions sometimes form over warm waters of tropical oceans • A huge spiral forms which can stretch up to 800 km across in diameter • Winds can blow up to 360 km/h • These storms can be called cyclones, hurricanes or typhoons depending on the region

48. Hurricanes • Hurricanes have a characteristic eye in the center • Typically they are between 30-65 km wide • Can be as little as 3 km up to 670 km • The eye is generally calm and without clouds • The walls of the eye, the eyewall, are generally the tallest, strongest and most rainy parts of the hurricane

49. Hurricanes

50. Hurricanes