Interesting Facts About The Earth’s Atmosphere

, , Leave a comment

710px-AtmosphericLayers

• Earliest Earth Atmosphere
On over 4.6 billion years ago, the earth had almost no atmosphere. The earliest atmosphere here on earth was only composed of gases from the mouth of volcanoes. These gases include hydrogen sulfide, methane and carbon dioxide. The amount of carbon dioxide that can be found in those early days are about 200 times more than what you can find on today’s atmosphere.

• Atmospheric Pressure

Pressure, a term used by scientist to describe how liquids and gases push on something. Low pressure areas can cause damaging typhoons while high pressure gives a bright and shiny sky. The higher in the atmosphere, the thinner the pressure would get. Also, lack of oxygen happens in high altitudes, thus preventing human from breathing through this heights.

• What is Atmosphere?
The Earth is composed of four different spheres namely; Atmosphere (air), Lithosphere (land), Hydrosphere (water), and the Biosphere (surface). The atmosphere has no outer boundaries but it fades in the outer space. The earth’s atmosphere contains gases which include of mostly Nitrogen (78%), Oxygen (21%), and the remaining 1% percent includes Argon, Carbon Dioxide, Neon, Helium, Methane, Krypton, and Hydrogen. The atmosphere is what makes the earth livable because it blocks the Sun’s dangerous rays before it reaches the Earth.

• Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
Chlorofluorocarbons were known to have positive effect in the lives of many people especially on the fields of appliances. CFCs are a man-made chemical which act as a coolant in appliances like refrigerator and air conditioning unit. Studies show that CFCs as a major contributor for the depletion of ozone, with only one particle can easily destroy tens of thousands of ozone particle.

• The Ozone Layer
The ozone layer can be found at one of the layers of the earth’s atmosphere called stratosphere, about 15-30 km above the ground. Ozone is a molecule that absorbs radiation coming from the Sun including the harmful Ultraviolet rays, which makes it very important to us.

The Five Layers of the Earth’s Atmosphere

• Troposphere – It is the lowest layer in the Earth’s atmosphere. The word troposphere comes from the word tropein, which means “to turn or to change”. It contains half of the Earth’s atmosphere and it is the place where the weather occurs. Dust particles, water vapor, and clouds are usually found in this layer. The boundary between the Troposphere and the stratosphere is called the Tropopause.

• Stratosphere – The second layer of the Earth’s atmosphere above the Troposphere. Ozone layer can be found at this part, it helps block the Sun’s radiation (Ultraviolet rays); but manmade CFCs are destroying the Ozone layer making it thinner, thus increasing the dangers in human. Almost all of the flight traffics happened in stratosphere.

• Mesosphere – It is the third layer of the Earth’s atmosphere where almost all of the rock fragments and meteors get burned up. The coldest part of the earth’s atmosphere can be found at the upper part of the Mesosphere. The boundary between mesosphere and stratosphere are called stratopause while the boundary between mesosphere and thermosphere is called mesopause.

• Thermosphere – The fourth layer of the Earth’s atmosphere, also called as ionosphere, this layer is very thin but it is responsible for the absorption of energize protons from the Sun. It is also responsible for reflecting radio waves which make long distance radio transaction happen; it also where the aurora took place.

• Exosphere – The fifth and the last layer of the Earth’s atmosphere, Exosphere is a thin layer and the boundary of the Earth’s atmosphere wherein atoms and molecules fades into the deep space.

Tea Time Quiz

[forminator_poll id="23176"]
 

Leave a Reply