erraeray) Reading Preview Key Concepts * What are the four main layers of the atmosphere? * What are the chavacterntics of each ayer? Key Terms * woposphere + stratosphere ‘mesosphere + thermosphere ‘ionosphere + exosphere Visuals Before you ead this section, preview Figure 9 Then wate at least wo questions ‘hatyou have about the diagram in ‘2 graphic organizer Ike the one below: As you read, answer your question Layers ofthe Atmosphere 1. Where isthe ozone layer? ‘Hota balloon Is Air There? 1. Bag Ue a heavy rubberband to tpt secre OS sons bog over te tp of ice mouthed a 2. Gert yt push the ba int the ar, What happest the a press higher Ide or outs the bog? 3. Remove the rubberband and ine the ind ofthe Jar wth the plstibag. Use the rubber bend fo tight secure the does ot te bag over te mo the at 4 Gert yop the bag ot of thea with your frgertp. What happens the a presre higher Inge or ous thebag? Tink Over Predicting Explin your observations n terms of air pressure Howe do you think ferences ina pressure woul fect Balloon as reveled up trough the atmosphere? Imagine taking a trip upward into the atmosphere in a hot-air balloon. You begin on a warm beach near the ocean, at an alt tude of 0 kilometers above sea level You hear a roar asthe balloon’s pilot turns up the burner to heat the air in the balloon. The balloon begins to rise, and Earth’s surface gets farther and farther away. As the balloon rises to an altitude of 3 kilometers, you realize that the air is getting colder. As you continue to rise, the air gets colder stil, At 6 kilometers you begin to have trouble breathing, The air is becoming less dense. It's time to go back down, What if you could have continued your balloon ride up through the atmosphere? As you rose higher, the air pressure and temperature would change dramatically, ‘Scientists divide Farth’s atmosphere into four main layers classified according to changes in temperature. These layers are the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, and the thermosphere. The four main layers of the atmosphere are shown in Figure 9, Read on to learn more about each of these layers.rune 9 Layers of the Atmosphere The atmosphere is divided ito four layers the troposphere, the 7 Seatosphera, the mesphete and ie thermosphere, The ermosphere further divided into theinosphere tnd the exosphore Interpreting Diagrams How de Thermorphere (Above 80 km) has no definite outer nt ‘Mesosphere (50 to 80 km) Most meteoroids bur up in she mesosphee, producing meteor wail.» | ‘roposphere (0 to 12k) Rain stow, storms and most » _louds occur in the troposphere. Exosphere (above 400 km f barerelayed by. Toncephere (80 to 400k) fect rao waver back 0 BIG) Stratosphere (12 to 50 km) | ‘Theezone leyerin the 4 stratosphere absos| | Utravolt radiation,Tae The Troposphere | (Go @nline ‘ou live inthe inner, or lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere, the troposphere (1ROH puh sfeer). Tropo- means “turning” or “changing.” Conditions in the troposphere are more variable than in the other layers. The troposphere is the layer of the ‘atmosphere in which Earth’s weather occurs. The depth of the troposphere varies from 16 kilometers above the equator to less than 9 kilometers above the North ‘and South poles, Although it is the shallowest layer, the tropo. sphere contains almost all ofthe mass of the atmosphere. [As altitude increases in the troposphere, the temperature decreases. On average, for every 1-kilometer increase in alti- tude, the air gets about 6.5 Celsius degrees cooler. At the top of the troposphere, the temperature stops decreasing and stays at about ~60°C. Water here forms thin, feathery clouds of ice. tetogontemee | | sarees | (weber SRC art kn is Explorers of the Atmosphere ‘The simosphere has been explored {rom the ground and rom space. 