Gases of the Atmosphere Nitrogen 78 Oxygen 21

Gases of the Atmosphere • Nitrogen 78% • Oxygen 21% • The remaining 1% is trace amounts of – Argon, Neon, Hydrogen, Carbon Dioxide, (water) H 20

The Atmosphere • The amount of nitrogen and oxygen need to stay fixed, or relatively stable humans couldn’t survive. • The amount of water vapor is constantly changing…(one reason we have weather!) • There are 4 main layers to the atmosphere: • 1. Troposphere (we live here, weather occurs) • 2. Stratosphere (ozone is here) • 3. Mesosphere (rocks from space burn up) • 4. Thermosphere

Pressure and Density Decrease with ALTITUDE

Page 14 of ESRT

Remember air actually expands as it rises due to a decrease in air [pressure

Pressure and Density Decrease with ALTITUDE

Remember air actually expands as it rises due to a decrease in air [pressure

What layer of our atmosphere is all this happening in? ? ?

Which weighs more?

Below is the masses for 22 litres of each molecule of air… Water vapor replaces other air molecules that are heavier

The Atmosphere Vocabulary

• Atmosphere a mixture of gases that surrounds Earth. • 78% Nitrogen • 21% Oxygen • 1% other gases (like carbon dioxide, water vapor, argon, etc. )

• Air Pressure is the measure of the force of air molecules. It can be considered the weight of air. It is measured using a barometer.

Altitude is the height above the surface of Earth. As altitude increases, air pressure decreases (that’s why your ears pop as you go up in an airplane).

• Radiation is the transfer of energy by electromagnetic waves. It CAN travel through the vacuum of space. It is how the sun’s energy gets to Earth.

• Conduction the transfer of thermal energy by direct contact, i. e. heating by touching.

• Convection the transfer of thermal energy by circulation in a fluid, i. e. moving a liquid or gas.

• Convection currents in the atmosphere move heat from the equator to the poles.

• You absolutely, • POSITIVELY, » MUST, must, MUST » understand the » next vocab words.

• The Greenhouse Effect is the natural process which heats Earth’s atmosphere. Gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane, trap heat like the glass of a greenhouse. • Without the greenhouse effect, Earth would be too cold to live on.

• Global Warming is caused by too much greenhouse gas. An increase in the amount of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, is causing the atmosphere to hold more heat than it naturally would. This is causing an increase in global temperature. • This is now referred to as Climate Change.

• Wind is moving air. • It is cause by the differences in air pressure, which is caused by the uneven heating of Earth. • Wind blows from high pressure to low pressure. • The greater the difference in pressure, the stronger the wind. • It is always labeled by where it come from.

• Westerlies are winds that blow from the WEST. • Most of the United States is in the Westerlies.

Wind Belts in the ESRT: Polar Easterlies Mid-Latitude Westerlies Easterly “Trade Winds”

Triangular Trade during Colonization was an unfortunate outcome of the prevailing winds…

• Jet Streams are narrow bands of high speed winds that blow in the upper troposphere. • They can move weather systems very fast across the U. S. or stall a weather system over a particular area.