gEOgRAPHY

(STATIC GK)
by – Indo Pathshala
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 ATMOSPHERE

 Greek word “ Atmos- Vapour(gases) and Spheria- Ball “ that is enveloped by a deep blanket of
gases extending several thousands of kilometres above its surface.This gaseous cover of the earth
is known as the atmosphere
 Like land (lithosphere) and water (hydrosphere), the atmosphere is an integral part of the earth.

Evolution of Earth’s Atmosphere: From Primordial Gases to Oxygen

 Loss of primordial atmosphere.

 Early atmosphere, with hydrogen and
helium, is supposed to have been
stripped off as a result of the solar
winds.
 During early life of the earth, Nitrogen,
Sulphur, Carbon Dioxide, Water Va-
pour, and Argon came out due to the
extensive volcanism and degassing
 Modification of atmospheric compo-
sition by the living world through the
process of photosynthesis.
 Water vapor condensed, which led to
the formation of clouds and hence the
rainfall washed out the bulk of Carbon
Dioxide into the Oceans.
 Oxygen was produced from anaerobic
respiration of bacteria like Cyanobac-
teria (and not from degassing).
 Present composition of earth’s atmos-
phere is chiefly contributed by nitro-
gen and oxygen.
Role of Earth’s Atmosphere
 Contains various gases like oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen etc.
 All life forms need a particular range of temperature and a specific range of frequencies of solar
radiation to carry out their biophysical processes.
 Regulates the entry of solar radiation.
 Protect from Harmful ultraviolet radiation.
 Takes care of extra-terrestrial objects like meteors which get burnt up while passing through the
atmosphere (mesosphere to be precise) due to friction.

Composition of Atmosphere

 Mixture of many gases, it contains huge numbers of solid and liquid particles, collectively called
‘aerosols’.
 Nitrogen and oxygen make up nearly 99% of the clean, dry air. The remaining gases are mostly in-
ert and constitute about 1% of the atmos-
phere.
 Categoriesed in two type : Permanent (like
oxygen , nitrogen, argon) and Variable
components ( water vapour, ozone)
Oxygen
 Contains 21% by volume.
 Essential for respirations and burning
 Gases exchanged through process Photosynthesis.

Nitrogen
 Composed of 78% in atmosphere.
 Cannot be used directly from air, but in compounded forms.
 Required nitrogen for living things is supplied by Nitrogen cycle.

Nitrogen Cycle:
 N2 removed from atmosphere and deposited at the Earth Surface mainly by : nitrogen fixing bac-

teria such as : free living – Azetobacter, Benjamika, at root nodule – Rizhobium.

 Nitrogen return to atmosphere by Biomass combustion and Denitrification

 Carbon Dioxide
 Constitutes only about 03% of the dry air.
 Efficient absorber of heat, carbon dioxide is considered to be of great climatic significance./
 very important factor in the heat energy budget.

Ozone (03)
 Atmospheric shield against harmful UV radiation.
 Extends between about 10 and 40km altitude, peaking at about 25km.

Ground-level Ozone Stratospheric Ozone

· Bad Ozone · Good Ozone

Description · Part of Photochemical Smog (We will read about · Act as natural filter which absorbs the
it later) Sun’s UV rays

· Found in Troposphere · Found in Stratosphere

· Forms when Nitrous Oxides (NOx) react with Volatile · Naturally forms when Oxygen is in the
Sources
Organic Compounds (VOCs). presence of UV radiation.
Thinning of ozone shield leads to
· Eye and respiratory irritation
· Crop damage
Effects · Lung disease
· Aquatic life death
· Corrosion in buildings
· Eye irritation
 · Skin cancer

Water Vapour
 Most variable ga-
seous substances
present in atmos-
phere – constituting
between 02% and 4%
of the total volume (in
cold dry and humid
tropical climates re-
spectively).
 Decreases from
Equator to Poles.
 Decreases with Alti-
tude.
 Absorbs not only the long-wave
wave terrestrial radiation (infrared or heat emitted by earth during
nights), but also a part of the incoming solar radiation.
 Water vapour is the source of precipitation and clouds.
 On condensation, it releases latent heat of condensation —the ultimate driving force behind all
storms.
 The moisture – carrying capacity of air is directly proportional to the air temperature.