1746 Franklin Experiments With Electricity [American statesmen and inventor Beniamin Frankin erpermented with eect Inthe atmosphere, To demon- Strate that lightning i form of electri, Fronkn few a kite ina thunderstorm. How eves Franklin didnot hol the hishand, as this the Barometer ‘talian physicist and mathematician [Evangelista Torricelli improved ‘existing scientific instruments and. Invented some new ones. n 1643 he invented the mercury barometer.The Stratosphere ‘The stfatospheré extends from the top of the troposphere to about 50 kilometers above Earth’s surface. Strato- means “layer” or “spread out” The stratosphere isthe second layer of the atmosphere and contains the ozone layer. The lower stratosphere is cold, about ~60°C. Surprisingly, : the upper stratosphere is warmer than the lower stratosphere. ‘Why is this? The middle portion of the stratosphere contains & 7 layer of air where there is much more ozone than in the rest of the atmosphere. (Recall that ozone is the three-atom form of e ‘oxygen.) When the ozone absorbs energy from the sun, the : energy is converted into heat, warming the air. The ozone layer f is also important because it protects Earth’s living things from t dangerous ultraviolet radiation from the sun, Reading) Why isthe upper stratosphere warmer than the Checkpoint ) ower stratosphere? 1931 Piccard Explores the Stratosphere Swiss-Belgian ‘Agate Bcd made the fst ‘een into te suatenpiere. He reached a height of about 16 kilometers in an airtight Piccard 1960 First Weather the cabin Satellite Launched TIROS-1, the first weather satelite equipped with ‘camera to send data back to Earth, was put into orbit by the United States. As ater weather satelite: rled Earth, they observed cloud cover ‘and recorded tempera- ‘tres and air pressures in ‘the atmosphere (mn a Research and Write Imagine you were one of the first people to travel into the atmosphere in a balloon i \What would you need to | take? Find out what the early ‘explorers took with them in their balloons. Write at least ‘wo paragraphs about what “4 you would take and why. nce a 1999 Terra Satellite Launched |_| ‘The Terrasateliteisequipped | | ‘to study Earth's surface, atmos: phere, and oceans from orbit. ‘The data it gathers are used to help understand changes in Earth's climate. Chapter 1 1¢ 189 aeToot Changing Temperatures ‘The graph shows how temperatures in the atmosphere change with altitude. Use it to answer the questions below. 1. Reading Graphs What two variables ‘are being graphed? In what unitis each measured? 2. Reading Graphs What isthe tempera- tre at the bottom of the stratosphere? 3. Interpreting Data Which layer of the atmosphere has the lowest temperature? ‘A. Making Generalizations Describe how i “do ‘temperature changes as altitude ya increases in the troposphere. ‘Annee em) roporhare 2 siete _corsar| ‘Temperature (*0) C | The Mesosphere y | Above the stratosphere, a drop in temperature marks the } beginning of the next layer, the ‘Meso- means “Fades the meus ite mide ne ofthe ate + sphere. The mesosphere begins 50 kilometers above Earth's surface and ends at an altitude of 80 kilometers. In the outer im resosphere, temperatures approach ~90°C. Mt re The mesoaphere is the layer ofthe atmosphere that protects mt: Earth’s surface from being hit by most meteoroids. Meteoroids are chunks of stone and metal from space. What you see as a shooting str, or meteor, isthe trail of hot, glowing gases the rmeteoroid leaves behind in the mesosphere. The Thermosphere [Near the top of the atmosphere, the air s very thin. At 80 kilo- ‘meters above Earth’ surface the ari only about 0,001 percent as dense asthe air at sea level I's as though you took a cubic meter of air at ea level and expanded it into 100,000 cubic meters at the top of the mesosphere. The outermost layer of Earth’s atmosphere is the thermosphere. The| extends from 80 kilometers above Earth’ surface outward into space. It hhas no definite outer limit, but blends gradually with outer space. “The thermo- in thermosphere means “heat.” Even though the arin the thermosphere is thin itis very hot, up to 1,800°C. il ‘This is because sunlight strikes the thermosphere first. Nitro- ‘gen and oxygen molecules convert this energy into heat. 0688,e sun that enter the ionosphere near the pole. These particles ¢ strike atoms in the ionosphere, causing them to glow. - Exo- means “outer” so the exosphere isthe outer portion : of the thermosphere. The exosphere extends from about 400 kilometers outward for thousands of kilometers, " gang. ) what ithe ionosphere? s e ee takd {© Target Reading Skill Previewing visuals comparing and Contrasting How does Refer o your graphic organizer about Figure 90 temperature change as height increases in : help you answer the fllowing questions the troposphere? Compare this to how aia ta Case ‘epee hangs wat ne 7 4. Listing List the four maa ayers ofthe «Applying Concepts Why would you not