Course: Environmental Planning & Practice (3671) Semester: Spring, 2020

ASSIGNMENT - 1

Q.2 Our atmosphere is responsible for life on earth. Explain how? Describe the water
cycle among atmosphere, biosphere and hydrosphere with diagram.

1. Atmosphere
An atmosphere is a layer or a set of layers of gases surrounding a planet or other material
body, that is held in place by the gravity of that body. An atmosphere is more likely to be
retained if the gravity it is subject to is high and the temperature of the atmosphere is low.
The density of the atmosphere decreases outward, because the gravitational attraction of the
planet, which pulls the gases and aerosols (microscopic suspended particles of dust, soot,
smoke, or chemicals) inward, is greatest close to the surface.

Atmospheres of some planetary bodies, such as Mercury, are almost nonexistent, as

the primordial atmosphere has escaped the relatively low gravitational attraction of the planet
and has been released into space. Other planets, such as Venus, Earth, Mars, and the giant
outer planets of the solar system, have retained an atmosphere. In addition, Earth’s
atmosphere has been able to contain water in each of its three phases (solid, liquid, and gas),
which has been essential for the development of life on the planet.
2. Composition of Atmosphere
The atmosphere of Earth is composed of nitrogen (about 78%), oxygen (about
21%), argon (about 0.9%), carbon dioxide (0.04%) and other gases in trace amounts. Oxygen
is used by most organisms for respiration; nitrogen is fixed by bacteria and lightning to
produce ammonia used in the construction of nucleotides and amino acids; and carbon
dioxide is used by plants, algae and cyanobacteria for photosynthesis. The atmosphere helps
to protect living organisms from genetic damage by solar ultraviolet radiation, solar
wind and cosmic rays. The current composition of the Earth's atmosphere is the product of
billions of years of biochemical modification of the paleo atmosphere by living organisms.
The term stellar atmosphere describes the outer region of a star and typically includes the
portion above the opaque photosphere. Stars with sufficiently low temperatures may have
outer atmospheres with compound molecules.
3. Layers of Atmosphere
The atmosphere can be divided into layers based on its temperature, as shown in the figure
below. These layers are troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere.

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 Figure 1: Layers of Atmosphere

Troposphere
This is the lowest part of the atmosphere - the part we live in. It contains most of our weather
- clouds, rain, snow. In this part of the atmosphere the temperature gets colder as the distance
above the earth increases, by about 6.5°C per kilometre. The actual change of temperature
with height varies from day to day, depending on the weather.
The troposphere contains about 75% of all of the air in the atmosphere, and almost all of the
water vapour (which forms clouds and rain). The decrease in temperature with height is a
result of the decreasing pressure. If a parcel of air moves upwards it expands (because of the
lower pressure). When air expands it cools. So, air higher up is cooler than air lower down.
The lowest part of the troposphere is called the boundary layer.  This is where the air motion
is determined by the properties of the Earth's surface.  Turbulence is generated as the wind
blows over the Earth's surface, and by thermals rising from the land as it is heated by the sun. 
This turbulence redistributes heat and moisture within the boundary layer, as well as
pollutants and other constituents of the atmosphere. 
The top of the troposphere is called the tropopause. This is lowest at the poles, where it is
about 7 - 10 km above the Earth's surface. It is highest (about 17 - 18 km) near the equator.

Stratosphere
This extends upwards from the tropopause to about 50 km. It contains much of the ozone in
the atmosphere. The increase in temperature with height occurs because of absorption of
ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun by this ozone. Temperatures in the stratosphere are
highest over the summer pole, and lowest over the winter pole.
By absorbing dangerous UV radiation, the ozone in the stratosphere protects us from skin
cancer and other health damage. However, chemicals (called CFCs or freons, and halons)
which were once used in refrigerators, spray cans and fire extinguishers have reduced the
amount of ozone in the stratosphere, particularly at polar latitudes, leading to the so-called
"Antarctic ozone hole".
Now humans have stopped making most of the harmful CFCs we expect the ozone hole will
eventually recover over the 21st century, but this is a slow process.

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Mesosphere
The region above the stratosphere is called the mesosphere. Here the temperature again
decreases with height, reaching a minimum of about -90°C at the "mesopause".
Thermosphere and Ionosphere
The thermosphere lies above the mesopause and is a region in which temperatures again
increase with height. This temperature increase is caused by the absorption of energetic
ultraviolet and X-Ray radiation from the sun.
The region of the atmosphere above about 80 km is also caused the "ionosphere", since the
energetic solar radiation knocks electrons off molecules and atoms, turning them into "ions"
with a positive charge. The temperature of the thermosphere varies between night and day
and between the seasons, as do the numbers of ions and electrons which are present. The
ionosphere reflects and absorbs radio waves, allowing us to receive shortwave radio
broadcasts in New Zealand from other parts of the world.

Exosphere
The region above about 500 km is called the exosphere. It contains mainly oxygen and
hydrogen atoms, but there are so few of them that they rarely collide - they follow "ballistic"
trajectories under the influence of gravity, and some of them escape right out into space.