Methane
 Simplest hydrocarbon, consisting of one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms (CH4).
 powerful greenhouse gas.
 More Global Warming Potential: It is nearly 80-85 times more potent than carbon dioxide in
terms of its global warming capacity.
 Driving a rise in tropospheric ozone air pollution.
 STRUCTURE OF ATMOSPHERE

 99% of the total Mass of atmosphere is confined to 32 Km from Earth surface.

LAYERS OF ATMOSHPERE

TROPOSPHERE
 First and Lowest Layer of Atmosphere.
 Tropo means “ change “ since all weather cyclones, anticyclones, storms and precipitation occur
here, as all water vapours and solid particles.
 Altitude of 8 km at the poles and 18 km at the equator.
 In India it is around 16 km.
 Temperature : one goes upwards, falls at the rate of 5°C per kilometer, and reaches -45°C at the
poles and -80°C over the equator at Tropopause.
 Greater fall in temperature above equator is because of the greater thickness of troposphere –
18 km).
 Fall in temperature is called ‘lapse rate’.
 lapse rate of the environment (ELR)
is roughly 0.6°C per 100 metres.
With increasing altitude, the tem-
perature drops at a nearly uniform
rate.
 Troposphere is marked by tempera-
ture inversion because gases ab-
sorbs very little incoming solar ra-
diation.s
 Called the Convective region, since
all Convection Stops at Tropopause.
 troposphere is influenced by sea-
sons and jet streams.

Tropopause
 Top most layer of troposphere.
 act as boundary between troposphere and stratosphere.
 This layer is marked by constant temperature

STRATOSPHERE
 Lies slightly above the troposphere and below the mesosphere, which is the second primary layer
of the Earth's atmosphere.
 Altitude of 50 km from the earth.
 lower edge of the stratosphere can
reach 20 km near the equator, 10
km at midlatitudes, and 7 km at
the poles
 Temperature in this layer remains
constant for some distance but
then rises to reach a level of 0°C at
50 km altitude.
 The severe weather changes that occur below in the Troposphere do not affect the Stratosphere.
 Hence, aircraft are flown in the lower stratosphere, just above the tropopause.

Ozone layer(ozonosphere)
 Mostly found in the lower stratosphere, between
15 and 35 kilometres.
 Temperature rises at a rate of 5°C per kilome-
ter through the ozonosphere
 Ozone in this area absorbs high-intensity ul-
traviolet energy waves from the Sun and
breaks them down into oxygen and diatomic
oxygen.
 Protects humans from skin cancer and other
health problems by absorbing harmful UV
rays.
 Chemicals (such as CFCs, freons, and halons)
that are used in refrigerators, spray cans, and fire extinguishers have lowered the amount of
ozone in the stratosphere, resulting in the so-called "Antarctic ozone hole

MESOSPHERE
 Loacted about 50 and 80 kilometers above Earth’s surface, the mesosphere gets progressively cold-
er with altitude.
 top of this layer is the coldest place found within the Earth system, about minus 85 °C (-120 °F).
 Meteorites burn up in this layer on entering from the space.
 very scarce water vapor
present at the top of the
mesosphere forms nocti-
lucent clouds, the highest
clouds in Earth’s atmos-
phere.
 separates the mesosphere
from the stratosphere is
called the stratopause.

THERMOSPHERE
 Thermo means “ Heat “ with temperature around 2000 degrees Celsius.
 located between about 80 and 700 kilometers above Earth’s surface, whose lowest part contains
the ionosphere.
 Results in Photoionization ( the breakup up gas, molecules into ions ) and thus contains Ionos-
phere.
 Because this layer is much closer to the sun, it can reach temperatures up to 2,000 °C (3,600 °F).
 Both cloud- and water-vapor-free.
 Person would not feel warm because of the thermosphere’s extremely low pressure.
 Aurora borealis (Northern lights) and aurora australis (Southern lights) are sometimes seen here.
 International Space Station (ISS) orbits in the thermosphere.
Ionosphere
 layer is located between 80 km and 400 km and is an electrically charged layer.
 Overlaps the mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere.
 It grows and shrinks depending on the energy it absorbs from the sun.
 electrically conducting region capable of reflecting radio signals back to Earth.

EXOSPHERE
 Located between
about 700 and
10,000 kilometers
above Earth’s sur-
face.
 The highest layer of
Earth’s atmosphere
and, at its top,
merges with the
solar wind.
 This layer doesn’t
behave like a gas,
and particles here
escape into space.
 Light gases like helium and hydrogen float into the space from here.
 There’s no weather in the exosphere.
 layer coincides with space.
 Most Earth satellites orbit in
this layer.