GLOBAL WARMING & CLIMATE CHANGES

UNIT-2
ATMOSPHERE & ITS COMPONENTS

S.NO TOPICS

1. Atmosphere and its layers

2. Characteristics of Atmosphere

3. Structure of Atmosphere

4. Composition of Atmosphere

5. Atmospheric stability

6. Temperature profile of the atmosphere

7. Temperature inversion and effects of inversion

on pollution dispersion

Learning Outcomes

After completing this Unit, students will be able to

To know about the layers of atmosphere and their characteristics

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Atmosphere:
Atmosphere is the envelope of gases surrounding the earth. One of the
main components of Earth's interdependent physical systems is the atmosphere and is held in
place by the gravity of the planetary body.

Meaning:
Atmosphere word is derived from greek words ‘atmo’ means vapor, steam or
smoke and ‘sphere’ means ball.

Definition:
“Atmosphere is a protective layer of gases that shelters all life on Earth, keeping temperatures
within a relatively small range and blocking out harmful rays of sunlight.”

Features of the Atmosphere:

 Helps retain the sun’s heat and prevents it from escaping back into space.
 Protects life from harmful radiation from the sun.
 Plays a major role in Earth’s water cycle.
 Helps keep the climate on Earth moderate.

There is no boundary between the atmosphere and outer space. The atmosphere gets
less dense and denser until it “blends” into outer space.

The importance of atmosphere of the earth are:-

 The presence of the atmosphere plays a significant role in the water cycle. It facilitates the
formation of clouds which remains suspended until they are heavy enough to pour down on the
earth as rain,hail or snow.
 Protects the life forms of the earth from the harmful UV rays of the sun.The presence of the
ozone layer does this by reflecting the UV rays of the sun.
 It keeps the temperature of the earth constant so that it is suitable to support life.
 It protects the earth from smaller meteors.
 Contains N2 ,O2 and other gases which are necessary to support the life form on the earth.
 Facilitates combustion and without the atmosphere combustion is not possible.
 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.

 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

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 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.

 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 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.

If the Earth’s Atmosphere Disappeared:

 Birds and planes would fall from the sky. Although we can’t see air, it has a mass that supports
flying objects.
 The sky would turn black. The sky gets its colour blue due to the atmosphere.
 Gases and particles in Earth’s atmosphere scatter sunlight in all directions. Blue light is
scattered more than other colours because it travels as shorter, smaller waves. This is why we
see a blue sky most of the time.
 There would be no sensation of sound. Although you could feel vibrations from the ground
you wouldn’t hear anything. Sound requires a medium to travel.
 All the water bodies such as rivers, lakes and oceans would boil away. Boiling occurs when
the vapour pressure of a liquid exceeds external pressure. In a vacuum, the water readily boils.
 Organisms that breathe air to survive would die. 

Layers of atmosphere and it’s characteristics:

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Five distinct layers have been identified in atmosphere using

 thermal characteristics (temperature changes),

 chemical composition,
 movement, and
 density.
Each of the layers are bounded by "pauses" where the greatest changes in thermal characteristics,
chemical composition, movement, and density occur.

Troposphere:
 It is considered as the lowest layer of Earth’s atmosphere.
 The troposphere starts at the surface of the earth and goes up to a height of 8 kms (poles)
to 18 kms (equator). The main reason of higher height at the equator is due to presence of
hot convection currents that push the gases upward.
 All kinds of weather changes occurs within this layer.
 This layer has water vapor and mature particles.
 Temperature decreases with increasing height of atmosphere at the rate of 1 degree
Celsius for every 165 m of height. This is called Normal lapse rate.
 Tropopause, the transitional zone, separates Troposphere and Stratosphere.
Stratosphere:
 It is the second layer of the atmosphere found above the troposphere.
 It extends up to a height of 50 km from the earth’s surface.
 This layer is very dry as it contains little water vapour.
 This layer provides some advantages for flight because it is above stormy weather and
has steady, strong, horizontal winds.
 The ozone layer is found in this layer.
 The ozone layer absorbs UV rays and safeguards earth from harmful radiation.
 Stratopause separates Stratosphere and Mesosphere.
Mesosphere:
 The Mesosphere is found above the stratosphere.
 It is the coldest of the atmospheric layers.
 The mesosphere starts at 50 km above the surface of Earth and goes up to 80 km.
 The temperature drops with altitude in this layer.
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 By 80 km it reaches -100 degrees Celsius.

