SECTION 2

The Atmosphere

Earth is surrounded by a mixture of gases known as the Objectives

atmosphere. Nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and other gases
왘 Describe the composition of the
are all parts of this mixture. Earth’s atmosphere changes con- Earth’s atmosphere.
stantly as these gases are added and removed. For example, ani-
왘 Describe the layers of the Earth’s
mals remove oxygen when they breathe in and add carbon atmosphere.
dioxide when they breathe out. Plants take in carbon dioxide and 왘 Explain three mechanisms of heat
add oxygen to the atmosphere when they produce food. Gases transfer in Earth’s atmosphere.
can be added to and removed from the atmosphere in ways other 왘 Explain the greenhouse effect.
than through living organisms. A volcanic eruption adds gases. A
vehicle both adds and removes gases. Key Terms
The atmosphere also insulates Earth’s surface. This insulation
atmosphere
slows the rate at which heat from the sun is lost. The atmosphere
troposphere
keeps Earth at temperatures at which living things can survive. stratosphere
ozone
radiation
Composition of the Atmosphere conduction
Figure 10 shows the percentages of gases that make up Earth’s convection
atmosphere. Nitrogen makes up 78 percent of the Earth’s atmo- greenhouse effect
sphere. It enters the atmosphere when volcanoes erupt and when
dead plants and animals decay. Oxygen, the second most abun-
dant gas in Earth’s atmosphere, is primarily produced by plants.
Gases including argon, carbon dioxide, methane, and water
vapor make up the rest of the atmosphere.
Nitrogen 78%
In addition to gases, the atmosphere contains many types of
tiny, solid particles, or atmospheric dust. Atmospheric dust is
mainly soil but includes salt, ash from fires, volcanic ash, particu- Oxygen
late matter from combustion, skin, hair, bits of clothing, pollen, 21%
bacteria and viruses, and tiny, liquid droplets called aerosols.

Other 1%

Figure 10 왘 Ninety-nine percent of

the air we breathe is made up of
nitrogen and oxygen.

Figure 11 왘 This sunrise scene that

was taken from space captures the
tropopause, the transitional zone that
separates the troposphere (yellow
layer) from the stratosphere (white
layer). The tropopause is the illumi-
nated brown layer.
Section 2 The Atmosphere 67
Copyright© by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
 Air Pressure Earth’s atmosphere is pulled toward Earth’s surface
by gravity. As a result of the pull of gravity, the atmosphere is
www.scilinks.org
Topic: Layers of the
denser near Earth’s surface. Almost the entire mass of Earth’s
Atmosphere atmospheric gases is located within 30 km of our planet’s surface.
SciLinks code: HE4061 Fewer gas molecules are found at altitudes above 30 km; there-
fore, less pressure at these altitudes pushes downward on atmo-
spheric gases. The air also becomes less dense as elevation
increases, so breathing at higher elevations is more difficult.

Layers of the Atmosphere

The atmosphere is divided into four layers based on temperature
changes that occur at different distances above the Earth’s sur-
face. Figure 12 shows the four layers of Earth’s atmosphere.
The Troposphere The atmospheric layer nearest Earth’s surface
is the troposphere. The troposphere extends to 18 km above
Earth’s surface. Almost all of the weather occurs in this layer, as
Geofact shown in Figure 13. The troposphere is Earth’s densest atmo-
spheric layer. Temperature decreases as altitude increases in the
The Mesosphere In geology, the troposphere.
term mesosphere, which means
“middle sphere,” refers to the Pressure (Pa)
2,550 km thick compositional layer
0 2.0 쎹 104 6.0 쎹 104 1.0 쎹 105
of the Earth that lies below the
asthenosphere. The mesosphere is
also the name of the atmospheric
layer that extends from 50 to 80 600
km above Earth's surface.
500

Thermosphere
100

90

80
Altitude (km)

Temperature
70
Mesosphere
60

50

40
Ozone layer

30 Stratosphere
Figure 12 왘 The layers of the atmo-
sphere are defined by changes in tem- Pressure
perature and pressure. The red line 20
indicates temperature, and the green
line indicates pressure in pascals. 10
Troposphere
0
–80 –70 –60 –50 –40 –30 –20 –10 0 10 20
Temperature (˚C)

