What is

Meteorolo
gy?

Figure 41. Proportional Percent by Volume of Dry Air

21%

78%
Nitrogen(N2)-78%
Argon(Ar), Carbon
Dioixide, All others-1%
Oxygen-21%

The Atmosphere is a mixture of different gases, oxygen,

and nitrogen. Of these, nitrogen is the most abundant. It
accounts for 78% of the total volume of the air while
oxygen makes up 21%. The remaining 1% is mostly argon
and carbon dioxide.

Layers of the
Atmosphere
The atmosphere
has four layers:
Thermosphere
Mesosphere
Stratosphere
Troposphere

ayers of the
Atmosphere

The five layers of the

atmosphere includes:
1.

The atmosphere merges into space in the

extremely thin exosphere. This is the upper
limit of our atmosphere.

2.

The thermosphere is a layer with

auroras. It is also where the space shuttle
orbits.
Meteors or rock fragments burn up in
the mesosphere.
Many jet aircrafts fly in
the stratosphere because it is very
stable. Also, the ozone layer absorbs
harmful rays from the Sun.
The troposphere is the first layer above
the surface and contains half of the
Earth's atmosphere. Weather occurs in
this layer.

3.
4.

5.

The Troposphere
The troposphere is the lowest layer of the
Earth's atmosphere. The air is very well
mixed and the temperature decreases
with altitude.
Air in the troposphere is heated from the
ground up. The surface of the Earth
absorbs energy and heats up faster than
the air does. The heat is spread through
the troposphere because the air is slightly
unstable.
Weather occurs in the Earth's

The Stratosphere
In the Earth's stratosphere, the temperature increases
with altitude. On Earth, ozone causes the increasing
temperature in the stratosphere. Ozone is concentrated
around an altitude of 25 kilometres. The ozone
molecules absorb dangerous kinds of sunlight, which
heats the air around them.
The stratosphere contains a thin layer of ozone
molecules (with three oxygen atoms) which forms a
protective layer shielding life on Earth from the Suns
harmful ultraviolet radiation. But this ozone layer is being
depleted, and is getting thinner over Europe, Asia, North
American and Antarctica. "Holes" are appearing in the
ozone layer.
The stratosphere is located above the top of the
troposphere.

The Mesosphere
In the Earth's mesosphere, the air is
relatively mixed together and the
temperature decreases with altitude. The
atmosphere reaches its coldest temperature
of around -90C in the mesosphere. This is
also the layer in which a lot of meteors burn
up while entering the Earth's atmosphere.
The mesosphere is on top of the
stratosphere The upper parts of the
atmosphere, such as the mesosphere, can
sometimes be seen by looking at the very
edge of a planet.

The Ionosphere
Scientists call the ionosphere an extension of the
thermosphere. So technically, the ionosphere is not another
atmospheric layer. The ionosphere represents less than 0.1%
of the total mass of the Earth's atmosphere. Even though it is
such a small part, it is extremely important.
The upper atmosphere is ionized by solar radiation. That
means the Sun's energy is so strong at this level, that it
breaks apart molecules. So there ends up being electrons
floating around and molecules which have lost or gained
electrons. When the Sun is active, more and more ionization
happens.
Different regions of the ionosphere make long distance radio
communication possible by reflecting the radio waves back to
Earth. It is also home to auroras.
Temperatures in the ionosphere just keep getting hotter as
you go up.

The Thermosphere
The thermosphere is the fourth layer of the Earth's
atmosphere and is located above the mesosphere.
The air is really thin in the thermosphere. A small
change in energy can cause a large change in
temperature. That's why the temperature is very
sensitive to solar activity. When the sun is active, the
thermosphere can heat up to 1,500 C or higher.
The Earth's thermosphere also includes the region
of the atmosphere called the ionosphere. The
ionosphere is a region of the atmosphere that is
filled with charged particles. The high temperatures
in the thermosphere can cause molecules to ionize.
This is why an ionosphere and thermosphere can
overlap.