 Meteors burn up in this layer.
 The upper limit is called Mesopause which separates Mesosphere and Thermosphere.

Thermosphere:
 This layer is found above Mesopause from 80 to 400 km.
 Radio waves that are transmitted from the earth are reflected by this layer.
 The temperature starts increasing again with increasing height in this layer.
 Aurora and satellites occur in this layer.
Ionosphere:
 The lower Thermosphere is called the Ionosphere.
 The ionosphere consists of electrically charged particles known as ions.
 This layer is defined as the layer of the atmosphere of Earth that is ionized by cosmic and
solar radiation.
 It is positioned between 80 and 400 km above the Mesopause.
Exosphere:
 It is the outermost layer of the atmosphere.
 The zone where molecules and atoms escape into space is mentioned as the exosphere.
 It extends from the top of the thermosphere up to 10,000 km.

Structure of atmosphere: There are five layers in the structure of the atmosphere depending
upon temperature.

Exosphere:
This is the outermost layer of the atmosphere. It extends from about 375 miles (600 km) to 6,200

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miles (10,000 km) above the earth. In this layer, atoms and molecules escape into space and
satellites orbit the earth. At the bottom of the exosphere is a transition layer called the
thermopause.

Thermosphere:
Between about 53 miles (85 km) and 375 miles (600 km) lies the thermosphere, known as the
upper atmosphere. While still extremely thin, the gases of the thermosphere become increasingly
denser as one descends toward the Earth.

Mesosphere:
This layer extends from around 31 miles (50 km) above the Earth's surface to 53 miles (85 km).
The gases that comprise this layer continue to become denser as one descends. As such,
temperatures increase as one descends, rising to about 5°F (-15°C) near the bottom of this layer.
Stratosphere:
The stratosphere extends from from 4 -12 miles (6-20 km) above the Earth's surface to around 31
miles (50 km). This layer holds 19 percent of the atmosphere's gases but very little water vapor.
Troposphere:
Known as the lower atmosphere, almost all weather occurs in this region. The troposphere
begins at the Earth's surface, but the height of the troposphere varies. It is 11-12 miles (18-20
km) high at the equator, 5½ miles (9 km) at 50°N and 50°S, and just under four miles (6 km)
high at the poles.

Composition of the Atmosphere:

 The atmosphere is a mixture of many gases. In addition, it contains huge numbers of

solid and liquid particles, collectively called ‘aerosols’.
 Some of the gases may be regarded as permanent atmospheric components which
remain in fixed proportion to the total gas volume.
 Other constituents vary in quantity from place to place and from time to time. If the
suspended particles, water vapour and other variable gases were excluded from the
atmosphere, then the dry air is very stable all over the earth up to an altitude of about
80 kilo metres.
 The proportion of gases changes in the higher layers of the atmosphere in such a way
that oxygen will be almost in negligible quantity at the height of 120 km. Similarly,
carbon dioxide and water vapour are found only up to 90 km from the surface of the
earth.
 Nitrogen and oxygen make up nearly 99% of the clean, dry air. The remaining gases
are mostly inert and constitute about 1% of the atmosphere.
 Besides these gases, large quantities of water vapour and dust particles are also
present in the atmosphere. These solid and liquid particles are of great climatic
significance.

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Nitrogen:
Nitrogen accounts for 78% of total atmospheric volume. It is a relatively inert gas, and
is an important constituent of all organic compounds. The main function of nitrogen is
to control combustion by diluting oxygen. It also indirectly helps in oxidation of different
kinds.

Oxygen:
Oxygen, although constituting only 21%of total volume of atmosphere, is the most
important component among gases. All living organisms inhale oxygen. Besides, oxygen can
combine with other elements to form important compounds, such as, oxides.
Also, combustion is not possible without oxygen.

