Phase I Meteorology

Atmosphere

Revision 01.01.2021 Capt.Prasad Ranasinghe

Atmosphere
The structure of the atmosphere is classified into the
following layers −
 Troposphere: 0 to 12 km
 Stratosphere: 12 to 50 km
 Mesosphere: 50 to 80 km
 Thermosphere: 80 to 700 km
 Exosphere: 700 to 10,000 km
Why does the temperature of the atmosphere vary?
Troposphere temperature change
The reason is that the troposphere's gases absorb very
little of the incoming solar radiation. Instead, the
ground absorbs this radiation and then heats the
tropospheric air by conduction and convection. When
height increasing away from ground temperature
decreasing.
Stratosphere temperature change
Temperature in the stratosphere rises with increasing
altitude, because the ozone layer absorbs the greater
part of the solar ultraviolet radiation. The ozone layer is
an absorbing agent that protects life on Earth.

Mesosphere temperature change

Within the mesosphere, temperature decreases with
increasing height, due to decreasing absorption of solar
radiation and increasing cooling by CO2 radioactive
emission.

Thermosphere temperature change

Thermosphere temperatures increase with altitude
due to absorption of highly solar radiation. Temperatures
are highly dependent on solar activity, and can rise to
1,700 °C (3,100 °F) or more.
 Features of Troposphere
The troposphere is the lowest major atmospheric layer, extending
from the Earth's surface up to the bottom of the stratosphere.
The troposphere is where all of Earth's weather occurs. It contains
approximately 80% of the total mass of the atmosphere.
The troposphere is characterized by decreasing temperature with
height (at an average rate of 3.5 degrees F per thousand feet, or
6.5 degrees C per kilometer).

The boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere is called

the "tropopause", located at an altitude of around 5 miles to 8 miles .

By volume, dry air contains 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93%

argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other gases. Air also
contains a variable amount of water vapor, on average around 1% at sea
level, and 0.4% over the entire atmosphere.
What is insolation :
This is the name given to all forms of energy received by
the earth, from the sun, by the process of radiation.
Insolation includes light, heat, ultra-violet rays,infra-red
rays etc.

Solar Radiation
Solar radiation provides heat, light, and
necessary forenergy all living organisms.
Infrared radiation supplies heat to all habitats, on land
and in the water . Without solar radiation, Earth's surface
would be extremely colder . Solar radiation provides the
necessary heat and light for life on Earth.
1.Scattering :The process of scattering occurs when small
particles and gas molecules diffuse part of the incoming
solar radiation in random directions without any
alteration to the wavelength of the electromagnetic
energy. Scattering does, however, reduce the amount of
incoming radiation reaching the Earth's surface.
2.Reflected radiation
is the amount of solar energy reflected from a surface,
based on the solar reflectance or albedo of the surface
material.
3.Absorbed sunlight is balanced by heat radiated from
Earth's surface and atmosphere. The atmosphere and
the surface of the Earth together absorb 71 percent of
incoming solar radiation, so together, they must radiate
that much energy back to space for the planet's average
temperature to remain stable.
 1. Insolation varies with Latitude

2.Insolation varies with Declination :The amount and

intensity of solar radiation reaching the Earth is affected
by the suns declination . The sun angle at a place varies
over the course of the year as a result of the declination.
As the sun angle decreases, light is spread over a larger
area and decreases in intensity (energy input per unit
area).
3.Insolation varies with Day light : During longer days
earth absorb more heat and less heat vice versa.
Water Vapor in Atmosphere

Water evaporates from the Earth's surface and rises on

warm updrafts into the atmosphere. Water vapor is also
the most important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.
Heat radiated from Earth's surface is absorbed by water
vapor molecules in the lower atmosphere.

Water vapor varies by volume in the atmosphere from a

trace to about 4%. Therefore, on average, only about 2 to
3% of the molecules in the air are water vapor molecules.
The volume of water vapor is about 4% in very warm and
humid tropical air.
Evaporation:
Evaporation is the process by which water changes from
a liquid to a gas or vapor. Evaporation is the primary
pathway that water moves from the liquid state back into
the water cycle as atmospheric water vapor.

Condensation :
Condensation is the change of water from its gaseous
form (water vapor) into
liquid water. Condensation generally occurs in the
atmosphere when warm air rises, cools and looses its
capacity to hold water vapor. As a result, excess water
vapor condenses to form cloud droplets.
Latent heat of vaporization :
It is defined as the heat required to change one mole of
liquid at its boiling point under standard atmospheric
pressure. It is expressed as kg/mol or kJ/kg. The heat of
vaporization of water is about 2,260 kJ/kg, which is equal
to 40.8 kJ/mol. During latent heat of vaporization
temperature of substance not increasing but liquid will
change to vapour.

(Water (H2O) is made from 2 atoms of hydrogen and

1 atom of oxygen. A mole of water molecules would
be 2 moles of hydrogen atoms plus 1 mole of
oxygen atoms. Atomic mass is the number of grams
per mole of the element. This means 1 mole of
hydrogen weighs 1.0079 grams and 1 mole of
oxygen weighs 15.9994 grams.)
 Saturated air :

Air that contains the maximum amount of water vapour

that is possible at the given temperature and pressure,
i.e. air in which the relative humidity is 100%. "saturated
air."

Dew point
is the temperature to which air must be cooled to
become saturated with water vapor. When further
cooled, the airborne water vapour will condense to form
liquid water (dew).
Vapor pressure - this is the partial atmospheric pressure
caused by the water vapor. It is variable according to
temp and humidity and varies from 5mb to 30mb at sea
level .

Absolute humidity: is the measure of water vapor

(moisture) in the air, regardless of temperature. It is
expressed as grams of moisture per cubic meter of air (g/
m3).

Relative Humidity (RH):- It is the percentage ratio of the

actual water vapor contained in a given sample of air, to
the maximum quantity of water vapor that the sample
can hold at that temperature.

The most common units for vapor density being gm/m3.

 For example, if the actual water vapor is 10 g/m3 at
20°C and maximum possible at that temperature is
17.3 g/ m3 , then the relative humidity is:

Ex:
RH = 10 g/m3 X = 57.8%
100%
17.3 g/m3

(Absolute humidity is the measure of the actual water

vapor in the air. ... Relative humidity is the ratio of the
absolute humidity to the theoretical maximum for a given
temperature and pressure. It is expressed as a %. )