The gaseous envelope surrounding our planet Earth, known as the atmosphere, consists of five main layers. These layers originate on the surface of the planet, from sea level (sometimes below) and rise to outer space in the following sequence:
- Troposphere;
- Stratosphere;
- Mesosphere;
- Thermosphere;
- Exosphere.
Diagram of the main layers of the Earth's atmosphere
In between each of these main five layers are transition zones, called "pauses", where changes in air temperature, composition and density occur. Along with pauses, the Earth's atmosphere in total includes 9 layers.
Troposphere: where weather occurs
Of all the layers of the atmosphere, the troposphere is the one with which we are most familiar (whether you realize it or not), since we live on its bottom - the surface of the planet. It envelops the surface of the Earth and extends upward for several kilometers. The word troposphere means "change of the globe." A very appropriate name, since this layer is where our everyday weather occurs.
Starting from the surface of the planet, the troposphere rises to a height of 6 to 20 km. The bottom third of the layer, closest to us, contains 50% of all atmospheric gases. This is the only part of the entire atmosphere that breathes. Due to the fact that the air is heated from below by the earth's surface, absorbing thermal energy The sun, with increasing altitude, the temperature and pressure of the troposphere decrease.
At the top there is a thin layer called the tropopause, which is just a buffer between the troposphere and the stratosphere.
Stratosphere: home of the ozone
The stratosphere is the next layer of the atmosphere. It extends from 6-20 km to 50 km above the Earth's surface. This is the layer in which most commercial airliners fly and hot air balloons travel.
Here the air does not flow up and down, but moves parallel to the surface in very fast air currents. As you climb, the temperature increases, thanks to the abundance of natural ozone (O3) byproduct solar radiation and oxygen, which has the ability to absorb harmful ultra-violet rays of the sun (any increase in temperature with height in meteorology is known as an "inversion").
Because the stratosphere has warmer temperatures at the bottom and cooler temperatures at the top, convection (vertical movements air masses) is rare in this part of the atmosphere. In fact, you can view a storm raging in the troposphere from the stratosphere because the layer acts as a convection cap that prevents storm clouds from penetrating.
After the stratosphere there is again a buffer layer, this time called the stratopause.
Mesosphere: middle atmosphere
The mesosphere is located approximately 50-80 km from the Earth's surface. The upper mesosphere is the coldest natural place on Earth, where temperatures can drop below -143°C.
Thermosphere: upper atmosphere
After the mesosphere and mesopause comes the thermosphere, located between 80 and 700 km above the surface of the planet, and contains less than 0.01% of the total air in the atmospheric envelope. Temperatures here reach up to +2000° C, but due to the strong rarefaction of the air and the lack of gas molecules to transfer heat, these high temperatures are perceived as very cold.
Exosphere: the boundary between the atmosphere and space
At an altitude of about 700-10,000 km above the earth's surface is the exosphere - the outer edge of the atmosphere, bordering space. Here weather satellites orbit the Earth.
What about the ionosphere?
The ionosphere is not a separate layer, but in fact the term is used to refer to the atmosphere between 60 and 1000 km altitude. It includes the uppermost parts of the mesosphere, the entire thermosphere and part of the exosphere. The ionosphere gets its name because it is in this part of the atmosphere that radiation from the Sun is ionized as it passes through magnetic fields Lands on and. This phenomenon is observed from the ground as northern lights.
Despite the fact that air weighs a thousand (literally, about 1000) times less than water, it still weighs something.
And not as little as it seems at first glance.
So cubic meter of water at sea surface level takes up 1000 liters and accordingly weighs a ton. Those. a cubic container with dimensions one meter by one meter by one meter filled with water weighs (or rather has mass) 1000 kilograms. Not counting the weight of the container itself. A standard bath, for example, includes a third of this cube, i.e. 300 liters.
The same cube filled with air (i.e., according to our concepts, empty) weighs 1.3 kilograms. This is the weight of the air that is inside the cubic container.
But accurately calculating the volume of the atmosphere is not such an easy task. Firstly, it is hardly possible to determine with any reliable accuracy whether this is where the atmosphere ends and airless space begins, and secondly, the air density drops sharply with increasing altitude.
The atmosphere is thought to be 2000-3000 km thick, with half its mass located within 5 km of the surface.