Carbon dioxide:

 The third important gas is Carbon Dioxide which constitutes only about 03%of the dry
air and is a product of combustion.
 Green plants, through photosynthesis, absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and
use it to manufacture food and keep other bio-physical processes going.
 Being an efficient absorber of heat, carbon dioxide is considered to be of great climatic
significance.
 Carbon dioxide is considered to be a very important factor in the heat energy budget.
 With increased burning of fossil fuels – oil, coal and natural gas – the carbon dioxid e
percentage in the atmosphere has been increasing at an alarming rate.
 More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere means more heat absorption. This could
significantly raise the temperature at lower levels of the atmosphere thus inducing drastic
climatic changes.

Ozone:

 Ozone (03) is another important gas in the atmosphere, which is actually a type of
oxygen molecule consisting of three, instead of two, atoms.
 It forms less than 0.00005% by volume of the atmosphere and is unevenly distributed.
 It is between 20 km and 25 km altitude that the greatest concentrations of ozone are
found.

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 It is formed at higher altitudes and transported downwards.

 Ozone plays a crucial role in blocking the harmful ultraviolet radiationfrom the sun.
 Other gases found in almost negligible quantities in the atmosphere are neon, helium,
hydrogen, xenon, krypton, methane etc.

Water vapour

 Gaseous form of water persent in the atmosphere is called water vapour.

 Water vapour present in the atmosphere has made life possible on the earth Water
vapour is the source of all kinds of precipitation.
 Its maximum amount in the atmosphere could be upto 4 percent.
 Maximum amount of water vapour is found in hot-wet regions and its least amount is
found in the dry regions.
 Generally, the amount of water vapour goes on decreasing from low latitudes to high
latitudes.
 In the same way, its amount goes on decreasing with increasing altitude.
 Water vapour reaches in the atmosphere through evaporation and transpiration.
 Evaporation takes place in the oceans, seas, rivers, ponds and lakes while transpiration
takes lace from the plants, trees and living beings.

Dust Particles

 Dust particles are generally found in the lower layers of the atmosphere.
 These particles are found in the form of sand, smoke and oceanic salt.
 Sand particle have important place in the atmosphere.
 These dust particles help in the condensation of water vapour.
 During condensation water vapour gets condensed in the form of droplets around these
dust particles.
 Due to this process the clouds are formed and precipitation is made possible

Atmospheric stability:

When you think of the word “stable,” you typically think of an object that is unlikely to
change or something that is balanced. The opposite is true with something that is “unstable”.  An
unstable object is likely to fall or change position with time. The same is true with clouds. When
you see a fluffy cumulus cloud, you might notice them changing shape from one minute to the
next. Such clouds are in a constant state of change, and thus represent the atmosphere in an
unstable state.

Instability in the atmosphere is a concept that is intimately connected with thunderstorms,

cumulus development, and vertical motion. In order to visualize the concept of stability, you might
imagine a boulder sitting at the bottom of a canyon surrounded by steep hills, as depicted in the
figure below by the blue circle. If you were strong enough to push the boulder from its initial
position partway up one of the hills, it would roll back to the bottom once you let go. Despite
exerting a force on the boulder and causing an initial displacement, it would return to its initial
position, and the net displacement would be zero.
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To visualize the concept of instability, imagine the same boulder at the top of a hill (red
circle below). If you were able to push the boulder just a little bit in any direction, it would begin to
roll downward and accelerate away from its initial position. However, if the same boulder were to
be placed on flat ground (green circle below) and you were to push it, it would change position, but
remain in its new position. This is an example of neutral stability.

Each of these concepts can be applied to motions of air parcels in the atmosphere. The topic of
stability in atmospheric science is important because the formation of clouds is closely related to
stability or instability in the atmosphere.

Atmospheric temperature profile:

An atmospheric temperature profile (aka vertical temperature profile or

just temperature profile) of a world is a function of the temperature of
its atmosphere by altitude.

