atmosphere and spheres of the earth a… · *earth’s atmosphere is a thin layer of air that forms...
TRANSCRIPT
Layers of the Earth, Ozone Layer and
Spheres of the Earth
*
*
*Importance of the
Atmosphere:
*Earth’s atmosphere is
a thin layer of air that
forms a protective
covering around the
planet, without which
days would be
extremely hot and
nights extremely cold
*Makeup of the
Atmosphere:
*Mixture of gases,
solids, and liquids that
surround the planet
that extend from
Earth’s Surface to
outer space.
*Gases in atmosphere:
*Nitrogen (78%),
Oxygen (21%) and
other gases (Argon
(0.93%), Carbon
Dioxide (0.03%) and
more)
*Solids in atmosphere;
*Dust, salt, pollen
*Liquids in atmosphere:
*Water droplets and
other liquid droplets
* Lowest of Earth’s Atmospheric Layers: contains 99% Water vapor and 75% atmospheric gases
*Where you study, eat, sleep
* Rain, snow, and clouds occur in the troposphere which extends up to about 10 km
* Layer Directly above the
troposphere where the
Ozone layer is located(10 to
50 km above Earth’s
Surface)
*Ozone is made up of 3
Oxygen molecules
* More details on Ozone
later on…
*
*
*Mesosphere
*Located above stratosphere (50 to 85 km above the Earth)
* Shooting stars (witnessed a meteor in the mesosphere)
*Thermosphere
*Named for its high temperatures (85 to 500km above the Earth) * Meteor trails
*Exosphere
*Above 500 km from
Earth
* Space shuttles orbit
the Earth in exosphere
with short bursts from
rocket thrusters
* Beyond exosphere is
outer space
*
*
* Pressure is the force exerted in an area
* Air pressure is greater near Earth’s surface and decreases higher in the atmosphere
* In other words, Air pressure decreases with altitude
* People find it harder to breathe in high mountains because fewer air molecules exist there.
* Jets that fly in the stratosphere must maintain pressurized cabins so that people can breathe
*
*The sun is the source of most of the energy on Earth.
*Solar energy passes through the atmosphere before reaching Earth’s Surface
*Layers contain different gases that absorb solar energy differently so the temperatures amongst the layers vary
*Get Green Book, turn
to pages 95
*Text for this slide
* Within the Stratosphere (19 to 48
km above our heads)…
*
*
*Ozone is made up of
oxygen
*We cannot see it but
our life depends on it?
*Why? you may ask…
* Well it shields us from
the Sun’s Harmful
Rays (UV rays)
*Threats to our Ozone layer:
*CFC’s (Chlorofluorocarbons): chemical compounds used in some refrigerators, air conditioners, in the production of some foam packaging and aerosol sprays
* Causing the Ozone hole!!!
25 minutes
*
30 minutes
*
*
* The four main spheres of the Earth are:
* Atmosphere -The gaseous layer that surrounds the Earth. It receives heat and moisture from the surface and redistributes them, returning some heat and all of the moisture to the surface. It supplies vital elements needed to sustain life forms
* Hydrosphere - The liquid realm of the Earth is principally the mass of water in the world’s oceans. It also includes solid ice in mountain and continental glaciers. Water occurs as a gaseous vapor, liquid droplets, and solid ice crystals. In the lithosphere,water is found in the uppermost layers in soils and in ground water reservoirs.
* Lithosphere - This outermost solid layer of the Earth provides a platform for most life-forms. The solid bedrock bears a shallow layer of soil in which nutrient elements become available to organisms. The surface of the lithosphere is sculpted into landforms which provide varied habitats for plants, animals, and humans.
* Biosphere - Most of the biosphere is contained in the shallow surface zone called the life layer. It includes the surface of the lands and the upper 100 meters of the ocean. On land, the life layer is the zone of interactions among the biosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere.
*
The Four Great Realms
Lithosphere - All processes associated with the solid earth
Hydrosphere - All processes associated with water
Atmosphere - All processes associated with the gases that envelope
the earth
Biosphere - All processes that involve living organisms
*
*Measuring Up book pages 11-18
*Periods 1 and 3, this is due 9/16/2011 (Friday)
*Periods 2 and 4, this is due 9/15/2011 (Thursday)
*SCIENCE FAIR TOPICS (Typed, through my
webpage or hardcopy)
*Periods 1, 2, 3 and 4, this is due 9/16/2011
(FRIDAY)
*GreenHouse Effect
And Global Warming
*
*The sun’s energy is not evenly absorbed by the
Earth’s land and water surface. Unequal solar
heating produces currents of air and water and
constitute the global atmospheric and oceanic
circulation system.
* Large scale fluctuations in the
atmosphere from hour-to-hour or day-to-day
Weather systems arise mainly due to atmospheric instabilities, the evolution of which is governed by non-linear chaotic dynamics.
This is why weather is not predictable beyond a week or two
Super Typhoon Lupit (26W) west of the
Philippine Islands (Nov-26-2003) as seen
by the NASA’s MODIS satellite sensor.
Quick introduction…
*
Climate = What you expect,
Weather = What you get.
• Climate is defined as
averaged weather, typically
defined in terms of mean
and other statistical
quantities (higher order
moments), that measure
variability over a period of
time and over a geographical
region (space).
*