Atmosphere, Ozone and the Great Global Warming Theory…
The Atmosphere…
Well now, its time to break down my ignorance of another dangerously confusing subject. This week I’m going to provide peeps with a bit of a rundown on the atmosphere and some of the key theories associated with it. It is very important to at least have a grounding knowledge of the atmosphere as most climate change and global warming theories discuss the effects upon the atmosphere by both manmade and natural elements.
Ok then, I’ll start off with a few facts and figures possibly even a diagram or two along the way to help keep it nice and simple. Gravity is perhaps one of the greatest inventions/discoveries/theories ever known to man. Not only does it keep our feet firmly stuck to the ground, it also allows us to do all sorts of crazy stuff like bungee jumping and sky-diving, but most importantly it prevents the Earth’s supply of Oxygen from floating off to distant parts of the Milky-Way. Without gravity there would be no atmosphere on earth, and without an atmosphere Earth would be a barren radioactive planet with very little hope of supporting life.
The atmosphere roughly consists of 79% Nitrogen, 20% Oxygen and 1% of other gases. Scientists have divided the atmosphere into 5 distinct sections, these are in ascending order; The Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, Ionosphere and Exosphere. As you can see from the diagram each section of the atmosphere has specific properties and roles, which are essential for the continuation of life on the planet.
Major sections and divisions of the atmosphere...
Spheres of confusion…
The Troposphere: The word troposphere comes from the Greek spelling of tropos which means turning or mixing. 75% of the atmosphere mass can be found within the troposphere. The majority of the atmospheres water vapour can also be found within the troposphere. As the Greek word suggest, the gas within the troposphere is continually moving and changing. Most of the worlds weather phenomena and patterns occur within this sphere. Atmospheric heights and depths can change depending upon which location it is measured from. The average height of the troposphere starts at about 2km and roughly reaches 15km.
The Stratosphere: The second sphere is separated from the troposphere by the tropopause. Within the troposphere temperature decreases as you get higher, unlike the stratosphere where temperatures actually increase with altitude. The tropopause marks where this temperature inversion begins. The stratosphere roughly starts from around about 10-15km and reaches up to 50km. Within this sphere is the all important Ozone layer which is responsible for filtering out most of the suns’ harmful radioactive waves. There is no regular convection or turbulence with the stratosphere, hence why planes will often fly in the lower stratosphere to avoid bad weather.
The Mesosphere: Is considered to be the middle layer of the Earth’s atmosphere and can be located between 50km – 80/90km in height. Little is really known about the mesosphere due to the difficulties in accessing it. It lies between the maximum altitude for planes and the minimum altitude for orbiting space crafts and has therefore been difficult to study in great detail. Temperature within the mesosphere decreases with increased altitude. It appears that the main job of the mesosphere is to eliminate meteors which are destroyed via friction as they attempt to pass by the gas particles contained within the section.
The Thermosphere: Ranges from 90km – 250/500km depending upon solar activity and the measurement of the thermopause which separates the thermosphere and the exosphere. The lower thermosphere and the upper mesosphere are directly affected by atmospheric tides, gravity waves and planetary waves (massively confusing, might need to read up on these for yourselves). Within the thermosphere gases striate into levels depending upon their molecular mass. Temperatures within the thermosphere can vary greatly due to solar activity. Individual molecules can reach phenomenal temperatures due to radiation from the sun. Within the higher reaches of the thermosphere is the ionosphere. Molecules within the ionosphere are ionized by the solar radiation which in turn helps refract and distribute radio waves.
The Exosphere: Is the outer limit of our atmosphere and directly connects with outer-space. The exosphere is mainly made out of the lightest gases including helium, hydrogen and carbon dioxide. If an object is proceeding fast enough it can break past the gravitational pull of the exosphere and pass through into space.
To be continued…. Coming up – The Ozone Layer and the Great Global Warming Theory…
3 Comments to “Atmosphere, Ozone and the Great Global Warming Theory…”
A wonderful article…. this is just what I needed to read today. Thanks for describing the way you work and how you structure your writing projects. I’ll go read that article now.
This is a great post and makes me think of where I can fit in. I do a little bit of everything mentioned here and I guess I have to find my competitive advantage.
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