The atmosphere is a clear odourless gas that envelopes the Earth, held together by gravity. Everyone on the planet has the right and access to the atmosphere, making it a global common. There are many components that make up the atmosphere, the main components is nitrogen, which makes up 78.09% of the atmosphere, and oxygen, which makes up 20.95%. Around 1% of the atmosphere is comprised of water vapour, methane, carbon dioxide, sulphur, argon and particulates (e.g. dust). There are a total of four layers to the atmosphere, the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere and the thermosphere.
The Troposphere
The first, and lowest, layer of the atmosphere is the troposphere. The troposphere begins at the surface of the Earth and ranges up to 8 to 10 kilometres above the poles, and up to 15 to 17 kilometres at the Equator. So the altitude of the troposphere depends on the latitude, and it is also varies according to the seasons, as it will be higher in the summer and lower in the winter. Practically all of the weather happens in the troposphere, so nearly all of the water vapour is located in this layer of the atmosphere, which can form clouds and cause precipitation. The temperature within the …show more content…
The thermosphere begins at around 80 to 85 kilometres in altitude. The temperature rises rapidly in the thermosphere due to the high absorption of incoming ultra violet radiation through atomic oxygen, and reaches highs of up to 1500˚C. The thermosphere can also expand when there is high incoming solar radiation absorption. The air density and air pressure in the thermosphere is very low. In this layer of the atmosphere the main gases in the air is atomic oxygen, atomic nitrogen and helium. The reason why it is atomic oxygen and atomic nitrogen is because the gas particles don’t collide with one another often and become separated. This is also the layer where the Northern and Southern lights, or the aurora, take
The Troposphere
The first, and lowest, layer of the atmosphere is the troposphere. The troposphere begins at the surface of the Earth and ranges up to 8 to 10 kilometres above the poles, and up to 15 to 17 kilometres at the Equator. So the altitude of the troposphere depends on the latitude, and it is also varies according to the seasons, as it will be higher in the summer and lower in the winter. Practically all of the weather happens in the troposphere, so nearly all of the water vapour is located in this layer of the atmosphere, which can form clouds and cause precipitation. The temperature within the …show more content…
The thermosphere begins at around 80 to 85 kilometres in altitude. The temperature rises rapidly in the thermosphere due to the high absorption of incoming ultra violet radiation through atomic oxygen, and reaches highs of up to 1500˚C. The thermosphere can also expand when there is high incoming solar radiation absorption. The air density and air pressure in the thermosphere is very low. In this layer of the atmosphere the main gases in the air is atomic oxygen, atomic nitrogen and helium. The reason why it is atomic oxygen and atomic nitrogen is because the gas particles don’t collide with one another often and become separated. This is also the layer where the Northern and Southern lights, or the aurora, take