1. Meteorology

2. What is the Atmosphere? Mixture of gases that surround the Earth.
Composition
78% Nitrogen
21% Oxygen
1%: other argon, carbon dioxide
What is the purpose of the atmosphere?
Makes conditions suitable for us to live
Protects us from space

3. What is the Atmosphere: continued
Why is it Important?
Stores Oxygen
Keeps us warm: Greenhouse effect
Protects us from sun’s radiation, cold of space, meteoroids

4. Air Pressure Does air have mass?
How could you prove/demonstrate that air has mass?
Measure of force with which air molecules push on a surface
Air pushes in all directions
Gases will fill the volume of space they are contained
Density of air effects the amount of pressure, why?
How is pressure measured?

5. Altitude and Air pressure
Altitude = Elevation
Air pressure decreases as altitude increases
Air pressure decreases, density decreases

6. Layers of Atmosphere 4 main layers Troposphere Stratosphere Mesosphere
Thermosphere

7. Troposphere Tropo = Change Layer in which we live Weather occurs here
What is the difference between weather and climate?
Majority of mass of atmosphere
Altitude increases, temperature decreases
Top temp. = -60 degrees Celsius
0 to 12 km

8. Stratosphere Contains the Ozone
What is ozone?
3 oxygen molecules bonded together
Top of Stratosphere is warm, but bottom is cold, Why?
Ozone absorbs Suns radiation
Ranges from 12km to 50 in elevation

9. Mesosphere Layer protects us from meteoroids and space junk
Meteoroids burn up = Shooting stars

10. Thermosphere Divided into 2 layers Outermost layer of atmosphere
Exosphere
Ionosphere
Outermost layer of atmosphere
Temp can reach up to 1,800°C
Suns radiation strikes this layer first
Thermometer would read 0°C, Why?
Density and distance between molecules. Molecules have a lot of energy but there isn’t a lot of molecules and they are spread out
Temperature = Average amount of energy of motion of each particle

11. Thermosphere: Ionosphere
Sun’s energy innervates gas molecules to become electrically charged Ions
We see this as Auroa Borealis: Northern Lights
Layers reflects back radio waves

12. Thermosphere: Exosphere
400 km and beyond
Layer in which satellites orbit Earth