The Atmosphere

Atmosphere:

The atmosphere is a very thin layer of air and moisture around the Earth.

 

The atmosphere itself is not physically uniform but has significant variations in temperature and pressure with altitude, which define a number of atmospheric layers. These include:

1.     Troposphere:  (0 to 16 km) is closest to Earth’s surface. It contains 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, small amounts of gases like Argon, Carbon dioxide and most of the atmosphere’s moisture and plays a vital role in our weather system.

2. Stratosphere: (16 to 50 km) is dry and contains higher concentration of Ozone than any other layer.

3. Mesosphere (50 to 80km) has similar composition with the exception of moisture and ozone. Here, the density and temperature of these gases are very low

4. Thermosphere (80 to 640km) is made up of two layers, one is Ionosphere where high-energy electromagnetic waves from Sun are absorbed causing particles to become electrically charged ions. The other outer layer is Exosphere containing very few particles mainly Hydrogen.

The boundaries between these four layers are defined by abrupt changes in temperature, and are as follows:

1.      Tropopause,

 

2.     Stratopause

 

3.     Mesopause.

 In the troposphere and mesosphere, temperature generally falls with increasing altitude, whilst in the stratosphere and thermosphere, temperature rises with increasing altitude.

 

 

Ozone Layer:

Ozone (O₃), or trioxygen, is a triatomic molecule, consisting of three oxygen atoms. The highest levels of ozone in the atmosphere are in the stratosphere, in a region also known as the ozone.

Ozone Depletion in the Stratosphere 

Ozone depletion takes place when more ozone is destroyed than produced leading to an overall destruction of stratospheric ozone. Ozone loss can occur naturally for a shorter period of time but chlorine and bromine released from man-made synthetic compounds are now considered and acknowledged  as the main cause of Ozone depletion.

 

 

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=817

Weather and Climate

Weather:

 Weather is an account of events that happen every day in the place we live including its atmosphere, such as temperature, precipitation, wind and humidity. Weather of different places is different. Today, the weather of Regina, SK, (where I live), is cold, with heavy snowfall and high winds.


Climate:

  Climate is the average weather pattern in a place over the period of many years. The climate of a tropical island is quite different than the climate of Saskatchewan Canada.

Why different people/professions care about the weather?

Weather warnings and forecasts play an important role in protecting life, livelihood and property. Many professions and people in general need information about weather beforehand. Weather forecasts are important for agriculture as they predict about temperature and precipitation. This in turn affects traders within the commodity markets. Temperature forecasts are important information used by utility companies to estimate demand ahead of time so that people don’t have to face inconvenience. Generally on an everyday basis, people use weather forecasts to determine what to wear on a given day. Since outdoor activities can be hampered by events like heavy rain, snow and the wind chill, forecasts can be used to plan activities around these events. This is important for organizing outdoor activities ahead of time and to survive these events.