68 Chapter 3 The Dynamic Earth

Copyright© by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
 Figure 13 왘 Scientists on board a
The Stratosphere Above the troposphere is the stratosphere. The research plane from the National
stratosphere extends from 18 km to an altitude of about 50 km. Oceanic and Atmospheric Admini-
Temperatures rise as altitude increases in the stratosphere. This stration (NOAA) are making measure-
change happens because ozone in the stratosphere absorbs the ments of temperature, humidity,
barometric pressure, and wind speed
sun’s ultraviolet (UV) energy and warms the air. Ozone, O3, is a as they fly over the eye of a hurricane.
molecule that is made up of three oxygen atoms. Almost all the
ozone in the atmosphere is concentrated in the ozone layer in the
stratosphere. Because ozone absorbs UV radiation, it reduces the
amount of UV radiation that reaches the Earth. UV radiation that Figure 14 왘 The aurora borealis, or
reaches Earth can damage living cells. Northern Lights, can be seen in the
skies around Earth’s North Pole.
The Mesosphere The layer above the stratosphere is the meso-
sphere. This layer extends to an altitude of about 80 km. The
mesosphere is the coldest layer of the atmosphere, and its temper-
atures have been measured as low as –93°C.
The Thermosphere The atmospheric layer located farthest from
Earth’s surface is the thermosphere. In the thermosphere, nitrogen
and oxygen absorb solar radiation, which results in temperatures
that have been measured above 2,000°C. Even though air tem-
peratures in this layer are very high, the thermosphere would not
feel hot to us. Air particles that strike one another transfer heat.
The air in the thermosphere is so thin that air particles rarely col-
lide, so little heat is transferred.
Nitrogen and oxygen atoms in the lower region of the ther-
mosphere (about 80 km to 550 km above Earth’s surface) absorb
harmful solar radiation, such as X rays and gamma rays. This
absorption causes atoms to become electrically charged. Electri-
cally charged atoms are called ions. The lower thermosphere is
called the ionosphere. Sometimes ions radiate energy as light.
These lights often glow in spectacular colors in the night skies
near the Earth’s North and South Poles, as shown in Figure 14.

Section 2 The Atmosphere 69

Copyright© by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
 Energy in the Atmosphere
QuickLAB As shown in Figure 15, energy from the sun is transferred in
The Heat Earth’s atmosphere by three mechanisms: radiation, convection,
Is On! and conduction. Radiation is the transfer of energy across space
and in the atmosphere. When you stand before a fire or a bed of
Procedure
coals, the heat you feel has reached you by radiation. Conduction
1. Fill two 250 mL beakers with
water. Use a thermometer to is the flow of heat from a warmer object to a colder object when
record the initial temperature of the objects are placed in direct physical contact. Convection is
the water in both beakers. The the transfer of heat by air currents. Hot air rises and cold air
temperature of the water should sinks. Thus, if you hold your hand above a hot iron, you will feel
be the same for both beakers. the heat because a current of hot air rises up to your hand.
2. Wrap one beaker with white
paper, and wrap one with Heating of the Atmosphere Solar energy reaches the Earth as
black paper. Secure the paper electromagnetic radiation, which includes visible light, infrared
with a piece of tape. radiation, and ultraviolet light. The sun releases a vast amount of
3. Place a 150 W floodlight 50 radiation, but our planet only receives about two-billionths of
cm away from the beakers, and this energy. This seemingly small amount of radiation contains a
turn the light on.
tremendous amount of energy, however. As shown in Figure 15,
4. Record the temperature of the
about half of the solar energy that enters the atmosphere passes
water in both beakers at 1 min,
5 min, and 10 min. through the atmosphere and reaches Earth’s surface. The rest of
Analysis the energy is absorbed or reflected in the atmosphere by clouds,
1. By what mechanism is energy gases, and dust, or it is reflected by the Earth’s surface. On a
being transferred to the sunny day, rocks may become too hot to touch. If the Earth’s
beakers? Explain your answer.

Figure 15 왘 Thermal Radiation

Three important mechanisms
responsible for transferring heat
in the atmosphere are radiation,
conduction, and convection.