Magnetosphere
The earth behaves like a huge magnet. It traps electrons (negative charge) and protons
(positive), concentrating them in two bands about 3,000 and 16,000 km above the globe - the
Van Allen "radiation" belts. This outer region surrounding the earth, where charged particles
spiral along the magnetic field lines, is called the magnetosphere.
4. Importance of Temperature for life on earth
The atmosphere is a mixture of gases that surrounds the planet. We also call it air. The gases
in the atmosphere include nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. Along with water vapor, the
atmosphere allows life to survive. Without it, Earth would be a harsh, barren world.
The atmosphere supports life and is also needed for the water cycle and weather. The gases of
the atmosphere even allow us to hear. Water is also essential for life. Water vapor is one of
the gases in the atmosphere. Green algae, like in this photo, are primitive life.
The Atmosphere and Living Things
Most of the atmosphere is nitrogen, but it doesn't do much. Carbon dioxide and oxygen are
the gases in the atmosphere that are needed for life.
 Plants need carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. They use sunlight to change carbon
dioxide and water into food. The process releases oxygen. Without photosynthesis,
there would be very little oxygen in the air.
 Other living things depend on plants for food. These organisms need the oxygen plants
release to get energy out of the food. Even plants need oxygen for this purpose.

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The Atmosphere and the Sun’s Rays

The atmosphere protects living things from the Sun’s most harmful rays. Gases reflect or
absorb the strongest rays of sunlight.

The Atmosphere and Earth’s Temperature

Gases in the atmosphere surround Earth like a blanket. They keep the temperature in a range
that can support life. The gases keep out some of the Sun’s scorching heat during the day. At
night, they hold the heat close to the surface, so it doesn’t radiate out into space.

The Atmosphere and Earth’s Water

Water vapor rises from Earth’s surface into the atmosphere. As it rises, it cools. The water
vapor may then condense into water droplets and form clouds. If enough water droplets
collect in clouds, they may come together to form droplets. The droplets will fall as rain. This
how freshwater gets from the atmosphere back to Earth's surface.

Figure 2: Atmosphere effects on water cycle

The Atmosphere and Weather

Without the atmosphere, there would be no clouds or rain. In fact, there would be
no weather at all. Most weather occurs because the atmosphere heats up more in some places
than others.

The Atmosphere and Weathering

Weather makes life interesting. Weather also causes weathering. Weathering is the slow
wearing down of rocks on Earth’s surface. Wind-blown sand scours rocks like

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sandpaper. Glaciers of ice scrape across rock surfaces like a file. Even gentle rain may seep
into rocks and slowly dissolve them. If the water freezes, it expands. This eventually causes
the rocks to crack. Without the atmosphere, none of this weathering would happen. Rocks at
the surface would be pristine and unaltered.

The Atmosphere and Sound

Sound is a form of energy that travels in waves. Sound waves cannot travel through empty

space, but they can travel through gases. Gases in the air allow us to hear most of the sounds
in our world. Because of air, you can hear birds singing, horns tooting, and friends laughing.
Without the atmosphere, the world would be a silent, eerie place.

Water is recycled constantly through the ecosystem. That means any water you drank today
has been around for millions of years. You could be drinking water that was once drunk by
George Washington, the first humans, or even the dinosaurs.

5. The Water Cycle

Whereas energy flows through an ecosystem, water and elements like carbon and nitrogen are

recycled. Water and nutrients are constantly being recycled through the environment. This
process through which water or a chemical element is continuously recycled in an ecosystem
is called a biogeochemical cycle. This recycling process involves both the living organisms
(biotic components) and nonliving things (abiotic factors) in the ecosystem. Through
biogeochemical cycles, water and other chemical elements are constantly being passed
through living organisms to non-living matter and back again, over and over. Three important
biogeochemical cycles are the water cycle, carbon cycle, and nitrogen cycle.

The biogeochemical cycle that recycles water is the water cycle. The water cycle involves a
series of interconnected pathways involving both the biotic and abiotic components of
the biosphere. Water is obviously an extremely important aspect of every ecosystem. Life
cannot exist without water. Many organisms contain a large amount of water in their bodies,
and many live in water, so the water cycle is essential to life on Earth. Water continuously
moves between living organisms, such as plants, and non-living things, such as clouds, rivers,
and oceans (Figure below).

The water cycle does not have a real starting or ending point. It is an endless recycling
process that involves the oceans, lakes and other bodies of water, as well as the land surfaces
and the atmosphere. The steps in the water cycle are as follows, starting with the water in the
oceans:

1. Water evaporates from the surface of the oceans, leaving behind salts. As the water
vapor rises, it collects and is stored in clouds.
2. As water cools in the clouds, condensation occurs. Condensation is when gases turn
back into liquids.
3. Condensation creates precipitation. Precipitation includes rain, snow, hail, and sleet.
The precipitation allows the water to return again to the Earth’s surface.

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4. When precipitation lands on land, the water can sink into the ground to become part
of our underground water reserves, also known as groundwater. Much of this
underground water is stored in aquifers, which are porous layers of rock that can hold
water.
Run-off

Most precipitation that occurs over land, however, is not absorbed by the soil and is
called runoff. This runoff collects in streams and rivers and eventually flows back into the
ocean.

Transpiration

Water also moves through the living organisms in an ecosystem. Plants soak up large
amounts of water through their roots. The water then moves up the plant and evaporates from
the leaves in a process called transpiration. The process of transpiration, like evaporation,
returns water back into the atmosphere.

Figure 3: Water Cycle

Summary

 Chemical elements and water are constantly recycled in the ecosystem through
biogeochemical cycles.
 During the water cycle, water enters the atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration,
and water returns to land by precipitation.

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Reference:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere
2. https://niwa.co.nz/education-and-training/schools/students/layers
3. https://www.britannica.com/science/atmosphere
4. https://flexbooks.ck12.org/cbook/ck-12-middle-school-earth-science-flexbook-
2.0/section/10.1/primary/lesson/importance-of-the-atmosphere-ms-es
5. https://flexbooks.ck12.org/cbook/ck-12-middle-school-life-science-
2.0/section/12.21/primary/lesson/the-water-cycle-ms-ls
6. Class lectures

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