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Welcome to Meteorology –
the study of weather and climate
What is meteorology (meteorología)?
The study of the atmosphere and its conditions
(temperature, air movement, moisture content), the
study of the weather
Atmosphere Cornell Notes
(Notebook p. 24)
Atmosphere(atmósfera)
The gaseous envelope
surrounding the earth; the air.
Evolution of Earth’s Atmoshpere
Look around this room?
• Air molecules are
moving all around us
• about
16,000,000,000,000,000,0
00,000,000,000,000 air
molecules are in this
room
• They are traveling at
about 1000 mph in
random directions
Is there anything really there?
• Imagine you lived 400 years ago.
• You believe that molecules actually
exist in the air even though you
can’t see them.
• What could you do to prove that air
molecules actually exists to other
people.
• With your partner come up with
some methods that you could do to
prove that air consisted of tiny
molecules floating around in it.
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
• Tried to prove to the
‘Royal Court’ that there
was something in the air.
1. Air has Mass (masa)
2. Air takes up space;
has volume (volumen)
All this weight
of the air!
Air
pressure
Imagine…..
• Think of yourself on the
bottom of the ocean.
• What is surrounding
you?
• Water molecules –
Pretty heavy
• The same is with the
atmosphere – it
surrounds like the
ocean, yes it is heavy
but we are use to it.
Air Pressure
Air pressure is the weight of air on us .
Equilibrium = The
air pressure
pushing down on
an object exactly
balances the air
pressure
pushing up on
the object.
Most Abundant Gases in
Atmosphere
Other Gasses 1% (mostly Argon)
• Nitrogen (78%)
• Oxygen (21%)
Oxygen
Gas 21%
Nitrogen Gas 78%
Molecules of Air
Layers of the Atmosphere
Layers of the Atmosphere
• The layers of the
atmosphere are
divided into ____
layers?

What factor is the main
determinant that divides
the layers of the
atmosphere?
o
Exosphere
-----------------------
Border with Space
The Troposphere (troposfera)
 Where all weather
takes place
 0-6 miles above
Earth’s surface
 Temperature
decreases with
altitude
Impacts of Weather 1/5
Figure 1.12
Impacts of Weather 2/5
Figure 1.13
Impacts of Weather 3/5
Figure 1.14
Impacts of Weather 4/5
Figure 1.15
146 people die each year
In US from flash floods
Impacts of Weather 5/5
Lightning strikes earth
100 times every second
Figure 1.16
Our atmosphere is vulnerable
• Vulnerable (sensitive) because it is so
thin.
• So thin that we can change its composition and
its effects
The Stratosphere (estratósfera)
and Ozone Layer (capa de ozono)
 Stratosphere contains the
ozone layer
 Ozone layer is responsible
for absorbing the
ultraviolet radiation from
the Sun
 Temperature increases with
altitude (because of the
thick ozone layer holding
heat)
 6-30 miles above Earth’s
surface
The ozone layer is a layer in the
stratosphere made of three oxygen
molecules bonded together (O3)
The ozone is important because it
absorbs radiation from the sun.
Without the ozone layer, UV penetrates the
planet affecting life drastically
The Mesosphere (mesosfera)
 Coldest part of atmosphere
 This is where we see
meteors, "falling stars" fall
to the earth and burn up
in the atmosphere
 Temp decreases with
altitude
 30-50 miles above Earth’s
surface
Meteor Shower
The Thermosphere (termosfera)
 Air molecules very
thin
 50 miles above Earth’s
surface to outer
space; the upper part
is the beginning of
space
 Human-made
Satellites orbit within
this layer
 Temperature increases
with altitude
Exosphere (exosfera)
 Border with space
 Millions of man-made orbital
ruins that make up "space junk”
 Space junk can be:
 Hatches blown off space modules
 Paint fragments from the space
shuttle
 Satellites that no longer work
 Man-made debris orbits at a
speed of roughly 17,500
miles/hour (28,000 km/h)! Think
of the damage even a small speck
of paint could do if it hit a
spacecraft at such a high speed!
o
Exosphere
-----------------------
Border with Space