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The Layers of the Atmosphere
We live at the bottom of an ocean of air - several oceans, in fact, as the atmosphere can be divided into layers distinguished by temperature. Starting at the surface of the earth's crust, the layer which most apparently affects us is called the troposphere. It extends roughly 5 miles above the poles and 10 miles above the equator, and contains about 75% of the total mass of the atmosphere. Due to its closeness to the earth's surface, nearly all water vapor and solid particles (from forest fires, volcanoes and the burning of fossil fuel, for example) are found in this sphere. All of earth's plant and animal life exist within the troposphere or the waters beneath it. Climate and weather are conditions within the troposphere. It is also the layer where most of the heat exchange between the earth and the atmosphere takes place, and where heat is distributed through the overturning of air (tropo means "to turn"). Temperature in the troposphere decreases with height to -76 degrees Fahrenheit. The stratosphere extends to about 30 miles above earth, and can itself be subdivided (strato means "layers") In the lower levels of the stratosphere the temperature remains the same, but in the upper levels the temperature actually increases to roughly the same as that at sea level. This is due to the ozone layer, where a high concentration of ozone, a molecular variation of oxygen, absorbs ultraviolet rays from the sun. Because of this temperature distribution the over-turning of air is much less than within the troposphere below, and the stratosphere becomes a kind of giant lid. Debris from violent volcanic eruptions, like Mt. St. Helens in 1980, sometimes enter and remain suspended in the stratosphere for years before settling back to the earth's surface. The troposphere and stratosphere combined contain 99% of the total mass of the atmosphere. In the mesosphere, which extends to about 50 miles, temperature drops again to as low as -173 degrees F. Meteors, small pieces of matter drawn to the atmosphere by earth's gravity, become visible to the naked eye as they enter the mesosphere and are heated through friction caused by collisions with air molecules. These "falling stars" usually disintegrate before they reach the earth's surface. Spectacular meteor showers can be observed at certain times of the year when the earth, in its orbit, passes through a swarm of particles generated from the breakup of a comet. The troposphere, stratosphere and mesosphere make up what is called the lower atmosphere.
What else can I help you with?
What layer of the atmosphere does a shooting star occur?
The mesosphere is where meteorites burn up. Most people call them shooting stars.
What are 3 facts about the mesosphere?
The Mesosphere is the third layer in the Mantle.It is approximately 2550 km in depth. It is the biggest part of the Mantle. It extends from the bottom of the Asthenosphere to the core.
What are the layers of the atmophere?
The atmosphere is divided into five layers. It is thickest near the surface and thins out with height until it eventually merges with space. The layers from lowest to highest : - The Troposphere (up to 10 km) It's the atmosphere that surrounds us. On top of that comes... - The Stratosphere (10-50 km) Very little oxygen or water vapor. Aircraft fly in the lower stratosphere. This is also where the ozone layer exists. On top of that comes... - The Mesosphere (50-80 km) This is where most meteors burn up, because the density is higher than the outer layers. On top of that comes... - The Thermosphere (80-650 km) Practically a vacuum. Includes the ionosphere (auroras) as well as space station orbits. On top of that comes... - The Exosphere (500-2000 km) The farthest any of Earth's atmosphere exists. Based on charged particles and not necessarily gas molecules, some atmospheric models combine the Exosphere into the Thermosphere, making the outermost layer the Magnetosphere, a vast region where atmospheric ions interact with the solar wind in space.
What layer in the atmosphere has the lowest temperature?
The Mesosphere has the lowest temperature of the layers of Earth's atmosphere because Temperature decreases with height in the mesosphere. The mesopause, the temperature minimum that marks the top of the mesosphere, is the coldest place on Earth and has an average temperature around −100 °C (−148.0 °F; 173.1 K)
Which atmospheric layer is where space shuttles orbit?
The atmosphere is divided in to five layers. These are Troposhere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere and Exosphere. The space shuttles orbit in thermosphere.The atmosphere is divided in to five layers. These are Troposhere, Stratospere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere and Exosphere. The space shuttles orbit in thermosphere.
What is this atmospheric layer contains the ozone layer at its base?
mesosphere
What is The atmospheric layer below the mesosphere called?
The atmospheric layer below the mesosphere is called the stratosphere. It is located above the troposphere and below the mesosphere, and it contains the ozone layer which absorbs and scatters the sun's ultraviolet radiation.
What is a sentence with heat mesosphere?
The heat that mesosphere generates is immense. Mesosphere is a layer in atmospheric region.
What atmospheric layer is between the mesosphere and exosphere?
The thermosphere is the atmospheric layer located between the mesosphere and exosphere. It is known for its high temperatures and is where the auroras occur due to interactions with solar radiation.
What atmospheric layer extends from 10 - 20 km above the earth?
mesosphere
What does the pefix meso in the word mesosphere mean?
The prefix meso in the word mesosphere means middle. The mesosphere is actually the atmospheric layer between the stratosphere and thermosphere.
What is the boundary between the mesosphere and thermosphere called?
The boundary between the mesosphere and thermosphere is called the mesopause. This region marks the transition from the middle atmospheric layer (mesosphere) to the outermost layer (thermosphere) of Earth's atmosphere.
What is in atmospheric layers?
The coldest layer of the atmosphere is the exosphere (space). If you were to not count the exosphere, the coldest layer would be the mesosphere.
What kind of layers include the mesosphere?
The mesosphere is an atmospheric layer, which can also be considered a collection of layers. The mesosphere lies above the stratosphere but below the thermosphere, the other two "middle" layers of the atmosphere.
In which atmospheric layer do particles move rapidly but do not collide often or transfer thermal energy?
mesosphere, stratosphere
As elevation in the mesosphere increases atmospheric temperature does what?
As elevation in the mesosphere increases, the atmospheric temperature tends to decrease. This is because the mesosphere is the layer of the atmosphere where temperatures typically decrease with altitude due to the decreasing density of air molecules and the decreasing absorption of solar radiation.
What atmospheric layer protects the earth from meteoroids?
The mesosphere is the atmospheric layer that protects the Earth from meteoroids. As meteoroids enter the Earth's atmosphere, they burn up in this layer due to friction with air molecules, preventing them from reaching the surface.
