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Earth’s Atmosphere. Author Mohatatou. WIKIMEDIA

15 Fun Facts about Earth’s Atmosphere

The layer of gases collectively referred to as air, that surrounds the Earth and gives it its planetary atmosphere is the atmosphere of Earth. The Earth鈥檚 atmosphere shields life from harm by maintaining the pressure necessary for liquid water to exist on the planet鈥檚 surface. Moreover, absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention (greenhouse effect), and lowering day-and-night temperature extremes (the diurnal temperature variation).

The Earth’s atmosphere has a mass of 5.15 1018 kg. A quarter of the atmosphere鈥檚 mass is located within 11 km (6.8 km; 36,000 ft) of the surface. With altitude, the atmosphere thins out, yet there is no clear separation between it and space.

The solar nebula鈥檚 components, predominantly hydrogen, made up the early atmosphere of Earth. As a result of numerous variables including weathering, life, and volcanism, the atmosphere underwent substantial change over time. Recently, human activity has also influenced atmospheric changes such as acid deposition, global warming, and ozone depletion.

A number of subfields, including climatology and atmospheric physics, are included in the umbrella term of atmospheric science (aerology), which is the study of the Earth鈥檚 atmosphere and its processes. L茅on Teisserenc de Bort and Richard Assmann were early innovators in the field.

1. The Earth’s Atmosphere is Primarily made up of Three Elements

composition of the Earth’s atmosphere; Author Brockert.

Nitrogen, oxygen, and argon are the three main gases that make up the Earth鈥檚 atmosphere. About 0.25% of the mass of the atmosphere is made up of water vapor. In the coldest parts of the atmosphere, water vapor concentrations range from around 10 ppm by mole fraction to as high as 5% by mole fraction, thus concentrations of other atmospheric gases are often reported in terms of dry air (without water vapor).

The remaining gases are frequently referred to as 鈥渢race gases,鈥�. They mostly include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Neon, helium, krypton, and xenon. Various additional chemical components are present in trace levels in the filtered air.

2. There are Five Layers within the Atmosphere

Image of layers of the atmosphere. Author scied.

According to temperature, the atmosphere is separated into five distinct strata. The troposphere is the layer that is closest to the surface of the planet. This layer extends from five to ten miles away from the surface to a distance of seven to 15 kilometers. The North and South Poles have substantially narrower tropospheres than the equator, which has the highest density.

The troposphere houses 75 to 80 percent of the mass of the entire atmosphere. The troposphere contains the majority of the atmosphere鈥檚 water vapor as well as dust and ash particles. This explains why the majority of Earth鈥檚 clouds are found here. With altitude, tropospheric temperatures drop.

The layer above the surface of the Earth is called the stratosphere. It begins at the tropopause, the top of the troposphere, and extends to an altitude of about 50 kilometers (30 miles). As you ascend, the stratosphere鈥檚 temperature rises. The stratospheric ozone layer is a layer of oxygen with a high concentration of ozone, a molecule made of three oxygen atoms. The increase in altitude temperature is caused by the ozone layer, which absorbs some of the solar radiation and protects life on Earth from potentially damaging ultraviolet (UV) rays.

Stratopause is the term used to describe the top of the stratosphere. The mesosphere is located above that. This layer extends up to 85 kilometers (53 miles) above the surface of the Earth. With height, mesospheric temperatures drop. In actuality, the mesosphere鈥檚 uppermost region experiences the coldest air temperatures. The temperatures are around -90掳C (-130掳F). Although the atmosphere is thin here, it is nevertheless thick enough for meteors to burn up as they travel through the mesosphere. This is what gives rise to the phenomenon known as 鈥渟hooting stars.鈥� Mesopause is the term for the mesosphere鈥檚 upper barrier.

The thermosphere extends for around 600 kilometers above the mesopause (372 miles). Aside from the fact that temperatures rise with height, little is known about the thermosphere. Temperatures in the upper thermosphere can reach 2,000 掳C (3,600 掳F) due to solar radiation.

The exosphere is the top layer. This layer merges with what is regarded as outer space. Here, the gravitational pull of Earth is so weak that gas molecules can escape into space.

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3. The Atmosphere Extends 6,200 Miles into Space

View of the atmospheric limb. Author Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit

Five layers make up the atmosphere of the Earth. They are the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere, in that order. Around 6,200 miles (10,000 km) above sea level, the outermost layer finally gives way to the solar wind. This is a distance of about 430 miles (700 km) above sea level.

4. Thermosphere is Completely Coudless and Free of Water Vapor

There are no clouds or water vapor present in this stratum. But infrequently, non-hydrometeorological phenomena like the aurora borealis and aurora australis are visible in the thermosphere. In this layer, between 350 and 420 kilometers, the International Space Station revolves (220 and 260 mi). Many of the earth-orbiting satellites are located in this stratum.

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5. The Troposphere is Denser than all its Overlying Layers

The troposphere is denser than any of it levels above it. 80% or so of the Earth鈥檚 atmosphere is found in the troposphere. This is because a heavier portion of the atmosphere rests on top of the troposphere, compressing it to the greatest extent. The lower 5.6 km (3.5 mi; 18,000 ft) of the troposphere is where 50% of the total mass of the atmosphere is found.

