ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES

Chapter 7
Part 1
Introduction

• The atmosphere is a vital component of

the human environment.
• It transmits alters the solar energy that
controls our climate.
• It acts a shield, protecting us from
damaging meteoritic impacts and from
radiation, such as ultraviolet rays from the
sun.
• It supports the flight of birds and insects
and transports seeds and spores. It’s
gases provide the raw materials for life
itself: without them, we could not exists.
Weather and Climate:

The two aspects of the atmosphere of which

we are most aware:

3. Weather-is the name we give to the states

of the sky, air, wind and water. Weather
elements are rain, snow, heat, wind,
thunder, and fog.

5. Climate-our integrated experience is the

climate, the characteristic annual cycle of
weather.
Atmospheric Sciences (the study
of weather):
1. Meteorology-which is the physics and chemistry
of the lower atmosphere.

3. Aeronomy-the scientific study of the upper

atmosphere, which begins 100 km above sea
level; electromagnetic forces chemical activity
are more important in this field than in
meteorology.

5. Climatology-the study of climate, is concerned

with how the earth’s atmosphere behaves over
long periods of time
Basic Atmospheric Properties:

Composition and Physical State:

• The atmosphere is a mixture of gases, with numerous

suspended particles, some solid and some liquid.

• The lower atmosphere is electrically neutral, containing

few free ions; for most part, it is composed of molecules.

• The upper atmosphere, by contrast, is extensively

ionized; many gases are broken up into single atoms or
into free radicals such as hydroxyl (OH-). Because of its
special role, water vapor (H2O) is often dealt with
separately.
Com pos itio n O f Pu re Dry A ir (W itho ut W at er Va por)
In Lo wer A tmos pher e W ith Mol ec ula r W eig ht s and
En viro nme nt al R oles
Comp os ition O f Pu re Dry A ir (Wi thou t W ate r Vap or)
In L ow er Atmo sphe re Wit h M olec ul ar W ei ght s an d
En vir onme nt al R ole s
Gases Formulas Concentration Molecular Environmental Roles
(% by volume) Weight
(Kg/mol x 103)
Active gases
Nitrogen N2 78.09 28.0 Inert as N2; essential to life as
N
Oxygen O2 20.95 32.0 Essential to life; chemically
active
Hydrogen H2 5.0 x 10-5 2.0 Important in atmospheric
chemistry
Inert gases
Argon Ar 0.93 39.9 Inert
Neon Ne 1.8 x 10-3 20.2 Inert
Helium He 5.2 x 10-4 4.0 Inert; escapes from earth’s
crust
Krypton Kr 1.0 x 10-4 83.7 Inert
Xenon Xe 8.0 x 10-6 131.3 Inert
Radon Rn 6.0 x 10-18 222.0 Radioactive; variable in height
and time, because of decay
Variable gases
Carbon Dioxide CO2 3.6 x 10-2 44.0 Essential to life; optically
active
Ozone O3 1.0 x 10-6 48.0 Toxic, optically and
chemically active
Other traces constituents include sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of single nitrogen (NOx)
and various pollutants

•Water may be present in the atmosphere as gas (vapor),

solid, or liquid. Water vapor is always present.

•The precipitable water is the liquid water equivalent of

the water vapor present n any column of the atmosphere.

•In practice, most of the water vapor is in the lowest 5 km.

Thermal and Electrical State:
Permanent Layers of the Atmosphere
Troposphere

: at the base is called the troposphere; capped by a

surface minimum temperature called the
tropopause at levels between 10 to17 km above the
sea.
• Temperature decreases with height in the
troposphere, since the main source is solar
radiation absorbed at ground level. The rate of
decrease, called lapse rate, is about 5.0 K/km.
• The troposphere contains most of the water
vapor, clouds, and storms of the atmosphere.
• Wind tends to be strongest at the tropopause,
the level of the jet streams. This is also the level
at which jet aircraft cruise.
Stratosphere

: above the tropopause, temperature increases with

height in stratosphere, reaching a maximum at
50at 55 km, the so called stratopause, where
temperature is about as high as at ground level.
• It’s warmth is due to the absorption of ultraviolet
radiation from the sun by oxygen (O2) and ozone
(O3).
• Most of the world’s ozone is found in the
stratosphere, where it may exceed 5 part per
million by volume (ppmv). Hence stratospheric
air is lethal to human beings. There is very little
water vapor at these heights.
Mesosphere

: extends from the stratopause at 50 to 55 km to

another temperature minimum at 80 km, the
mesopause.
• The mesosphere is a windy and turbulent region,
but there is usually too little water vapor for
clouds to form.
Thermosphere

: above the mesopause, temperature increases

indefinitely upward into the thermosphere, the
hot upper atmosphere.
• The air nearest the earth’s surface is called the
boundary layer. The planetary boundary layer
(below 1000 m) is the layer in which the wind is
affected by friction with the earth’s surface.
• The bottom 50 m is often called the surface
boundary layer. These layers are very important
to the engineer, most of whose work is done at
such levels.
• The temperatures of the air, sea, and land surface
are controlled by unequal heating and cooling by
the sun or outgoing radiation.
Thermosphere

• This accounts for the familiar changes of heat and

cold during a typical day and between seasons.
• It also explains why the tropics are warm and polar
regions cold. The transport of heat by winds and
ocean currents also affects air temperature.
• The lower atmosphere is usually electrically
neutral, unlike the ionize upper atmosphere.
Nevertheless, strong potential gradients do exist,
especially in and around thunderstorm.
Energy Outputs And Inputs:

Solar Radiation
Solar Radiation:

• The sun provides 99.97%of the heat used at the

earth’s surface for all natural processes.
• The sun is a fairly constant star. We can detect
only small variations in the nature and intensity of
the radiation it emits.
• Hence we speak of the solar constant, which is the
intensity of solar radiation reaching the top of the
earth’s atmosphere.
Solar Radiation

• Measured at right angles to the solar beam, the

solar constant is estimated to be 1368 W on each
square of the circular outline (disk) of the earth as
it faces the sun. The spin of the earth distributes
this power over the whole surface of the sphere,
whose area is four times as great as that of the
disk. Hence the mean solar constant per unit area
of the earth’s surface is 342 W/m2. (Surface area of
a sphere=4πr²)
• Solar radiation resembles that of a blackbody
(perfect radiator near 6000 K. The highest intensity
occurs near a wavelength of 500 nm, with most of
power contained in the range 200 to 5000 nm.
Meteorologists call this shortwave radiation,
because it is of short wavelength than radiation
emitted by the earth itself
Solar Radiation:

• The human eye detects light between about 400

and 700 nm which is called visible light waveband
• Shorter radiation (200 to 400nm) is called ultra
violet, and longer radiation, infrared.
• The actual mean intensity (averaged over 24 h) of
solar radiation at ground level varies from about
250 W/m2 in subtropical desert to as little as 80
W/m2 in cloudy sub polar areas.
• Obviously, it is near zero at night, and day values
are considerably higher than average.
• At times in clear weather, when the sun is nearly
vertically overhead, values approaching the solar
constant (1368 W/m2) are observed for short
periods.
Solar Radiation