Earth’s Atmosphere

- Earth’s air is 79% nitrogen, approx. 21% oxygen, and traces of carbon dioxide and
other gasses
o protects the planet from the dangerous rays of the Sun, and makes Earth
habitable
Layers of the Atmosphere:
o Troposphere
 lowest layer
 starts from the surface and extends to between 7 km (at the poles)
and 17 km (at the equator)
 most dense
 the further you go up, the more temperatures drop from about 17oC
to - 52oC
 “weather layer;” no wind, rain and snow stick to the layer
o Stratosphere
 extends to 50 km
 dry and less dense than troposphere
 temperatures increases to – 3oC due to the absorption of UV radiation
 where Ozone Layer is located
 absorbs solar UV radiation
 99% air in troposphere and stratosphere
o Mesosphere
 starts above stratosphere and extends to 85 km
 temperatures fall to – 93oC as altitude increases
 chemical absorbs energy from the sun
 where meteors burn up when entering the atmosphere
o Thermosphere
 starts above mesosphere and extends to 600 km
 temperatures increases as altitude increases due to sun’s energy;
temperatures can go up to 1, 727oC
 “upper atmosphere”
 include ionosphere, a region rich in charged particles
o Exosphere
 starts 500 km above the Earth and extends to the space
 highest layer
 hydrogen and helium prime components (low densities)
Weather
- day to day condition of the atmosphere; only temporary
Climate
- long term condition of the atmosphere;
- describes typical weather conditions in an entire region for a very long time
Keeping track of Earth’s sea level is one way that we can know how quickly the climate is
changing.
Factors affecting Weather and Climate
1. Latitude – distance from north to south of the equator
low latitude – near to the equator; tropical climate
high latitude – far from the equator; cold climate/temperature
- the farther a country or place from the equator, the colder it gets due to the
curvature of the Earth
- sunlight has a large area of atmosphere to pass through; the Sun is at a lower
angle resulting to the loss of energy and colder temperatures in areas closer to
the poles
Equator – imaginary line dividing earth into two hemispheres
2. Prevailing winds – winds that flow in patterns; named from which direction they belong
3 prevailing wind belts in each hemisphere:
a. Trade Winds
b. Westerlies
c. Polar Easterlies
Prevailing winds – most frequent wind direction a location or place experiences
- when it blows over land, it can contribute in desert climates
Philippines: habagat and amihan

3. Altitude – land height or the land elevation above sea level

- locations at higher altitude have colder temperatures
- temperature decreases for every 1oC for every 100 meters

4. Distance from the sea

- oceans heats up and cools down slower than land
Lithosphere
Lithosphere – a solid and rigid outer layer of Earth, it includes the crust in the upper part of
the mantle that contains rigid rocks
Oceanic lithosphere – found under the ocean; associated with the oceanic crust, and
exists in ocean basins
Continental lithosphere – found under the land continents; associated with
continental crust, approx.. 22 miles
Lithosphere is divided up into large plates called tectonic plates that move about.
One solid landmass – Pangaea, broke into smaller continents
 Pacific plate
 North American plate
 South American plate
 Indo Australian plate
 African plate
 Eurasian plate
 Antarctic plate

Lithosphere is also the location where all earthquakes on earths occur.

An earthquake occurs when tectonic plates shift or collide.

Geosphere - inner layer of the Earth, thickness: 6, 730 km

- rocks, minerals, magma, sand
Crust – thinnest and outermost layer of the geosphere; made up by tectonic plates
Mantle – 82% of Earth’s volume; 2, 900 km thick; made up of the molten rock, magma
Core – innermost layer, 3, 500 km thick
Inner core – solid iron
Outer core – liquid iron and nickel
o the temperatures and pressure causes molten metal to move, forming
magnetic fields

2 types of Earth’s layers:

1. compositional layers – refer to the materials or elements the earth is made of
a. crust
b. mantle
c. core
2. mechanical layers – how the inside of the earth behaves
a. lithosphere - outermost layer of the earth which contains the entire crust in
the topmost layer of the mantle
b. asthenosphere – same component but increased pressure and heat; lies
beneath the lithosphere
c. mesosphere – building pressure making it very rigid
 d. liquid outer core – extremely high temperatures melt the metals into liquid
form
e. solid inner core – extremely high temperatures; solid due to the pressure
Plate tectonics
Alfred Wegener – there’s supercontinent Pangaea, eventually broke apart into current
continents through continental drift
Plate tectonics theory – Earth’s outer mechanical layer, lithosphere, is divided into
large continent-sized plates that are constantly moving.
o lithospheric plate are all moving in different ways, their interaction can
impact Earth
 tectonics movement: 1-2 inches per year
dike – how new rock or land is created
boundaries – where these plates meet
diverging plates causes huge troughs like the Great Rift Valley
transform boundary – two plates slide past each other in opposite directions
e.g. san andreas fault
convergent plates causes jagged mountain ranges

WATER CYCLE
drivers (facilitator) of water cycle: sunlight, gravity
drivers of currents: salinity, temperature
Water cycle – movement of water through the atmosphere
Water rises into the atmosphere as water vapor:
a. evaporation – heat from the sun changes water from liquid to gas
b. transpiration – evaporation of water from the plant leaves
stomata – microscopic pores on the leaf’s underside where water vapor
escapes; oxygen escapes
Overtime, water builds up on the atmosphere. This leads to condensation, process
of water vapor changing into liquid water due to cool temperatures.
clouds are results of condensation
Water falls back into the Earth’s surface through precipitation.
precipitation: rain, snow, sleet, hail
On the ground, water’s going to do:
 a. run-off – water runs downhill into rivers, lakes, oceans, e.g.
b. infiltration – water soaks into soil and collects as groundwater
infiltration replenishes the ground water supply
Water
- high heat capacity: can store sufficient energy, can release energy
- expands when freezing
- transparent
- universal solvent: good at breaking down, dissolving, and transporting materials
- mantel manipulator: water changes the viscosity of the mantle