VARIATION IN

PRESSURE,
TEMPERATURE AND
COMPOSITION
BY: JOHN LERRY R. IGNACIO
VARIATION IN PRESSURE OF THE
ATMOSPHERE
 ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE

• The force exerted on a surface which gravity pulls

the air above to earth.
• It is commonly measured with a barometer
• An atmosphere (atm) is a unit of measurement
equal to the average air pressure at sea level

• One atmosphere is101.325 kPa, 14.7 psi or 760

torr
 ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE

• According to the National Geographic

Encyclopedia 2011, atmospheric pressure drops as
altitude increases.
• As the pressure decreases, the amount of oxygen
available to breathe also decreases.
 ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE

• The pressure at sea level is about 1000 millibars, at

10 miles up, it is about 100 millibars; 20 miles up,
10 millibars; 30 miles up, 1 millibar; and so forth.
The same approximate rule holds fairly well for air
density. Thus, in the lower thermosphere, both
density and pressure are only about 1/ 1,000,000 of
their surface value.
• In this graph, air
pressure at the
surface is illustrated
as being
approximately 1013
millibars (mb) or 1
kilogram per square
centimeter of surface
area.
 MEASURING ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE

• Any instrument that measures air pressure is called

a barometer. The first measurement of atmospheric
pressure began with a simple experiment
performed by Evangelista Torricelli in 1643.
 TORRICELLI'S
BAROMETER
• Inside this instrument is a
small, flexible metal
capsule called an aneroid
cell. In the construction
of the device, a vacuum is
created inside the capsule
so that small changes in
outside air pressure cause
the capsule to expand or
contract.
 ANEROID
BAROMETER
• Scientists often use the
kilopascal (kPa) as
their preferred unit for
measuring pressure. 1
kilopascal is equal to
10 millibars.
• Air pressure above sea level can be calculated as
p = 101325 (1 - 2.25577 10-5 h) 5.25588
where
101325 = normal temperature and pressure at sea level
(Pa)

p = air pressure (Pa)

h = altitude above sea level (m)
• Example - Air pressure at Elevation 10000 m
The air pressure at altitude 10000 m can be calculated
as

p = 101325 (1 - 2.25577 10-5 (10000m))5.25588

= 26436 Pa
= 26.4 kPa
VARIATION IN TEMPERATURES OF THE
ATMOSPHERE
 ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE

• As you gain altitude through the atmosphere, the

temperature can change significantly.
• There are vertical and horizontal distribution of
temperatures in the atmosphere.
VARIATION IN COMPOSITION OF THE
ATMOSPHERE
 ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION

• Major layers of the atmosphere are exosphere,

thermosphere, mesosphere, stratosphere,
troposphere, from highest to lowest.
• Our atmosphere is most concentrated at the earth’s
surface and decreasing fast thin as you move
upward, blending with space at 100 miles above
sea level.
• Graphs of the overall atmospheric concentration and the relative percentages
of trace gases.
• According from the North Carolina Climate
Office, the atmosphere is composed of a
mix of several different gases in differing
amounts. The permanent gases whose
percentages do not change from day to day
are nitrogen, oxygen and argon. Nitrogen
accounts for 78% of the atmosphere, oxygen
21% and argon 0.9%
• Gases like carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides,
methane, and ozone are trace gases that account
for about a tenth of one percent of the atmosphere.
THE CARBON AND
OXYGEN CYCLE
BY: JOHN LERRY R. IGNACIO
 CARBON CYCLE

• Carbon is an essential element in the bodies of living

organisms. It is also economically important to modern
humans, in the form of fossil fuels.
• Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is taken up by
photosynthetic organisms and used to make organic
molecules, which travel through food chains. In the end, the
carbon atoms are released as CO2 in respiration.
• Slow geological processes, including the formation of
sedimentary rock and fossil fuels, contribute to the carbon
cycle over long timescales.
 CARBON CYCLE

 One dealing with rapid carbon exchange among

living organisms
 One dealing with long-term cycling of carbon
through geologic processes
 CARBON CYCLE

• Carbon exists in the air largely as carbon dioxide CO 2 gas

• Photosynthesis by land plants, bacteria, and algae converts
carbon dioxide or bicarbonate into organic molecules.
• Organic molecules made by photosynthesizers are passed
through food chains, and cellular respiration converts the
organic carbon back into carbon dioxide gas.
 CARBON CYCLE

• Longterm storage of organic carbon occurs when

matter from living organisms is buried deep
underground or sinks to the bottom of the ocean
and forms sedimentary rock.
 CARBON CYCLE

• According to Anthes, R. A., Panofsky, H. A.,

Cahir, J. J. and Range, A. in their book entitled The
Atmosphers, 2nd edition,they stated that the carbon
cycle is closely tied to energy flow. They say
carbon is a basic constituent of all organic
compounds and is involved in the fixation of
energy by photosynthesis.
 CARBON CYCLE

• Just as energy flows through the grazing food

chain, carbon passes to herbivores and then to
carnivores. Primary producers and consumers
release carbon back to the atmosphere I the form
of carbon dioxide by respiration.
 OXYGEN CYCLE

• Free in the air and dissolved in water, oxygen is

second only to nitrogen in abundance among
uncombined elements in the atmosphere.
• The waters of the world are the main oxygen
generators of the biosphere; their algae are
estimated to replace about 90 percent of all oxygen
used
 OXYGEN CYCLE

• Oxygen is involved to some degree in all the other

biogeochemical cycles. For example, over time,
detritus from living organisms transfers oxygen-
containing compounds such as calcium carbonates
into the lithosphere.
 OXYGEN CYCLE

• In the atmosphere Oxygen is freed by the process

called photolysis.
• O oxygen molecule is broken down to atomic
2

oxygen by the ultra violet radiation of sunlight.

This free oxygen then recombines with existing O 2

molecules to make O3 or ozone.

 OXYGEN CYCLE

• The lithosphere mostly fixes oxygen in minerals

such as silicates and oxides.