However, there is another, very exact way find out how much the atmosphere weighs. It was used 400 years ago by the outstanding scientist, mathematician, physicist, writer and philosopher Blaise Pascal.
It is enough to know what it is Atmosphere pressure(in millimeters of mercury) and what is on the surface of the sea in normal conditions it is equal to approximately 760 of these same millimeters.
A few years before Pascal’s experiments, this fact was discovered by the Italian mathematician and physicist, a student of Galileo Evangelista Torricelli.
So, in order to equalize the atmospheric pressure by 1 square centimeter earth's surface At sea level, a column of mercury 760 millimeters high is required; this column of mercury weighs approximately 1033 grams. The air that presses on this square centimeter weighs the same, only its height is much greater - the same 2000-3000 km that in this moment doesn't matter.
Now it is enough to calculate the area of the earth's surface. As we all remember, the Earth is a ball with a radius of approximately 6,400 kilometers (or with a circumference at the equator of approximately 40,000 km), and as we all remember (from the 8th grade high school) S spheres = 4πR 2 .
The total surface area of the Earth is approximately 510,072,000 km², and the total mass of the atmosphere is 5 x 10 21 grams, or 5 x 10 15 tons, or in words - 5 quadrillion tons!
This figure amazed Pascal at the time, because he calculated that a copper ball with a diameter of 10 km would weigh the same.
It’s not so light, this air...
P.S. By the way, a few more interesting facts about atmospheric pressure, or rather about its decrease with increasing altitude and the ensuing consequences in a post three years ago. He shouldn’t disappear into obscurity...
Troposphere
Its upper limit is at an altitude of 8-10 km in polar, 10-12 km in temperate and 16-18 km in tropical latitudes; lower in winter than in summer. The lower, main layer of the atmosphere contains more than 80% of the total mass atmospheric air and about 90% of all water vapor available in the atmosphere. Turbulence and convection are highly developed in the troposphere, clouds arise, and cyclones and anticyclones develop. Temperature decreases with increasing altitude with an average vertical gradient of 0.65°/100 m
Tropopause
The transition layer from the troposphere to the stratosphere, a layer of the atmosphere in which the decrease in temperature with height stops.
Stratosphere
A layer of the atmosphere located at an altitude of 11 to 50 km. Characteristic minor change temperature in the 11-25 km layer (lower layer of the stratosphere) and its increase in the 25-40 km layer from −56.5 to 0.8 °C ( upper layer stratosphere or inversion region). Having reached a value of about 273 K (almost 0 °C) at an altitude of about 40 km, the temperature remains constant up to an altitude of about 55 km. This region of constant temperature is called the stratopause and is the boundary between the stratosphere and mesosphere.
Stratopause
The boundary layer of the atmosphere between the stratosphere and mesosphere. In the vertical temperature distribution there is a maximum (about 0 °C).
Mesosphere
The mesosphere begins at an altitude of 50 km and extends to 80-90 km. Temperature decreases with height with an average vertical gradient of (0.25-0.3)°/100 m. The main energy process is radiant heat transfer. Complex photochemical processes involving free radicals, vibrationally excited molecules, etc. cause atmospheric luminescence.
Mesopause
Transitional layer between the mesosphere and thermosphere. There is a minimum in the vertical temperature distribution (about -90 °C).
Karman Line
The height above sea level, which is conventionally accepted as the boundary between the Earth's atmosphere and space. The Karman line is located at an altitude of 100 km above sea level.
Boundary of the Earth's atmosphere
Thermosphere
Upper limit- about 800 km. The temperature rises to altitudes of 200-300 km, where it reaches values of the order of 1500 K, after which it remains almost constant to high altitudes. Under the influence of ultraviolet and x-ray solar radiation and cosmic radiation air ionization occurs (“ auroras") - the main regions of the ionosphere lie inside the thermosphere. At altitudes above 300 km, atomic oxygen predominates. The upper limit of the thermosphere is largely determined by the current activity of the Sun. During periods of low activity, a noticeable decrease in the size of this layer occurs.
Thermopause
The region of the atmosphere adjacent to the thermosphere. In this region, the absorption of solar radiation is negligible and the temperature does not actually change with altitude.
Exosphere (scattering sphere)
Atmospheric layers up to an altitude of 120 km
The exosphere is a dispersion zone, the outer part of the thermosphere, located above 700 km. The gas in the exosphere is very rarefied, and from here its particles leak into interplanetary space (dissipation).
