The Earth's Atmosphere Flashcards
roles of nitrogen, oxygen, and argon
Permanent gases
role of water vapor
Variable gases
carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, CFCs, et al.
Trace gases
shields the surface from UV rays; produced by reaction with NOx and sunlight near the surface.
Ozone
destroy stratospheric ozone; chlorine is a catalyst,
Chlorofluorocarbons
is the primary ingredient of smog
Ozone
particles that can form cloud droplets at a defined watersupersaturation
Cloud Condensation Nuclei
- has decreasing temperature wit height
- where weather occurs
- lowest atmospheric layer
Troposphere
seperates troposphere from stratosphere; higher in summer & lower in winter
Tropopause
- extends 10km to 50km above the ground
- no weather occurrence
- temperature increases with altitude
- air flow is horizontal
- where ozone layer can be found
Stratosphere
primarily responsible for absorbing the UV rays from the Sun
Ozone Layer
the boundary between stratosphere and mesosphere
Stratopause
- extends to almost 80km high
- gases are less dense
- temp decreases as altitude increases
- many atoms are ionized
- lot of meteors burn up
Mesosphere
upper boundary of mesosphere where the temp of the atmosphere reaches its lowest point.
Mesopause
- extends to almost 600km high
- temp increases with altitude
- hot layer
- the layer that is first exposed to the sun
- reflects radio waves
Thermosphere
- region of the atmosphere that is filled with charged particles
- where aurora takes place, and absorbs the most energetic photons
Ionosphere
- the interface between Earth and Spac
- atoms and molecules can escape to space
- upper limit of the atmosphere
Exosphere
winds blow generally west-to-east, 3-4 miles above mid-latitudes
Westerlies
river of fastest moving air within the westerlies
Jet Stream
main cause is CFC pollution
Ozone Depletion
increase in Earth’s average surface temp caused by an increase in greenhouse gases
Global Warming
the trapping of heat by gases in the atmosphere
Greenhouse Effect
