THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE AND OCEANS

Our objective in these early chapters is to examine the atmosphere and oceans with particular
reference to the air- land and air-sea interfaces that are so vital to Man.The principles we shall
review in this chapter belong to two areas of natural science: meteorology, the science of the
atmosphere, and physical oceanography, the physical- science aspect of the oceans.

Atmosphere and Oceans

The air, sea, and land constitute the major portions of four great material realms, or spheres, that
comprise the total global environment (Figure 3.1). Three of these realms are inorganic: (1)
atmosphere, (2) hydrosphere, and (3) lithosphere.

Figure 3.1 The earth realms shown as intersecting circles. The large outer circles represent the three
great inorganic realms; each one overlaps the other two in a small area, suggesting that some of the
substance of each realm is held within the other two. The biosphere, or organic realm, draws its
substance from its in- organic environment, represented by the circle overlap into the three
surrounding realms. The small diameter of the biospheric circle signifies that the total mass of
matter he’d within the bio- sphere is only a small fraction of that in the other three realms.

Composition of the Atmosphere

The earth's atmosphere consists of a mixture of various -gases surrounding the earth to a height of
many kilometers.From the earth’s surface upward to an altitude of about 80 km (50 mi), the
chemical composition of the atmosphere is highly uniform throughout in terms of the proportions of
its component gases.

Pure, dry air consists largely of nitrogen, about 78 per- cent by volume, and oxygen, about 21
percent (Figure 3.2)

The remaining 1 percent of the air is mostly argon, an inactive gas of little importance in natural
processes. Part of that 1 percent consists of a very small amount of carbon dioxide, about 0.033
percent.
Also present, but in extremely small amounts, are the following gases: neon, helium, krypton, xenon,
hydrogen, methane, and nitrous oxide. All the component gases of the lower atmosphere are
perfectly diffused among one another so as to give the pure, dry air a definite set of physical
properties, just as if it were a single gas.

Atmospheric Pressure

Air is a tangible material substance, exerting atmospheric pressure on any solid or liquid surface
exposed to it. This pressure is about 1 kg/sq cm (about 15 lb/sq in.). Because atmospheric pres- sure
is exactly counterbalanced by the pressure of air within liquids, hollow objects, or porous
substances, its ever-present weight goes unnoticed. The pressure on 1 sq cm of surface can be
thought of as the actual weight of a column of air 1 cm in cross section extending upward to the
outer limits of the atmosphere. Air is readily compressi- ble. That which lies lowest is most greatly
compressed and is, therefore, densest. In an upward direction, both density and pressure of the air
fall off rapidly.

Temperature Structure Of the Lower Atmosphere

The atmosphere has been subdivided into layers according to temperatures and zones of
temperature change, shown in Figure 3.3. Of greatest importance to Man and other life forms is the
lowermost layer, the troposphere. Air temperature falls quite steadily with increasing altitude. The
average rate of temperature decrease is about 6.4C/1000 m of ascent (3½ F°/1000 ft). This rate is
known as the environmental temperature lapse rate.

Figure 3.8 shows a typical air sounding into the tropo- sphere at midlatitudes (lat. 45°N) on a
summer day. Alti- tude is plotted on the vertical axis, temperature on the horizontal axis. The
resulting curve is a sloping line. Temperature drops uniformly with altitude to a height of about 13
km (8 mi). Don't be surprised when the captain of your aircraft, flying at 12 km (40,000 ft) altitude,
anNounces that the outside temperature is -50°C (-60°F).

The lapse rate changes abruptly at an altitude of about 14 km (9 mi). Instead of continuing to fall,
temperature here remains constant with increasing altitude. This level of change is the tropopause;
it marks a transition into the next higher temperature zone, known as the stratosphere.

The altitude of the tropopause is highest over the equa- tor (17 km; 10 mi), and lowest over the
poles (9-10 km; 5.5-6 mi); see Figure 3.9. There are important seasonal changes in altitude of the
tropopause in middle and high latitudes, as shown in Figure 3.9. For example, at lat. 45° the average
altitude in January is 12.5 km (8 mi), but rises to 15 km (9 mi) in July. Temperatures at the
tropopause are much lower at the equator than at the poles, as shown in Figure 3.9. At first glance,
this relationship may seem strange, accustomed as we are to considering the equatorial region as a
warm zone and the polar regions as cold. On the other hand, because the lapse rate is quite uniform
the world over, the thicker the troposphere, the colder the tem- peratures at the tropopause will be.

