THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE

The Earth's atmosphere is a thin layer of gases that surrounds the Earth. It
composed of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.9% argon, 0.03% carbon dioxide, and
trace amounts of other gases. This thin gaseous layer insulates the Earth from
extreme temperatures; it keeps heat inside the atmosphere and it also blocks the
Earth from much of the Sun's incoming ultravioletradiation.

The Earth's atmosphere is about 300 miles (480 km) thick, but most of the
atmosphere (about 80%) is within 10 miles (16 km) of the surface of the Earth.
There is no exact place where the atmosphere ends; it just gets thinner and thinner,
until it merges with outer space.

Air Pressure:
At sea level, the air pressure is about 14.7 pounds per square inch. As your altitude
increases (for example, if you climb a mountain), the air pressure decreases. At an
altitude of 10,000 feet, the air pressure is 10 pound per square inch (and there is less
oxygen to breathe).

The Layers of the Atmosphere:
Thermosphere: The thermosphere is a thermal
classification of the atmosphere. In the
thermosphere, temperature increases with
altitude. The thermosphere includes the
exosphere and part of the ionosphere.

Exosphere: The exosphere is the outermost
layer of the Earth's atmosphere. The exosphere
goes from about 400 miles (640 km) high to
about 800 miles (1,280 km). The lower
boundary of the exosphere is called the critical
level of escape, where atmospheric pressure is
very low (the gas atoms are very widely
spaced) and the temperature is very low.

Ionosphere: The ionosphere starts at about 43-50 miles (70-80 km) high and
continues for hundreds of miles (about 400 miles = 640 km). It contains
many ions and free electrons (plasma). The ions are created when sunlight hits
atoms and tears off some electrons. Auroras occur in the ionosphere.

Mesosphere: The mesosphere is characterized by temperatures that quickly
decrease as height increases. The mesosphere extends from between 31 and 50
miles (17 to 80 kilometers) above the earth's surface.

Stratosphere: The stratosphere is characterized by a slight temperature increase
with altitude and the absence of clouds. The stratosphere extends between 11 and
31 miles (17 to 50 kilometers) above the earth's surface. The earth's ozone layer is
located in the stratosphere. Ozone, a form of oxygen, is crucial to our survival; this
layer absorbs a lot of ultraviolet solar energy. Only the highest clouds (cirrus,
cirrostratus, and cirrocumulus) are in the lower stratosphere.

Tropopause: The tropopause is the boundary zone (or transition layer) between
the troposphere and the stratosphere. The tropopause is characterized by little or no
change in temperature altitude increases.

Troposphere: The troposphere is the lowest region in the Earth's (or any planet's)
atmosphere. On the Earth, it goes from ground (or water) level up to about 11 miles
(17 kilometers) high. The weather and clouds occur in the troposphere. In the
troposphere, the temperature generally decreases as altitude increases.

Formation of the Atmosphere:
The Earth's atmosphere was formed by planetary degassing, a process in which
gases like carbon dioxide, water vapor, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen were released
from the interior of the Earth from volcanoes and other processes. Life forms on
Earth have modified the composition of the atmosphere since their evolution.
Inside the Earth
Printout: Label the Inside of the Earth

The Earth is made of many different and distinct
layers. The deeper layers are composed of heavier
materials; they are hotter, denser and under much
greater pressure than the outer layers.

Core: The Earth has a iron-nickel core that is
about 2,100 miles in radius. The inner core may
have a temperature up to about 13,000F
(7,200C =
7,500 K),
which is hotter than the surface of the Sun.
The inner core (which has a radius of about
750 miles (1,228 km) is solid. The outer core
is in a liquid state and is about 1,400 miles
(2,260 km) thick. Mantle: Under the crust is
the rocky
mantle, which
is composed of
silicon, oxygen, magnesium, iron, aluminum, and
calcium. The upper mantle is rigid and is part of
the lithosphere (together with the crust). The lower
mantle flows slowly, at a rate of a few centimeters
per year. The asthenosphere is a part of the upper
mantle that exhibits plastic properties. It is located
below the lithosphere (the crust and upper mantle),
between about 100 and 250 kilometers deep.

Convection (heat) currents carry heat from the hot inner mantle to the cooler outer
mantle. The mantle is about 1,700 miles (2,750 km) thick. The mantle gets warmer
with depth; the top of the mantle is about 1,600 F (870 C); towards the bottom of
the mantle, the temperature is about 4,000-6,700 F (2,200-3,700 C). The mantle
contains most of the mass of the Earth. The Gutenberg discontinuity separates the
outer core and the mantle.

Surface and crust: The Earth's surface is composed mostly of water, basalt and
granite. Oceans cover about 70% of Earth's surface. These oceans are up to 3.7 km
deep. The Earth's thin, rocky crust is composed of silicon, aluminum, calcium,
sodium and potassium. For a page on soil, click here.
The crust is divided into continental plates which drift slowly (only a few
centimeters each year) atop the less rigid mantle. The crust is thinner under the
oceans (6-11 km thick); this is where new crust is formed. Continental crust is about
25-90 km thick. The lithosphere is defined as the crust and the upper mantle, a rigid
layer about 100-200 km thick. The Mohorovicic discontinuity is the separation
between the crust and the upper mantle.