Download Atmospheric Layers

Atmosphere— is a thin layer of air that protects Earth
This is an image of the sunrise from space over the South China Sea. An astronaut would see something like this;
clearly defined bands of color through the atmosphere as the sun rises. High-peaking cumulus clouds, topping out in
anvil-head cirrus can be seen as black shadows against the sunlit horizon. The brightness of the colors in the
atmosphere in this photograph is due to the amount of dust in the atmosphere.
How did Earth’s atmosphere get here? (according to
scientists)
The Earth’s first atmosphere is not like the atmosphere
we have today!!
•The Earth did not have enough gravitational pull to
hold the heavier gases (like oxygen) close to it so it
was made mostly of hydrogen and helium….like the
atmospheres of the big gas giant planets
Saturn's largest moon Titan
resembles primitive Earth
•More than 2 billion years ago simple water organisms
(like blue-green algae) began producing oxygen.
•Oxygen was formed from photosynthesis of these
simple organisms
So, what is today’s atmosphere like?
• Our atmosphere contains a special mixture of gases
that are needed to support life
1. Nitrogen: 78%
2. Oxygen: 21%
3. Trace Gases like carbon dioxide and water
vapor: 1%
What changes our atmosphere today?
1. Pollutants such as smog--- smog contains
ozone, which is a pollutant when found in the
air we breathe.
2. CFC’s—chlorofluorocarbons (chlorine and
fluorine)-They were once use in aerosol spray
cans, refrigerators, etc.
SMOG
OZONE LAYER HOLE
Which layer does weather occur in?
Which layer is the ozone layer in?
Which layer does the space shuttle orbit in?
THE LAYERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE ARE
DIVIDED INTO 5 LAYERS
BASED ON
TEMPERATURE CHANGES
1. Troposphere (↓)
• contains most (90%) of the
atmospheric gases
• weather, clouds, and smog
are found here
2. Stratosphere (↑)
•located above the
troposphere
•contains the ozone(Oʒ)
layer
•the jet stream is found
here, commercial
airplanes fly here
3. Mesosphere (↓)
• located above the
stratosphere
• you see shooting stars in
this layer
4. Thermosphere (↑)
•located above the
mesosphere
•contains the ionosphere, a
layer of electrically charged
particles
•auroras can be found here
•the space shuttle orbits
here
5. Exosphere (↑)
• located above the
thermosphere
• extends into outer space
• has very few molecules
and ions, making wings on
a shuttle useless
• satellites and probes orbit
here
AMAZING EARTH SCIENCE FACTS
•The early atmosphere was mostly carbon dioxide and
oxygen
very little __________.
oxygen
•The Earth’s atmosphere is now about 21% ___________,
78% ___________
nitrogen and 1% trace gases
fossil fuels
•Humans add CO2 to the air by burning _____________
from cars, factories and pollution which in turn harms
the ________________
along with CFC’s being added
Ozone layer
•If the Earth heats up, the ________________
polar ice caps will melt
rise
and sea level will ________
A long time ago we
couldn’t breathe their
atmosphere because
it was too pure, now
it’s really great!