Up to an altitude of 100 km, the atmosphere is a homogeneous, well-mixed mixture of gases. In higher layers, the distribution of gases by height depends on their molecular weights; the concentration of heavier gases decreases faster with distance from the Earth's surface. Due to the decrease in gas density, the temperature drops from 0 °C in the stratosphere to −110 °C in the mesosphere. However kinetic energy individual particles at altitudes of 200-250 km correspond to a temperature of ~150 °C. Above 200 km, significant fluctuations in temperature and gas density in time and space are observed.
At an altitude of about 2000-3500 km, the exosphere gradually turns into the so-called near-space vacuum, which is filled with highly rarefied particles of interplanetary gas, mainly hydrogen atoms. But this gas represents only part of the interplanetary matter. The other part consists of dust particles of cometary and meteoric origin. In addition to extremely rarefied dust particles, electromagnetic and corpuscular radiation of solar and galactic origin penetrates into this space.
The troposphere accounts for about 80% of the mass of the atmosphere, the stratosphere - about 20%; the mass of the mesosphere is no more than 0.3%, the thermosphere is less than 0.05% of the total mass of the atmosphere. Based electrical properties The atmosphere is divided into the neutronosphere and ionosphere. It is currently believed that the atmosphere extends to an altitude of 2000-3000 km.
Depending on the composition of the gas in the atmosphere, homosphere and heterosphere are distinguished. The heterosphere is an area where gravity affects the separation of gases, since their mixing at such a height is negligible. This implies a variable composition of the heterosphere. Below it lies a well-mixed, homogeneous part of the atmosphere called the homosphere. The boundary between these layers is called the turbopause; it lies at an altitude of about 120 km.
Since the existence of life, the comfort and safety of all organisms depends on it. The indicators of gases in the mixture are decisive for the study of problem areas or environmentally favorable areas.
General information
The term “atmosphere” refers to the gas layer that envelops our planet and many others. celestial bodies in the Universe. It forms a shell that rises several hundred kilometers above the Earth. The composition contains a variety of gases, the main of which is oxygen.
The atmosphere is characterized by:
- Heterogeneity with physical point vision.
- Increased dynamism.
- Depending on biological factors(high vulnerability to adverse events).
The main influence on the composition and processes that change it are living beings (including microorganisms). These processes have been going on since the formation of the atmosphere – several billion years. Protective shell planet comes into contact with such formations as the lithosphere and hydrosphere, and the upper boundaries are determined with high precision difficult, scientists can only give approximate values. The atmosphere passes into interplanetary space in the exosphere - at altitude
500-1000 km from the surface of our planet, some sources call the figure 3000 km.
The importance of the atmosphere for life on earth is great, since it protects the planet from collision with cosmic bodies, provides optimal indicators for the formation and development of life in its various forms.
Composition of the protective shell:
- Nitrogen – 78%.
- Oxygen – 20.9%.
- Gas mixture - 1.1% (this part is formed by substances such as ozone, argon, neon, helium, methane, krypton, hydrogen, xenon, carbon dioxide, water vapor).
The gas mixture performs important function– absorption of excess amounts solar energy. The composition of the atmosphere varies depending on altitude - at an altitude of 65 km from the Earth's surface it will contain nitrogen
already 86%, oxygen – only 19%.
Components of the atmosphere
The diverse composition of the Earth's atmosphere allows it to perform various functions and protect life on the planet. Its main elements:
- Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is an integral component involved in the process of plant nutrition (photosynthesis). It is released into the atmosphere due to the respiration of all living organisms, rotting and combustion organic matter. If carbon dioxide disappears, then plants will cease to exist along with it.
- Oxygen (O₂) – provides an optimal environment for the life of all organisms on the planet and is required for respiration. With its disappearance, life will cease for 99% of organisms on the planet.
- Ozone (O 3) is a gas that acts as a natural absorber of ultraviolet radiation emitted solar radiation. Its excess negatively affects living organisms. The gas forms a special layer in the atmosphere - the ozone shield. Under the influence of external conditions and human activities, it begins to gradually deteriorate, so it is important to take measures to restore the ozone layer of our planet in order to preserve life on it.
The atmosphere also contains water vapor - they determine the humidity of the air. Percentage this component depends on various factors. Influenced by:
- Air temperature indicators.