fee e mosphere beginning wih he ier doe fee apie eae eas ’s to Farth’s surface, temperatures can be up to ? is 'b. Classifying What properties are used to toniamaindshammbate ahaa it dlstinguish the layers of the atmosphere? | Writing in Science } : « Interpreting Diagrams According to LGD Figure 9, in which ayer of the atmosphere | @quse andl effect Paragraph How do you Despite the high temperature, you would not feel warm in the thermosphere. An ordinary ther- mometer would show a temperature well below O°C. Why is that? Temperature is the average amount of energy of motion of each molecule of a substance. The gas molecules in the thermosphere ‘move very rapidly, so the temperature is very high. However, the molecules are spaced far apart in the thin air. There are not enough of them to collide with a thermometer and warm it very much. The thermosphere is divided into two layers. The lower layer, called the flomgphiere (eye arin uh ser), begins about 80 kilometers above the surface and extends to about 400 kilometers. Energy from the sun causes gas mol- ‘ecules in the ionosphere to become electrically charged parti cles called ions. Radio waves bounce off ions in the ionosphere back to Earth’s surface. Brilliant light displays, such as those shown in Figure 10, also occur in the ionosphere. In the North: ern Hemisphere, these displays are called the Northern Lights, or the aurora borealis. Auroras are caused by particles from the ddo communications satellites orbit? 2.a. Identifying Give at least one important une 10 Aurora Borealis ‘The aurora boreal, seen from Fairbanks, Alaska, creates 2 spectacular display Inthe night sy. think Earth's surface might be different if it hhad no atmosphere? Write a paragraph : characteristic of each of the four main layers of Earths atmosphere explaining your ideas, Chapter 1.1.6 191Despite the high temperature, you would not feel warm in the thermosphere. An ordinary ther- mometer would show a tempe 0°C. Why is that? Temperature is the average amount of energy of motion ofeach molecule of a substance. The gas molecules in the thermosphere move very rapidly, so the temperature is very high. However, the molecules are spaced far apart in the thin air. There are not enough of them to collide with a thermometer and warm it very much. The thermosphere is divided into two layers. a The lower layer, called the @ROSphERE| (eye AHN uh sfeer), | ‘Aurore Borealis begins about 80 kilometers above the surface and extends t0 | The aurora borealis seen from about 400 kilometers. Energy from the sun causes gas mol- | Folrbanks, Alaska, creates a | ecules in the ionosphere to become electrically charged part. | PFC=uar dla interiahtsey | cles called ions. Radio waves bounce off ions in the ionosphere back to Earth’s surface. Brilliant light displays, such as those | shown in Figure 10, also occur inthe ionosphere. In the North- cern Hemisphere, these displays are called the Northern Lights, or the aurora borealis. Auroras ae caused by particles from the sun that enter the ionosphere near the poles. These particles strike atoms in the ionosphere, causing them to glov. Exo- means “outer” so the exosphefe is the outer portion ‘of the thermosphere. The exosphere extends from about 400 kilometers outward for thousands of kilometers. ure well below W Bpesiing ) What is the ionosphere? errs ee EE {© Target Reading Skill Previewing Visuals Refer to your graphic organizer about Figure 90 help you answer the following questions Reviewing Key Concepts 4a Usting List the four main layers ofthe atmosphere, beginning with the layer closest to Earths surface b. Glssifying, What properties are used t0 istnguish the layers ofthe atmosphere? Interpreting Diagrams According to Figure 9 in which ayer ofthe atmosphere do communications satellites orbit fenttying Give at least one important Characteristic ofeach ofthe four main layers of arts atmosphere. ir ‘Cause and Effect Paragraph How do you ‘think Earth’s surface might be different fit had no atmosphere? Write a paragraph ‘explaining your ideas. b. Comparing and Contrasting How does temperature change as height increases in the troposphere? Compare this to how ‘temperature changes with height in the stratosphere. Applying Concepts Why would you not feel warm inthe thermosphere even though temperatures can be up to 1,800°C? ing in Science — Chapter 1.16 191