Layers of the Atmosphere

The exosphere
begins at about 500
kilometers above
Earth and does not
have a specific outer
limit.
Satellites orbit Earth
in the exosphere.

The exosphere and

ionosphere

Communication on Earth
depends on satellites.
Satellites transmit
information used for
television shows, radio
broadcasts, data and
photos used in weather
reports, and long
distance telephone calls.

The ozone layer

In the 1970s,
scientists
noticed that
the ozone
layer in the
stratosphere
above

Chlorofluorocarbons and the

ozone layer
A group of chemicals called
chlorofluorocarbons (or CFCs) were
once commonly used in air
conditioners, in aerosol spray cans, and
for cleaning machine parts.
In the London Agreement of 1991,
more than 90 countries banned the
production and use of CFCs except for

Chlorofluorocarbons and the

ozone layer
The ozone layer
absorbs the Suns
high-energy
ultraviolet (UV)
radiation and
protects the
Earth.

Chlorofluorocarbons and the

ozone layer
In the stratosphere,
the CFCs break
down and release
chlorine.
The chlorine reacts
with ozone
molecules, which
normally block
incoming ultraviolet

Cloud
Types

High
Clouds

Middle
Clouds

Low Clouds

Clouds with vertical

development
Clouds
with vertical development- Some

clouds
do not fit into any of the three height categories
mentioned. Such clouds have their bases in low
height range but often extend upward into the
middle or high altitudes. Consequently, clouds in
this category are called clouds of vertical
development. These clouds are related to one
another and are associated with unstable air.
While cumulus clouds are often connected with
fair weather, they may grow dramatically under
proper circumstances. Once upward movement is
triggered, acceleration is rapid and clouds with
great vertical extent form. The end result is often
a towering cloud that may produce rainshowers
or thunderstorm.

Formation of Precipitation
Precipitation in Cool and Cold Clouds
Precipitation in cool and cold clouds
relies on a mixture of super cooled water
and ice.
Key Concept
Saturation vapor pressureice is less than
Saturation vapor pressurewater
The Bergeron Process

The Bergeron Process

For air with both super cooled water and ice:

1) Amount of water vapor is in

equilibrium with water (saturated).
2) Amount of water vapor is not in
equilibrium with ice (supersaturated).
3) Water vapor deposits onto ice,
lowering the amount of water vapor,
causing evaporation of water.
4.) The cycle continues ice grows and
water vanishes.

Collision-Coalescence
Process
The clouds, made up of mostly liquid droplets, must
contain droplets bigger than 20 micrometers if
precipitation is to take place when hygroscopic
particles like sea salt is present. These big droplets
from when giant condensation nuclei are present.
Hygroscopic particles later start to remove water
vapor from the air when the relative humidities are
below 100%. Later, they collide with the smaller,
slower droplets and coalesce with them. Since they
become big in the process, they eventually fall even
more rapidly thus increasing their chances of
collision and rate of growth.

Due to many collisions, they get big

enough to fall to the surface without
completely evaporating. Because of the
number of collision needed for growth
to raindrop size, droplets in clouds with
great vertical thickness and abundant
moisture have a bigger chance of
reaching the needed size. Updrafts
allow the droplets to traverse the cloud
all over again, which help in the
mechanism.

Forms of
Precipitation
Precipitation is water in a
solid of liquid form that
falls from clouds to the
Earths surface under the
influence of gravity.

1.) Ice pellets (commonly

called sleet) form
Sleet is a winter time phenomenon and refers
to the fall of small, clear to translucent
particles of ice. In order for sleet to be
produced, a layer of air with temperatures
above freezing must overlie a subfreezing
layer near the ground. When the raindrops,
they solidify and reach the ground as small
pallets of ice not larger than the raindrops
from which they were formed.