6. The Ionosphere is a Region of the Atmosphere that is Ionized by Solar Radiation

The thin line of Earth’s atmosphere and the setting sun.Author NASA.WIKIMEDIA

The area of the atmosphere where solar energy is ionized is called the ionosphere. Auroras are caused by it. It encompasses the mesosphere, thermosphere, and some exosphere during the daylight and stretches between 50 and 1,000 km (31 to 621 mi; 160,000 to 3,280,000 feet).

7. Earth鈥檚 Atmosphere Temperature decreases with Altitude

Starting at sea level, the temperature drops with height. However changes in this tendency start above 11 km, when the temperature stabilizes over a considerable vertical distance through the remainder of the troposphere.

Starting above 20 km, the temperature in the stratosphere rises with altitude due to heating within the ozone layer brought on by the region鈥檚 dioxygen and ozone gas, which absorb a substantial amount of UV energy from the Sun. Another area of rising temperature with height can be seen at extremely high altitudes, in the well-termed thermosphere above 90 km.

8. Troposphere is the Layer where Most of Earth鈥檚 Weather Takes Place

The troposphere contains almost all of the moisture or water vapor in the atmosphere. The majority of Earth’s weather occurs here.

Although extremely tall cumulonimbus thunderclouds can penetrate the tropopause from below, it essentially has every cloud genus type associated with weather that is produced by strong wind circulation. Ascend into the lower stratosphere as well. The troposphere hosts the majority of conventional aviation operations. Amazingly, it is the only layer that propeller-driven aircraft can access is this one, which is interesting.

9. Ozone Layer Serves as Shield to the Earth

The stratosphere鈥檚 ozone layer is where the majority of UV radiation is absorbed. O3 is its atomic number. For the earth, it serves as a shield. Chlorofluorocarbon consumption is causing a steady loss of this layer. A major contributor to ozone depletion is the use of air conditioners, refrigerators, and other appliances. Due to the possibility of glaciers melting, ozone depletion poses a serious hazard to our planet. Sunlight exposure also raises the risk of developing skin cancer.

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10. The Atmosphere has no Abrupt cut-off

View of the atmospheric limb. Author Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit.

The atmosphere doesn鈥檛 abruptly end. It gradually gets thinner before dissipating into outer space. The line separating the atmosphere from space is not well defined.

With rising altitude, the atmosphere grows thinner, and there is no clear separation between it and space. The boundary between the atmosphere and outer space is frequently defined as the K谩rm谩n line, which is 100 km (62 mi) long and represents 1.57% of the radius of the Earth. At an altitude of around 120 km (75 mi), atmospheric effects become discernible during atmospheric reentry of spacecraft.

11. The Sky is Made Up of 40 Trillion Gallons of Water

Water has the most significant effects on the life of all the chemicals present on Earth. Water is necessary for all life on Earth However, Keeping the temperature of the water near the triple point is also made possible by the Earth鈥檚 atmosphere and distance from the Sun.

 Accordingly, water can exist as a solid, liquid, or gas. 150 trillion liters (40 trillion gallons) of water are present in the atmosphere on average at any given time. Despite sounding significant, atmospheric water vapor only makes up just 0.001% of the total amount of water on Earth.

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12. Earth Has Had Three Atmospheres

According to current theories, the Earth鈥檚 atmosphere has existed since the planet鈥檚 birth 4.5 billion years ago. The current atmosphere is made up of 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen, and small amounts of numerous other elements and compounds, including water vapor in different levels. But while the earth was still young, during the Hadean Aeon, the solar nebula was the source of the air.

Impact events and volcanism destroyed this fiery primordial world. Eventually, the primarily hydrogen-based atmosphere was replaced with nitrogen and carbon dioxide as a result of volcanic outgassing and impact events. The formation of the third and current atmosphere began some 2.4 billion years ago.

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13. A large-scale Air Flow in the Troposphere is called Atmospheric Circulation

The widespread flow of air through the troposphere, or atmospheric circulation, is how heat is dispersed around the planet. Although the underlying structure of the atmospheric circulation fluctuates from year to year because it is influenced by the Earth鈥檚 rotation rate and the variation in solar radiation between the equator and poles, the large-scale structure of the atmospheric circulation remains relatively constant.

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14. Global Warming Used to Be Much Worse

Photo by Markus Spiske on

The greenhouse effect was stronger during most of Earth鈥檚 history than it is today. This is despite the fact that civilization has presided over a 60% increase in CO2 levels since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

CO2 levels were 11 times higher than they are today during the Cambrian Period. This witnessed one of the largest evolutionary radiations in history.

As a result, the earth was 7掳C warmer, the poles had lost all of their ice, and sea levels were significantly higher. They were still nearly five times greater than they are today when the final dinosaurs roamed the earth hundreds of millions of years later. But eventually, the planet began to cool, ushering in the current Quaternary ice age.

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15. With Elevation, the Temperature Increases after Decreasing

Everyone is aware that the air gets colder the higher you go. However, the thermosphere really has the warmest temperatures.

On the other hand, the coldest place on Earth is at the boundary between the mesosphere and the thermosphere, about 62 miles (100 km) above sea level, where it is a chilly -100掳C. The thermosphere, on the other hand, experiences the largest temperature variations of all, occasionally reaching a top of 2,500掳C. However the area is nearly vacuum, so it wouldn鈥檛 feel warm. Intense sun radiation, which would be lethal to life on Earth if it weren鈥檛 for our atmosphere, is to blame for the high temperatures.

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