The Troposphere and Man

The lowermost atmospheric layer, the troposphere, is of most direct importance to Man. Almost all
phenomena of weather and climate that physically affect Man take place within the troposphere
(see Plate B.3).

Besides the gases of pure dry air, the troposphere con- tains water vapor, a colorless, odorless
gaseous form of water that mixes perfectly with the other gases of the air.
The Ozone Layer-A Shield to Life

Of vital concern to Man and all other life forms on earth is the presence of an ozone layer within the
stratosphere. This layer sets in an altitude of about 15 km (9 mi) and extends upward to about 55 km
(35 mi). The ozone layer is a re- gion of concentration of the form of oxygen molecule known as
ozone (O3), in which three oxygen atoms are combined instead of the usual two atoms (O2). Ozone
is produced by the action of solar radiation on ordinary oxygen atoms.

The Earth's Magnetic Atmosphere

The earth can be thought of as a simple bar magnet, the axis of which approximately coincides with
the earth's geo- graphic axis (Figure 3.10). Magnetism is generated within the earth's metallic core, a
central spherical body about half the earth's diameter. The earth's magnetic axis is in- clined several
degrees with respect to the geographic axis. Consequently, the north and south magnetic poles do
not coincide with the geographic north and south poles, nor does the magnetic equator coincide
with the earth's geo- graphic equator.

Lines of force of the earth's magnetic field, shown in Figure 3.10, pass outward through the earth's
surface and into surrounding space. A magnetic compass needle, which is nothing more than a
delicately balanced bar magnet, ori- ents itself in a position of rest parallel with the lines of force.
Lines of force extending out into space comprise the earth's external magnetic field. This field can be
thought of as a magnetic atmosphere. If we assume, for purposes of comparison, that the earth's
gaseous atmosphere extends outward to a distance equal to twice its own radius, or 13,000 km
(8000 mi), it is evident that the magnetic atmo- sphere extends far beyond the outermost limits of
the gas- eous atmosphere. All of the region within the limit of the magnetic field is described as the
magnetosphere; its outer boundary has been named the magnetopause.

Man and the Oceans

The importance of the oceans to Man is felt in a wide range of dimensions and scales. One
environmental role played by the oceans is climatic. The huge water mass of the oceans stores a
large quantity of heat. This heat is gained or lost very slowly. As we shall see, the oceans ef- fectively
moderate the seasonal extremes of temperature over much of the earth’s surface. The oceans
supply water vapor to the atmosphere and are the basic source of all rain that falls on the lands. This
rainfall, the source of Man’s vital freshwater supplies, originates from the ocean surface by a natural
process of distillation of salt water.

The World Ocean

We shall use the term world ocean to refer to the com- bined ocean bodies and seas of the globe.
Let us consider some statistics that emphasize the enormous extent and bulk of this great saltwater
layer. The world ocean covers about 71 percent of the global surface (Figure 3.12); its av- erage
depth is about 3800 m (12,500 ft), when shallow seas are included with the deep main ocean basins.
For major portions of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans, the average depth is about 4000 m
(13,000 ft).

The total volume of the world ocean is about 1.4 bil- lion cu km (317 million cu mi), a quantity just
over 97 percent of the world's free water. Of the small remaining volume, about 2 percent is locked
up in the ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland, and about 1 percent is repre- sented by fresh water
stored on the lands. These figures show the extent of the hydrosphere, a general term for the total
free water of the earth, in all three of its states-gas, liquid, and solid. The hydrosphere is largely
represented by the world ocean. To place the masses of the atmosphere and oceans in their proper
planetary perspective, compare the following figures. (The unit of mass used here is 1011 kg.)