Snow pellets (called soft

hail or graupel)
These are small spherical particles of ice that form
when super cooled water droplets collide and freeze
on an ice crystal. Hail is precipitation in the form of
hard round pellets or irregular lumps of ice. Large
hailstone often consist of series of nearly concentric
shells of differing densities and degrees of
opaqueness. Most frequently, hailstones have a
diameter of about 1 centimetre, but they may vary in
size from 5 millimetres to more than 10 centemeters
in diameter. Hails are produces in Cumulonimbus
Clouds where updrafts are strong and where there is
an abundant supply or super cooled water.

Glaze
A glaze, or glazer is
a smooth slippery
coating of thin ice.

Rain

Rain is liquid water drops that fall

mostly from nimbostratus and
cumulonimbus clouds. Drizzle is
somewhat smaller droplets that drift
slowly toward the surface.
Rain is the Most Common Type of
Precipitation.

Snow

Snow is formed from solid water ice crystals

that agglomerate together becoming flakes.
Big ones form near freezing and small ones
form at colder temperatures. Snow forms
when falling ice crystals fail to melt before
reaching the ground. Colder temperature
near the ground produces a hard, fine, snow,
since the individual ice crystals remain
seperate.

Fog

- defined as a cloud with its base at or very near

the ground. The essential difference between a
fog and a cloud is the method and place of
formation. While clouds result when air rises
and cools adiabatically, fogs(with the exception
of upslope fogs)are the consequence of
radiation cooling or the movement of air over a
cold surface. In other circumstances, fogs are
formed when enough vapor is added to the air to
bring about saturation. Fogs is generally
considered to be an atmospheric hazard when it
is light; visibility is reduced to 2 to 3 kilometers.

Climatesof thePhilippines
Is either tropical rainforest, tropical savanna,
tropical monsoon, or humid subtropical (in
higher-altitude areas) characterized by relatively
high temperature, oppressive humidity and
plenty of rainfall.
There are two seasons in the country,
the wet season and the
dry season, based upon the amount of rainfall

The prevailing wind

systems over the
Philippines are as follows:
a) The Northern Monsoon(commonly known as
the Northeast Monsoon) prevails from
November to February.
b) The Southwest Monsoon, which comes from
the southwest, prevails during the months of
July, August, September.
c) The trades(or trade winds) are the prevailing
system over the tropics. They generally come
from the East. The trades prevail during the
rest of the year and whenever the Northeast
Monsoon and the Southwest Monsoon are
weak.

The different climatic types

are as follows:
FIRST TYPE: Two pronounced seasons; one
dry from November to April, the other wet
during the rest of the year. All the regions on
the western part of the islands of Luzon,
Mindoro, Negros, and Palawan are of this
type. The controlling factor is topography.
The localities of this type are shielded from
the northern and even in good parts from the
trades by mountain ranges.

 SECOND TYPE: No dry season; with

very pronounced maximum rain period
from November to January. In this
class fall Catanduanes, Sorsogon, the
eastern part of Albay, the eastern parts
of Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur,
and great portion of Eastern Mindanao.
These regions are along or very near
the eastern coast and are sheltered
neither from the northern and the
trades nor from cyclonic storms.

THIRD AND FOURTH

TYPES ARE WRITTEN ON
THE BOOK.

CLIMATES OF THE WORLD

TROPICAL CLIMATE- is located within 30
degrees above and below the equator. It is
here where the sun is nearly overhead at
noon. It is warm throughout the year.
MIDDLE LATITUDE CLIMATE- is located
between 30 degrees and 65 degrees latitude.
It is where the average temperature or 10
degreesC or higher. It lies in the belt of
westerlies.

 POLAR CLIMATE- is close to the poles. The

sun is not seen, bringing winter fro as long as
6 months. In summer, the suns rays that reach
it are greatly slanted and has therefore less
heat. This means that the temperature of the
warmest month is below 10 degreesC and it is
known for its enduring cold. These regions
hold the lowest annual temperature mean for
any part of the planet. Winter months are
periods of perpetual night or nearly so.
Summer months temperature remains cool
despite the long days since the sun is so low
in the sky that its oblique rays are not effective
in bringing about genuine warming.