ENVIRONMENTAL

CHEMISTRY
STRUCTURE OF
ATMOSPHERE
By
Dr. Shazia Nisar
ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY
 Is the scientific study of the chemical and
biochemical phenomena that occur in natural
places.
 can be defined as the study of the sources,
reactions, transport, effects, and fates of
chemical species in the air, soil, and water
environments; and the effect of human
activity on these.
 Environmental chemistry is an
interdisciplinary science that includes
atmospheric, aquatic and soil chemistry, as
well as uses analytical chemistry.
 It is related to environmental and other areas
of science.
 It is different from green chemistry, which
tries to reduce potential pollution at its
source.
 Environmental chemistry starts by
understanding how the uncontaminated
environment works.
 It identifies the chemicals that are present
naturally.
 It studies the concentration and effects of
those chemicals. Then, it accurately study the
effects humans have on the environment
through the release of chemicals.
 Four
Systems
of
Our
Earth
 Composition of Earth
 Earth Has 4 main systems that interact:

Earth’s
systems

Atmosphere Hydrosphere Biosphere Geosphere

Air/gases water life land/rock

The Atmosphere– layer of gas that
surrounds Earth more commonly known
as “air”.
 Weight of the atmosphere
 Gases are in the
atmosphere.
 For example;
Nitrogen, Oxygen,
Carbon Dioxide,
Hydrogen
 It is matter! Sound
can travel through it.
 Composition of Earth
 Earth Has 4 main systems that interact:
 The Atmosphere

 Mostly Nitrogen and Oxygen

 Water vapor is responsible for

clouds and precipitation
 Has layers

 Protects us from

• meteors and comets, x-rays,

gamma rays,ultra violet light
(Comets, meteors, and asteroids
are small pieces of rock and/or ice
that aren't part of a major planet.)
  The Hydrosphere
the water on or surrounding the surface of the
globe, including the water of the oceans and
the water in the atmosphere.
 The Biosphere.

the regions of the surface and atmosphere of

the earth or another planet occupied by living
organisms.
The Geosphere or Lithosphere

 1. the solid portion of the earth

(distinguished from atmosphere,
hydrosphere ).
 2. the crust and upper mantle of the earth.
Atmosphere

Exosphere--

Thermosphere--

Mesosphere--

Stratosphere--

Troposphere
Composition of Earth’s atmosphere
 Earth Has 4 main Exosphere
systems that interact:
 The Atmosphere
 layers
 Exosphere
 Thermosphere
 Mesosphere
 Stratosphere
 Troposphere
 The Hydrosphere
 The Biosphere
 The Geosphere
Composition of Earth’s atmosphere
 The Atmosphere
Exosphere
 Troposphere
 Contains most clouds
and weather.
 Temperature cools as
you go higher50% of
sun’s energy passes
through, 50% is
reflected back.
 Most of the
troposphere’s heat is
from Earth
(convection)
Troposphere and Clouds
 Among other gases there is water vapor in
the troposphere.
 Clouds—form when air rises, cools to its dew
point, and becomes saturated (moist).
 Precipitation-fallingwater in
the form of rain, freezing
rain, sleet, snow, or hail
Section 2: Earth’s Weather
Troposphere
 Weather—the atmosphere’s condition in
terms of temperature, cloud cover, wind
speed and direction, humidity, and air
pressure.
 What are different types of weather?
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Section 2: Earth’s Weather
Troposphere
 Temperature—a measure of how fast air
molecules are moving.
 When molecules are moving rapidly, temperature
is high.
 Celsius and Fahrenheit thermometers measure
air temperature.
Section 2: Earth’s Weather
Troposphere
 Air pressure— air weight that varies over
Earth’s surface.
 Warmer air is less dense and exerts less
pressure.
 Cooler air is more dense and exerts more
pressure.
 Humidity— the amount of water vapor in
the air
 Temperature affects how much moisture is
in the air.
 Dewpoint—when the air is holding as much
water vapor as it can
 Relative humidity— a measure of the
amount of water vapor present compared to
the amount that could be held at a specific
temperature.
Composition of Earth’s atmosphere
 Stratosphere
 10 km to 50 km
 contains ozone
that absorbs much
of the Sun’s
ultraviolet
radiation.
 Gets warmer as
you go up.
Composition of Earth’s atmosphere
 Mesosphere
 50-85 km
 The coldest part
of the
atmosphere. It
can get down to
-90°C in the
mesosphere.
Composition of
Earth’s atmosphere
 Thermosphere
 80-500 km
 Temperatures
increase up to
1,700°C
 Filters out x-rays and
gamma rays from the
sun.
 This is an image of
the space shuttle as it
is orbiting around the
Earth. The space
shuttle orbits in the
thermosphere of the
Exosphere
 The highest region or last layer of the
atmosphere
 Difficult to tell where it stops and space
begins
 Very few atoms in this layer of the
atmosphere
 the air density is so low that a fast-moving air
molecule is more than 50 percent likely to
escape from the atmosphere instead of
hitting other molecules.
Ionosphere
 Ionosphere is the inner part of the
thermosphere
 This is a layer of electrically charged particles
within the mesosphere and thermosphere.
 This layer allows radio waves to travel across
the country to another city.
 Atmosphere

(Exosphere)-The outer part of the thermosphere. Difficult

to tell where it stops and space begins, Very few atoms in this
layer of the atmosphere. Higher altitude~higher temperature.

Thermosphere-- The air is really thin that high up. The

temperature changes with the solar activity. If the sun is active,
onosphere: the inner part of the thermosphere temperatures in the thermosphere can get up to 1,700°C or higher!
Filter out x-rays and ɣ-rays from the sun
a layer of electrically charged particles
within the mesosphere and thermosphere
This layer allows radio waves to travel.
Mesosphere--The temperature drops when you go higher, like
it does in the troposphere. Coldest part of the atmosphere

Stratosphere--from 10 km to 50 km above Earth’s

surface, this layer contains ozone that absorbs much of the
Sun’s ultraviolet radiation.

Troposphere--Contains most clouds and weather., Most

of the troposphere’s heat is from Earth, Temperature cools
about 6.5 degrees Celsius per kilometer of altitude. 27