Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Layers of the earth atmosphere

Troposphere

The troposphere is the lowest region in the Earth's (or any planet's) atmosphere.It’s the layer in which you live. On the Earth, it goes from ground (or water) level up to about 11 miles (17 kilometers) high. This layer is where we would see most of the clouds and where most of the weather conditions would take place.It is the densest atmospheric layer, containing almost 90% of the atmosphere’s total mass.All the weather and clouds occur in the troposphere.The tropopause is the boundary zone (or transition layer) between the troposphere and the stratosphere.







Stratosphere

The layer above the troposphere is called the stratosphere.The stratosphere extends between 11 and 31 miles (17 to 50 kilometers) above the earth's surface.The main thing about the stratosphere is that it has the ozone, which is made up of ozone molecules that absorb the ultraviolet rays from the Sun and shield us from its extremely harmful effects.Ozone is a molecule that is made up of three oxygen atoms (instead of two oxygen atoms).

Mesosphere

It is the coldest atmospheric layer and this is where meteors usually burn up when they enter Earth’s atmosphere.The mesosphere extends from between 31 and 50 miles (17 to 80 kilometers) above the earth's surface. The mesosphere is characterized by temperatures that quickly decrease as height increases with temperatures as low as -93°C at the top of the layer. and this is where meteors usually burn up when they enter Earth’s atmosphere.


Thermosphere

The thermosphere is the upper most layer of the atmosphere.temperature increases with altitude, due to the many gases in this layer absorbing solar radiation. Temperatures can reach as high as 1,700°C.It is said that because of the extreme low pressure, a person would not feel the heat. This layer also produces auroras, which are natural bright colored display of lights in the sky. They are mainly seen at night and in the Polar Regions.

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