Atmospheric temperature is a measure of temperature at different levels of

the Earth's atmosphere. It is governed by many factors, including incoming solar
radiation, humidity and altitude. When discussing surface air temperature, the
annual atmospheric temperature range at any geographical location depends largely
upon the type of biome, as measured by the Köppen climate classification, The Köppen

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climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It

was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940).

Temperature varies greatly at different heights relative to Earth's surface and this
variation in temperature characterizes the four layers that exist in the atmosphere. These
layers include the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere.

 troposphere - lowest layer, in which the temperature falls with altitude.

 tropopause - level at the top of the troposphere, where temperature is constant
according to altitude.
 stratosphere - next higher layer, in which the temperature rises with altitude.
 stratopause - level at the top of the stratosphere, where temperature is constant
according to altitude.
 mesosphere - next higher layer, in which the temperature again falls with
altitude.
 mesopause - level at the top of the mesosphere, where the temperature is
constant according to altitude.
 thermosphere - next higher layer, in which the temperature again rises with
altitude.

Minimum temperature:
The minimum temperature on calm, clear nights has been observed to occur not on the ground, but rather a
few tens of centimeters above the ground. The lowest temperature layer is called Ramdas layer after L. A.
Ramdas, who first reported this phenomenon in 1932 based on observations at different screen heights at six
meteorological centers across India.[8][9] The phenomenon is attributed to the interaction of thermal
radiation effects on atmospheric aerosols and convection transfer close to the ground.

Global temperature:
The concept of a global temperature is commonly used in climatology, and denotes the average
temperature of the Earth based on surface,[10] near-surface or tropospheric measurements.
These temperature records and measurements are typically acquired using the satellite or ground
instrumental temperature measurements, then usually compiled using a database or computer model.

Temperature inversion and effects of inversion on pollution dispersion:

A temperature inversion is a layer in the atmosphere in which air temperature increases with
height. An inversion is present in the lower part of a cap. Temperature Inversion is also known as
thermal inversion.

The cap is a layer of relatively warm air aloft (above the inversion). Air parcels rising into this
layer become cooler than the surrounding environment, which inhibits their ability to ascend.

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 The reversal of the normal behaviour of temperature in the troposphere is known as

temperature inversion.
 The troposphere is the lowest region of the atmosphere, extending from the earth’s surface
to a height of about 6–10 km.
 Inversions play an important role in determining visibility, precipitation, and cloud forms.
 There will be limited diffusion of air pollutants, smoke and dust.
 During the day time, the radiation from the sun heats up the land surface and the air gets
mainly heated up when this air gets in touch with the heated land surface.
 Diurnal variations in air temperature also affect inversion.
 Convective clouds cannot grow high enough to produce showers in regions where a
pronounced low-level inversion is present. This happens due to the accumulation of smoke
and dust particles.
 Even in the absence of clouds, visibility may be greatly reduced below the inversion.
 Fog is frequently present there, as the air near the base of an inversion tends to be cool.
 Through convection and conduction, the heat from the ground gets transferred to the air.
 The magnitude of ground inversions is greatly affected by the topography.
 Temperature inversion is quite common, but it happens for a short duration.
 An ideal situation for inversion is still air, long winter nights with clear skies.
 It is a normal phenomenon throughout the year over the polar areas.

Effects of temperature inversion on pollution dispersion :

The inversion of temperature and its duration affects adversely the society and economy of the
region of its occurrence. Some of the important consequences of temperature inversion are –

The occurrence of fog: there develop clouds in contact with the ground (fog) with visibility
usually restricted to less than 1km. in the urban areas, the fog mixed with smoke takes the shape of
smog. While fog is injurious to crops, the smog is considered a health hazard. In 1952, about 4000
people died of smog in London. Breathing problems, asthma, and bronchitis, etc. are common
problems in Delhi and big cities of northern India during the winter season.

Road accidents: Visibility may be greatly reduced below the inversion due to the accumulation of
dust and smoke particles. The frequency of roads, railways, and air accidents increases during
foggy conditions due to low visibility. Trains and flights are often delayed.

Damage of crops: the winter crops like wheat, barley, mustard, vegetables, chilies, potato, etc. are
seriously damaged. The sugarcane crop in the northern plains of India. Especially in UP, Punjab,
and Haryana develops the disease of a red rod which reduces the sugar content.

