Layers of the

Atmosphere
Q1. What are the five layers of the atmosphere? Estimate the height of each layer.
Q2. In which layer is temperature increasing with increasing altitude?
Q3. In which layer is temperature decreasing with increasing altitude?
Q4. What is the relationship between temperature and altitude in the troposphere?
stratosphere? mesosphere? thermosphere? exosphere?
Q5. Analyze the graph. What is the basis for the division of Earth’s atmosphere?
Q6. Based on the graph, can you generalize that the higher the layer of the
atmosphere (that is closer to the Sun), the hotter the temperature? Why or why
not?
Characterize according
to temperature,
chemical composition,
movement and density
MNEMONIC DEVICE:

•The Silly Monkeys Twirled

Endlessly
1. Troposphere

a. This is the layer nearest to the Earth’s surface.

b. This is the densest layer since it contains about 75% of the
atmospheric gases.
c. As the altitude increases, temperature decreases significantly
from about 17° to - 52 °C. The decrease in temperature with height
is a result of the decreasing pressure. If a parcel of air moves
upwards it expands (because of the lower pressure). When air
expands, it cools. So air higher up is cooler than air lower down.
1. Troposphere

d. On an average, the temperature here drops at a rate of approximately

6.5°C per 1000 meters in a phenomenon referred to as the Environmental
Lapse Rate.
e. The altitude of the troposphere is from 0 km to 12-17 km.
f. Two features are:
i. Clouds of all types, storms and all types of weather phenomena
characterize this layer. Most clouds appear here mainly because 99% of the
water vapor in the atmosphere is found here.
ii. Convection currents carry streams of warm air upward.
1. Troposphere
g. The tropopause separates the troposphere from the
stratosphere. This is lowest at the poles,where it is about 7 - 10 km
above the Earth's surface. It is highest (about 17 - 18 km) near the
equator. The temperature is constant.
h. The lowest part of the troposphere is called the boundary layer.
This is where the air motion is determined by the properties of the
Earth's surface. Turbulence is generated as the wind blows over the
Earth's surface, and by thermals rising from the land as it is heated
by the sun. This turbulence redistributes heat and moisture within
the boundary layer, as well as pollutants and other constituents of
the atmosphere.
2. Stratosphere

a. This is the layer immediately above the troposphere.

b. Compared to troposphere, this layer is less dense and
relatively dry.
c. The temperature of the lower stratosphere remains a
constant -60°C
d. The temperature of the upper stratosphere rises to +18°C,
because of the hot ozone layer.
2. Stratosphere

e. The increase in temperature with height occurs because

of absorption of ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun by
this ozone. Temperatures in the stratosphere are highest
over the summer pole and lowest over the winter pole.
f. The altitude of the stratosphere is from 17-50 km.
g. Commercial passenger jets fly in the lower
stratosphere, partly because this less-turbulent layer,
provides a smoother ride.
2. Stratosphere

h. Two features are:

i. Jet streams – horizontal movement of air - very strong winds.
The jet stream flows near the border between the troposphere and the stratosphere.
ii. Ozone Layer –holds in heat and protects from UV rays.
Ozone smells clean and sharp protective layer of earth – .
Ozone is released during lightening.
By absorbing dangerous UV radiation, the ozone in the stratosphere protects humans from skin
cancer and other health damage. However chemicals (called CFCs or freons, and halons) which
were once used in refrigerators, spray cans and fire extinguishers have reduced the amount of
ozone in the stratosphere, particularly at polar latitudes, leading to the so-called "Antarctic
ozone hole."
2. Stratosphere

i. The stratosphere contains the most oxygen in

the atmosphere.
j. This layer contains approximately 19.9 percent
of the total mass of the atmosphere.
k. The stratopause separates the stratosphere
from the mesosphere. The temperature is
highest.
3. Mesosphere

a. The temperature of the mesosphere decreases to -100°C. The

temperature drops significantly as the altitude increases.
b. It is the coldest region of the atmosphere. The coldest
temperatures in Earth's atmosphere, about-90° C (-130° F), are
found near the top of this layer.
c. The altitude of the mesosphere is from 50-85 km.
d. The feature of this region is that it protects Earth from
meteors by burning them up before they hit Earth. The heat is
caused by friction as they travel through this layer.
3. Mesosphere

e. The gases in this layer are in excited state as

they absorbed heat energy from the sun.
f. The air in the mesosphere is far too thin to
breathe; air pressure at the bottom of the layer
is well below 1% of the pressure at sea level.
g. The mesopause separates the mesosphere
from the thermosphere.
4. Thermosphere

a. This layer starts just above the mesosphere and extends to about 600
km high.
b. This is the biggest of the atmospheric layers
c. In this layer, the temperature rises steadily as the altitude
increases. The temperature of the thermosphere is +2000°C. It is hot
because it is exposed to constant UV radiation from the Sun.
d. It is the hottest region of the atmosphere.
e. It contains a tiny fraction of atmospheric gases and chemical
reactions occur much faster in this layer due to increasing heat from
the sun.
4. Thermosphere

f. At the lower region of the thermosphere, blending with the upper

region of the mesosphere, is a layer, which is about 258 km thick
and rich with charged particles or ions. This layer is called the
ionosphere. The ions come from the gas molecules that dissociate due
to the intense heat from the sun. The ionosphere plays an important
role in radio and telecommunication operations on Earth.
g. The aurora, the Northern Lights and Southern Lights, occur in the
thermosphere
h. The thermopause separates the thermosphere from the
exosphere.
5. Exosphere

a. This is a thin transition layer into outer space where atoms and molecules
tend to flee off because of a little gravity holding them in this region.
b. It contains mainly helium and hydrogen atoms, but there are so few of them that they
rarely collide - they follow "ballistic" trajectories under the influence of gravity, and some
of them escape right out into space.
c. Though the definite boundary of this layer is not known, scientists believe that it extends
for a vertical distance of 6200 miles. That, however, is not supported by substantial
evidence, so thermosphere is referred to as the biggest among all these layers of the planet's
atmosphere.
d. The lowest point of the exosphere is the exobase.
e. It is where satellites are stationed.