Entire earth 6000

World ocean 1.4

Atmosphere 0.005

Composition of Seawater

Seawater is a solution of salts-a brine-whose ingredients have maintained approximately fixed

proportions over a considerable span of geologic time. Besides their impor- tance in the chemical
environment of marine life, these salts constitute a vast reservoir of mineral matter from which
certain constituents may be extracted for industrial uses. One way to describe the composition of
seawater is to state the principal ingredients that would be required to make an artificial brine
approximately like seawater. These are listed in Table

Layered Structure of the Oceans

As with the atmosphere, the ocean has a layered structure. Ocean layers are recognized in terms of
both temperature and oxygen content. In the troposphere, air temperatures are generally highest at
ground level and diminish upward. In the oceans, temperatures are generally highest at the sea
surface and decline with depth. This trend is to be ex- pected because the source of heat is from the
sun's rays and from heat supplied by the overlying atmosphere.

With respect to temperature, the ocean presents a three-layered structure in cross section, as
shown in the left- hand diagram of Figure

Atmosphere and Oceans in Review

Looking over the other planets of the solar system, the uniqueness of Planet Earth as a life
environment is most striking. Only Earth has both a great world ocean and a comparatively dense
oxygen-rich atmosphere combined with a favorable temperature range. Mars, our nearest planet,
has practically no free water in any form and only a very rarefied atmosphere with little oxygen.
Venus, match- ing us closely in size, has a much denser atmosphere than Earth. But water in any
form is almost totally lacking on Venus, and surface temperatures there are much higher than on
Earth. Little Mercury, with no atmosphere and no water, roasts in the sun’s rays. The greater outer
planets- Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune probably have large quantities of water, but it is
frozen solid.

FLOW SYSTEMS OF MATTER AND ENERGY

Matter and Energy

The earth realms with which physical geography is con- cerned consist of two components: matter
and energy.To define the terms matter and energy is not an easy task because they represent
concepts that include everything in the real world.

Energy is often defined in terms of its effects. Perhaps the most common definition is that "energy is
the ability to do work." Energy is somehow always involved in the mo- tion of matter, but energy can
be stored in matter that does not appear outwardly to have motion.
Actually, energy cannot be destroyed by being “used”; it can only change from one form to another
and move from one place to another. The same statement applies to matter, which cannot be
destroyed, but only changed or moved from place to place. By “destroyed” we mean “removed from
existence,” or “removed from the universe.”’

The Nature of Matter

Several kinds or classes of matter exist in the universe. All matter is collectively de- scribed by the
word “substances.” Next, pure substances are distinguished from mixtures, which consist of two or
more pure substances mixed together in indefinite propor- tions. The pure substances prove to be
either elements or compounds. Examples of elements are metals in the pure state, such as iron,
gold, copper, or silver. Compounds are also familiar to everyone; for example, pure water, carbon
dioxide gas, or crystals of quartz.The smallest representative samples of pure substances are of two
classes: atoms and compound particles. The latter con-sist of molecules or ions, which are groups of
atoms. A single molecule may contain as few as two atoms or (in the case of some complex organic
molecules) as many as several thousand atoms.

States of Matter

The physical condition, or state, in which we find matter at a given place and time is a subject of
great importance in physical geography.

The three common states of matter-solid, liquid, and gaseous apply to both pure substances
(elements and compounds) and to mixtures. Using only the simplest con- cepts of atoms and
compounds we can describe the three states of matter in terms of observable behavior. For this
purpose, the atoms or molecules that comprise matter can be visualized as uniform spheres, all
physically alike.

A gas is a substance that expands easily and rapidly to fill any small empty container. Atoms or
molecules of the gas, as the case may be, are in high-speed motion

Forms of Energy

In strict terms of physics, energy is the product of force acting through distance. Thus, energy is the
ability to move an object (exert a force) for a certain distance. Energy is stored and transported in a
variety of ways. Some of the recognized forms of energy are: mechanical energy, heat energy,
energy transmitted by radiation through space (electromagnetic energy), chemical energy, electrical
energy, and nuclear energy.

Mechanical energy is energy associated with the mo- tion of matter. There are two forms of
mechanical energy: kinetic energy and potential energy.

Flow Systems of Matter and Energy

An energy flow system traces the flow path of energy from a point of entry to a point of emer-
gence. As energy flows through such a system, it may change form many times and may be detained
temporarily in storage from place to place. In this process the energy flow makes use of matter as
the medium of motion and of storage.

Energy flow systems set in motion and sustain material flow systems (flow systems of matter). The
matter involved in such systems is not only transported from place to place along certain pathways,
but it can also undergo changes of state and chemical changes. The matter traveling through the
system can also be held temporarily in Storage at cer tain points.