- Location of the area (territory).
- Seasonality.
It affects the amount of water vapor and temperature - if it is low, then the concentration does not exceed 1%, if it is elevated, it reaches 3-4%.
Additionally included earth's atmosphere there are solid and liquid impurities- soot, ash, sea salt, various microorganisms, dust, water drops.
Atmosphere: its layers
It is necessary to know the structure of the earth's atmosphere in layers in order to have full view about why this is valuable to us gas envelope. They stand out because their composition and density gas mixture on different heights are not the same. Each layer is different chemical composition and the functions performed. The atmospheric layers of the earth should be arranged in order as follows:
The troposphere is located closest to the earth's surface. The heights of this layer reach 16-18 km in tropical zones and 9 km on average above the poles. Up to 90% of all water vapor is concentrated in this layer. It is in the troposphere that the process of cloud formation occurs. Air movement, turbulence and convection are also observed here. Temperatures vary and range from +45 to -65 degrees - in the tropics and at the poles, respectively. With an increase of 100 meters, the temperature decreases by 0.6 degrees. It is the troposphere, due to the accumulation of water vapor and air, that is responsible for cyclonic processes. Accordingly, the correct answer to the question of what is the name of the layer of the earth’s atmosphere in which cyclones and anticyclones develop will be the name of this atmospheric layer.
Stratosphere - this layer is located at an altitude of 11-50 km from the surface of the planet. In its lower zone, temperatures tend to reach values of -55. In the stratosphere there is an inversion zone - the boundary between this layer and the next one, called the mesosphere. Temperatures reach values of +1 degree. Airplanes fly in the lower stratosphere.
The ozone layer is a small area on the boundary between the stratosphere and mesosphere, but it is ozone layer The atmosphere protects all life on earth from ultraviolet radiation. It also separates comfortable and favorable conditions for the existence of living organisms and harsh space conditions, where it is impossible to survive without special conditions even bacteria. It was formed as a result of interaction organic components and oxygen, which comes into contact with ultraviolet radiation and undergoes a photochemical reaction to produce a gas called ozone. Since ozone absorbs ultraviolet radiation, it warms the atmosphere, maintaining optimal conditions for life in its usual form. Accordingly, to answer the question: what gas layer protects the earth from cosmic radiation and excessive solar radiation, followed by ozone.
Considering the layers of the atmosphere in order from the surface of the earth, it should be noted that the mesosphere comes next. It is located at an altitude of 50-90 km from the surface of the planet. Temperature readings – from 0 to -143 degrees (lower and upper limit). It protects the Earth from meteorites that burn up when passing through
it is the phenomenon of air glow. The gas pressure in this part of the atmosphere is extremely low, which makes it impossible to study the mesosphere completely, since special equipment, including satellites or probes, cannot work there.
The thermosphere is a layer of the atmosphere that is located at an altitude of 100 km above sea level. This is the lower limit, which is called the Karman line. Scientists have conditionally determined that space begins here. The immediate thickness of the thermosphere reaches 800 km. Temperatures reach 1800 degrees, but keep the casing spacecraft and the missiles remain intact thanks to the low concentration of air. In this layer of the earth's atmosphere a special
phenomenon - northern lights - special kind glow, which can be observed in some regions of the planet. They appear as a result of the interaction of several factors - ionization of the air and the effect of cosmic radiation and radiation on it.
Which layer of the atmosphere is furthest from the earth - the Exosphere. Here there is a zone of air dispersion, since the concentration of gases is small, as a result of which they gradually escape beyond the atmosphere. This layer is located at an altitude of 700 km above the Earth's surface. The main element that makes up
This layer is hydrogen. In the atomic state, you can find substances such as oxygen or nitrogen, which will be highly ionized by solar radiation.
The dimensions of the Earth's exosphere reach 100 thousand km from the planet.
By studying the layers of the atmosphere in order from the surface of the earth, people have received a lot of valuable information that helps in the development and improvement of technological capabilities. Some facts are surprising, but it was their presence that allowed living organisms to develop successfully.
It is known that the weight of the atmosphere is more than 5 quadrillion tons. The layers are capable of transmitting sounds up to 100 km from the surface of the planet; above this property disappears, as the composition of the gases changes.
