Chapter 24 Weather and Climate

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Chapter 24 Weather and Climate
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The Atmosphere

• Forms a protective boundary between earth and
  space.
• Provides conditions suitable for life

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Protection

• Meteors
• Chunks of rock metal
• High energy radiation

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Conditions

• Holds in heat
• Moderates temperature
• Provides gases essential for life CO2
  photosynthesis
• O2 we need to breathe

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Composition

• 99 - N(78) O(21)
• Water vapor - .02 (cold)
• 4.0 (warm)
• Tiny suspended particles
• - dust, ash, salt

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Air Pressure

• The force exerted by the weight of a column of
  air on a surface.
• - as altitude increases, air pressure and
  density decrease.
• Measured with a barometer
• about 29.92 in. at sea level

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Layers of the atmosphere
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Troposphere

• Lowest layer 0-12km
• All life, most water vapor,
• and particles.
• Most weather
• Temp. decreases as altitude increases.

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Stratosphere

• 12km 50km
• Temp. same from 12-20km, then increases as
  altitude increases.
• O3 ozone absorbs UV light

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Mesophere

• 50km-80km
• Temp. decreases as altitude increases.
• Air is thin moves fast
• Where meteors burn up.

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Thermosphere

• 80km up highest layer
• Temp. increases rapidly with increase in
  altitude.
• -90ºC to 1,000ºC

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Ionosphere

• Region of charged particles (ions) in the
  thermosphere (80-400km)
• Auroras
• AM radio waves are reflected back to earth