Saturday, 19 March 2016

Study Notes : All about the Atmosphere

About 99% of total mass of atmosphere is within the height of 32 km from earth surface, rest above
merges with outer space
Atmospheric Air Colourless, Tasteless, Odourless, Compressible, Mobile & Expandable
Atmospheric air mainly consists of Nitrogen 78.03 %
Oxygen 20.99 %
Argon
.94 %
CO2
.03 %
H
.01 %

Rest are Neon, Helium, Ozone, Xenon & Krypton in very minute percentage

Nitrogen

Major cause of atmospheric pressure, Force of wind & reflection of light

Regulates combustion & avoids quick burning

Dilutes oxygen and prevents rapid burning at the earths surface

Nitrogen cannot be used directly from the air.

The Nitrogen Cycle is natures way of supplying the needed nitrogen for living things

Get fixed to soil & generates protein in plants (Major source of food)

CO2.

Heaviest gas in atmosphere, essential for growth of vegetation

Transparent to incoming solar radiations but opaque to terrestrial radiations radiated from earth
surface which keeps air near the ground warmer

Responsible for global warming, as alarming increase in level of CO2 in past few years due to
burning of fossil fuels

Water Vapour

Form in atmosphere due to evaporation from surface water bodies

Absorbs part of insolation from the sun & reduces its amount reaching the earth Preserves
earths radiated heat

Hence, acts as a blanket, allowing the earth to neither become too hot or too cold

Amount of water vapour decrease with altitude

Amount of water vapour decreases from equator to poles

Dust Particles

Derived by strong winds from different sources on earth surface

Acts as hydroscopic nuclei around which water vapour condense & form clouds

Intercept & reflect sun rays giving orange colour at sunrise, red colour at sunset & blue colour of
clear sky

Molecules (Dust particles) in air scatter blue light (shorter wavelength) more than red light (longer
wavelength) in every direction, hence sky looks blue

At sunrise & sunset, sky appears orange & red because blue light has already been scattered out
by molecules in the air, out of sight & longer wavelength light reaches out to us

Dense Haze & smog (smoke + fog) are also caused due to presence of dust particles in the air

Structure of Atmosphere.

On the basis of chemical composition atmosphere can be divided into 2 parts viz.
Homosphere Upto 90 km (Uniformity in chemical composition)
Troposphere
Stratosphere
Mesosphere
Heterosphere Above 90 Km (non-uniformity in chemical composition)
Ionsphere
Exosphere
Each sublayer mentioned in these 2 layers is further divided by a shallow transitional zone ending with
term Pause
Troposphere

Average height is 16 Km 10 km at Poles &upto 18 km at Equator.

Greatest at Equator due to upward transportation of heat by strong conventional currents.

That is why height of troposphere at a given latitude is greater in summer Temperature decreases
with height, roughly at 1*C for every 165 meters Normal Lapse Rate.

Lowest, Densest & contains 75 % of earths atmosphere with 90% of water vapours & dust
particles.

All major atmospheric processes take place in this layer.

Tropopause
Shallow transitional zone (Unstable zone) b/w Troposphere & Stratosphere (Approx. 1.5 Km)
Temperature stops falling in this layer 80*C over equator & 45*C over poles
Stratosphere

This layer rises upto 50 km (Thicker at Poles than at Equator)

Temperature remains constant in its lower portion upto 20 Km & then gradually increases to 0*C
till its upper limit i.e.
Tropopause

Increases mainly due to the presence of ozone gas, which absorbs suns UV rays
Practically no clouds, convection currents, Thundering or lighting, water vapours or dust particles
hence airplane fly in this region

Few clouds called Mother of Pearls / Narcreas can be seen over Antarctica

Its lower portion (15 35 Km) constitutes Ozone layer which prevents us from harmful UV rays

Amount of Ozone gas is found at Stratopause i.e. uppermost limit of Stratosphere

Mesosphere

Upto 80 ~ 90 Km, Temp. Decreases gradually with height until 100 *C at 80 km

Displays wispy clouds at high altitudes due to reflected sunlight from meteoric dust particles

Most weather balloons are placed in this region

Most meteors burn up in this layer; Upper limit Mesopause

Monday, 21 March 2016

All about the Atmosphere Part-2

Ionosphere / Thermosphere

Extends up to 400 km, contains electrically charged particles (ions) with max. conc. at 250 Km
starts rising with increase in height because of ionization by solar radiations
Zone of Earths Satellites
Auroras Are formed when Earths magnetic field traps solar winds in atmosphere, resulting in collision
b/w solar wind & atmospheric charged molecules (ions)

Aurora Borealis Northern light in northern hemisphere (Arctic circle)

Aurora Australis Southern light in southern hemisphere (Antarctic Circle)
All radio waves are reflected in this layer (Radio transmission)
D layer Reflects signal of low frequency & absorbs of medium & high frequency
E layer (Kennedy Heaveside layer) Reflects medium & high frequency radio waves to earth
F layer (Appleton layer) Useful for long distance radio transmissions reflects medium & high
frequency radio waves to earth
G layer Highest layer.

Depletion of Ozone Layer

Major cause CFCs (mainly from Refrigerator, AC, Spray Cans, Plastic Packaging, Cleaning Fluids,
Insulation materials)
UV breaks CFCs & release Chlorine atom which reacts with Ozone & convert it into simple oxygen
molecule, which is unstable to absorb UV rays
Space probes are also responsible for depletion of Ozone layer, as every time a rocket is fired into
space, 70 150 tons of Chlorine is injected into atmosphere
Another cause for ozone layer depletion is oxides of Nitrogen, esp. Nitric oxide, released from
supersonic aircrafts, automotive exhaust, in form of nitrates in fertilizers etc.
Already a major Ozone hole is formed over Antarctica with risk countries New Zealand, Australia, South
Africa, Chile, and Argentina etc.

Auroras

Solar flares from Sun (leaving black spots on sun) entering Ionosphere forms Auroras in N & S poles.
The auroras appear as sheets of illuminated curtains with streaks or as bright arcs in the sky.
These lines or arcs are in the form and directions of the magnetic lines of force of the earth; indicating
the involvement of moving charge particles under the influence of concentrated magnetic field of the
earth.
When they reach the earth, they get concentrated near the poles because of the strong axial magnetic
fields there.

In other regions of the earth, the magnetic field is weaker and so the aurora does not form although the
emission of the solar wind particles takes place uniformly.
There is an 11-year solar cycle (on average) that controls the tempo of the aurora. The most recent peak
in the cycle occurred in 2000-2001. The next peak is predicted in 2013 2014.
Solar Tsunami

When solar flares are at peak

Can disrupts ions in Ionosphere affecting radio waves, GPS
Can burn the satellites
Can causes skin cancer in human being
Increase the frequency of El Nino Warming of the Oceans
Can burn transformers