Atmospheric movements exist because the Earth's heating varies. The surface at the poles is cold, and closer to the tropics the heating increases; temperature indicators are influenced by cyclonic eddies, seasons, and time of day. The strength of atmospheric pressure can be determined by using a barometer for this purpose. As a result of observations, scientists have established that the presence protective layers makes it possible to prevent meteorites with a total mass of 100 tons from contacting the surface of the planet every day.
An interesting fact is that the composition of the air (the mixture of gases in the layers) remained unchanged over a long period of time - several hundred million years are known. Significant changes are taking place in last centuries- from the moment humanity experiences a significant increase in production.
The pressure exerted by the atmosphere affects people's well-being. Indicators of 760 mmHg are considered normal for 90%; this value should occur at 0 degrees. It must be taken into account that this value is valid for those areas earth's land, where the sea level is in the same band with it (without drops). The higher the altitude, the lower the pressure will be. It also changes during the passage of cyclones, since changes occur not only vertically, but also horizontally.
The physiological zone of the earth's atmosphere is 5 km; after passing this mark, a person begins to experience special condition - oxygen starvation. During this process, 95% of people experience a pronounced decrease in performance, and the well-being of even a prepared and trained person also deteriorates significantly.
That is why the atmosphere is so important for life on earth - people and most living organisms cannot exist without this gas mixture. Thanks to their presence, it became possible to develop the familiar modern society life on Earth. It is necessary to assess the damage caused production activities, carry out air purification measures to reduce concentrations certain types gases and introduce those that are not enough for normal composition. It is important to think now about further measures to preserve and restore atmospheric layers in order to preserve optimal conditions for future generations.
In the section on the question Weight of the Earth's atmosphere?? given by the author Gregory the best answer is Galileo proved the weight of air. How much does the entire atmosphere weigh? According to Pascal's calculations, it is the same as a copper ball with a diameter of 10 km would weigh - 5 quadrillion tons!
The entire atmosphere weighs 5.15 x 10 to the 15th power tons. link
Knowing the atmospheric pressure allows you to calculate total weight atmosphere. Average atmospheric pressure at sea level is equivalent to the weight of a column of mercury 760 mm high. Paragraph 11 shows that the mass of a column of mercury 760 mm high above one square centimeter the earth's surface is 1033.2 g; the same will be the weight of this column of mercury in grams. The same, obviously, will be the average weight of the atmospheric column above one square centimeter of surface at sea level. Knowing the area of the earth's surface and the elevation of the continents above sea level, we can calculate the total weight of the entire atmosphere. Neglecting changes in gravity with height, we can calculate this weight numerically equal to mass atmosphere.
The total mass of the atmosphere is slightly more than 5 10 to 21 grams, or 5 10 to 15 tons. This is about a million times less than the mass of the Globe. At the same time, half of the total mass of the atmosphere is in the lower 5 km, three quarters in the lower 10 km and 95% in the lower 20 km.
The Earth's atmosphere is a mixture of gases. Nitrogen 78.08%, carbon dioxide 0.03%, argon 0.9325%, oxygen 20.95%, neon 0.0018%, helium 0.0005%, hydrogen 0.00005%, krypton 0.000108%, xenon 0.000008%, ozone 0.000001%, radon 0.000000000000000006%
Source:
Answer from skinny[guru]
ATMOSPHERE OF THE EARTH (from the Greek atmos - steam and sphere), air environment around the Earth, rotating with it; weight approx. 5.15·1015 t. Its composition at the surface of the Earth: 78.1% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.9% argon, in small fractions of a percent carbon dioxide, hydrogen, helium, neon and other gases. The lower 20 km contains water vapor (near the earth's surface - from 3% in the tropics to 2·10-5% in Antarctica), the amount of which quickly decreases with height.
Answer from European[guru]
Knowing the atmospheric pressure, we determine that almost exactly ten tons for each square meter earth's surface.
so ten tons per square meter multiplied by 511 million square kilometers = 5111859325225255.3092562483408718 tons.
I can add the following:
It is believed that for the Earth the thickness of the equivalent layer of the atmosphere is about eight kilometers
(equivalent layer of the atmosphere is an imaginary value - the thickness that the planet’s atmosphere would have if it had an atmospheric pressure of 760 mm Hg from top to bottom)
on Venus this layer is approximately 800 km; the moon has maybe one and a half to two centimeters.