Climate/Meteorology
Nitrogen and oxygen are the most abundant gases in the Earth's atmosphere, accounting for a full 99% of its content. After these two gases, water vapor is second highest in concentration, followed by carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Ozone gas is also present in the atmosphere, along with a few other less common gases like Argon.
The four "spheres" of the atmosphere include the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, and thermosphere. The isothermal layer and ozone layer are layers of the stratosphere.
In the stratosphere, which is above the troposphere, temperature remains constant for the first nine kilometers. Within the isothermal layers of the atmosphere, temperature is constant. Moreover, nearing the ozone layer, temperatures rise with increased altitude. Therefore, temperature does not constantly decrease the higher we move up in the atmosphere.
Based on the graphic function of "air" pressure, we can see how gravity causes air density and air pressure to decrease as we move away from the surface of the earth.
5. "When temperature is held constant, the density of a gas is proportional to pressure, and volume is inversely proportional to pressure. Accordingly, an increase in pressure will cause an increase in density of the gas and a decrease in its volume."
6. The two types of barometers include Torricelli's and the aneroid barometers. The latter is used most commonly in the home and works with a vacuum rather than with the element mercury.
7. "Standard sea level pressure is said to be 76.0 cm or 29.92 inches or 1013.2 millibars. Scientists often use the kilopascal (kPa) as their preferred unit for measuring pressure."
8. The monsoons in Asia are caused by the Asiatic Low pressure systems that occur over that region of the globe.
9. Harmful effects of ozone depletion include increased risk for skin cancer due to exposure to UV light, increase in cataracts and other eye problems, lowered immune systems, and cooling of the Earth's stratosphere.
10. "Ozone is created naturally in the stratosphere by the combining of atomic oxygen (O) with molecular oxygen O2). This process is activated by sunlight. Ozone is destroyed naturally by the absorption of ultraviolet radiation."
Works Cited
Fundamentals of Physical Geography: Chapter 7: Introduction to the Atmosphere. .