70
Copyright© by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
surface continually absorbed energy, the Earth would get hotter
and hotter. The Earth does not continue to get warmer, because
the oceans and the land radiate the energy they have absorbed
back into the atmosphere. Ecofact
You may have noticed that dark-colored objects become much Lost Weekend Have you ever
hotter in the sun than light-colored objects. Dark-colored objects complained about how it always
absorb more solar radiation than light-colored objects, so dark- seems to rain on the weekends? If
colored objects have more energy to release as heat. This is one you live on the East Coast, you
reason the temperature in cities is higher than the temperature in might actually have a point.
Researchers recently found that the
the surrounding countryside.
mid-Atlantic states have a 30 to 40
The Movement of Energy in the Atmosphere Air that is con- percent greater chance of rain on
stantly moving upward, downward, or sideways causes Earth’s the weekends. Why? Researchers
suggest that the automobile
weather. In the troposphere, currents of less dense air, warmed by
exhaust that accumulates in the
the Earth’s surface, rise into the atmosphere and currents of denser atmosphere over the course of the
cold air sink toward the ground. As a current of air rises into the work week has actually caused
atmosphere, it begins to cool. Eventually, the air current becomes weather patterns in this area to
more dense than the air around it and sinks instead of continuing shift. By Friday, the exhaust levels
to rise. So, the air current moves back toward Earth’s surface until are high enough to trigger rain
over the weekend, which cleanses
it is heated by the Earth and becomes less dense. Then, the air cur-
the atmosphere for another week.
rent begins to rise again. The continual process of warm air rising
and cool air sinking moves air in a circular motion, called a con-
vection current. A convection current is shown in Figure 15.

20% absorbed by
ozone, clouds, and
5% reflected by atmospheric gases
the Earth’s surface

25% scattered
50% absorbed by and reflected by
the Earth’s surface clouds and air

Section 2 The Atmosphere 71

Copyright© by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
 The Greenhouse Effect
The gases in Earth’s atmosphere act like the glass in the car
FIELD ACTIVITY shown in Figure 16. Sunlight that penetrates Earth’s atmosphere
Exploring the Greenhouse heats the surface of the Earth. The Earth’s surface radiates heat
Effect Some of your classmates back to the atmosphere, where some of the heat escapes into
and teachers probably drive to space. The remainder of the heat is absorbed by greenhouse
school. Given what you know gases, which warms the air. Heat is then radiated back toward
about the reflection and absorp- the surface of the Earth. This process, in which gases trap heat
tion of heat, go to the parking lot
near the Earth, is known as the greenhouse effect. Without the
on a sunny day and hypothesize
which cars will have the hottest greenhouse effect, the Earth would be too cold for life to exist.
interiors. Base your hypothesis on The gases in our atmosphere that trap and radiate heat are
such variables as the color of car called greenhouse gases. None of the greenhouse gases have a
interiors and whether the win- high concentration in Earth’s atmosphere. The most abundant
dows are tinted or untinted. greenhouse gases are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and
Record your observations in
nitrous oxide. The quantities of carbon dioxide and methane
your Ecolog.
in the atmosphere vary considerably as a result of natural
and industrial processes, and the amount of water
varies because of natural processes.

Figure 16 왘 The gases in the atmo-

sphere act like a layer of glass. Both
glass and the gases in the atmosphere
allow solar energy to pass through.
But glass and some of the gases in the
atmosphere absorb heat and stop the
heat from escaping to space.

SECTION 2 Review
1. Describe the composition of Earth’s atmosphere. CRITICAL THINKING
2. Describe a characteristic of each layer of the 5. Analyzing Processes Read about the density of
atmosphere. Earth’s atmosphere under the heading “Air Pressure.”
Write a paragraph that explains why Earth’s atmos-
3. Explain the three mechanisms of heat transfer in phere becomes less dense with increasing altitude
Earth’s atmosphere. above Earth. WRITING SKILLS

4. Describe the role of greenhouse gases in Earth’s 6. Analyzing Processes How does human activity
atmosphere. change some greenhouse-gas levels?

72 Chapter 3 The Dynamic Earth

Copyright© by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.