Vegetation: Orchards are closely influenced by the inversion of temperature. The lower valleys of
Alps Mountains are almost without settlements, while the upper slopes are inhabited.

Clouds: In regions where a pronounced low-level inversion is present, convective clouds can

not grow high enough to produce showers.

Diurnal Variations: Inversions also affect diurnal variations in temperature. Diurnal variations

tend to be very small.

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Ideal Conditions For Temperature Inversion:

1. Long nights, so that the outgoing radiation is greater than the incoming radiation.
2. Clear skies, which allow unobstructed escape of radiation.
3. Calm and stable air, so that there is no vertical mixing at lower levels.

Types of Temperature Inversion:

1. Frontal inversion
2. Temperature Inversion in Intermontane Valley
3. Ground Inversion
4. Subsidence Inversion
5. Marine Inversion

1. Frontal inversion

 It is caused by the horizontal and vertical movement of air. The temperate cyclones are

formed by the convergence of warm westerlies and cold polar air, and thus the warm air
overlies the cold air. The presence of warm air above and cold air below reverses the
normal lapse rate and inversion of temperature occurs.
 This kind of inversion has a considerable slope, whereas other inversions are nearly
horizontal. In addition, humidity may be high, and clouds may be present immediately
above it.
 This type of inversion is unstable and is destroyed as the weather changes.

2. Temperature Inversion in Intermontane Valley (Air Drainage Type of Inversion)

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 Sometimes, the temperature in the lower layers of air increases instead of decreasing with
elevation. This happens commonly along a sloping surface.
 Here, the surface radiates heat back to space rapidly and cools down at a faster rate than the
upper layers. As a result the lower cold layers get condensed and become heavy.
 The sloping surface underneath makes them move towards the bottom where the cold layer
settles down as a zone of low temperature while the upper layers are relatively warmer.
 This condition, opposite to normal vertical distribution of temperature, is known as
Temperature Inversion.
 In other words, the vertical temperature gets inverted during temperature inversion.
 This kind of temperature inversion is very strong in the middle and higher latitudes. It can
be strong in regions with high mountains or deep valleys also.

3. Ground Inversion (Surface Temperature Inversion)

 A ground inversion develops when air is cooled by contact with a colder surface until it
becomes cooler than the overlying atmosphere; this occurs most often on clear nights when
the ground cools off rapidly by radiation. If the temperature of surface air drops below its
dew point, fog may result.
 This kind of temperature inversion is very common in the higher latitudes.
 A surface temperature inversion in lower and middle latitudes occurs during cold nights and
gets destroyed during the daytime.
 This inversion, however, disappears with sunrise. The duration and height of surface
inversion increase polewards. Following conditions are required for ground surface
inversion:

 Long winter nights Cloudless calm skies

 Dry air and low relative humidity
 Calm atmosphere or slow movement of air Snow covered surface

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4. Subsidence Inversion (Upper Surface Temperature Inversion)

 A subsidence inversion develops when a widespread layer of air descends.

 The layer is compressed and heated by the resulting increase in atmospheric pressure, and
as a result, the lapse rate of temperature is reduced.
 If the air mass sinks low enough, the air at higher altitudes becomes warmer than at lower
altitudes, producing a temperature inversion.
 Subsidence inversions are common over the northern continents in winter (dry atmosphere)
and over the subtropical oceans; these regions generally have subsiding air because they are
located under large high-pressure centers.
 This temperature inversion is called upper surface temperature inversion because it takes
place in the upper parts of the atmosphere.

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5. Marine Inversion
This occurs when cool, moist air that originates over the ocean is blown onto land by our
prevailing westerly winds.  The cool temperature of this air makes it denser, so it readily flows
underneath the warmer, drier air that is present over the basin. 

 Marine Inversions occur in places near large bodies of water, especially in the spring when
the water is the most chilly.
 When air passes over these large bodies of water, it is cooled by the heat getting conducted
from the air to the water.
 This cold air is then blown inland under the warmer air that is over the land, thus creating
an inversion.

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