Atmospheric Zones, 2 Fonts, 2 Sizes #3

The Earth’s atmosphere is 78.08 percent nitrogen, 20.95 percent oxygen, 0.93 percent argon, and 0.03 percent carbon dioxide.

AtmosphericZones Type: Tropophere Height (above earth’s surface): 5 miles at poles; 7 miles at mid-latitudes; 10 miles at Equator Temperature: Drops 3.6 °F every 1,000 ft up; minimum reaches -70°F What do we know?: Contains 75% of the total mass of the atmosphere. This is where life and almost all of our weather is found. The top of the troposphere is called the tropopause

Type: Exophere: togehter with thermosphere, makes up “outer atmosphere” Height (above earth’s surface): Up to 40,000 miles Temperature: Fall to near zero What do we know?: The atmospheric density at 6,000 miles is the same as outer space. Above this height, it is only the “atmosphere” in the sense that the Earth’s gravitational and magnetic field exert some influence. The exosphere contains the magnetosphere, where the aurorae appear

Type: Type: Stratosphere Thermosphere Height (above earth’s surface): Height (above earth’s surface): Type: 30 miles 400 miles Mesosphere Temperature: Temperature: Height (above Stable at around -58°F Variable; can reach 441°F earth’s surface): What do we know?: What do we know?: 50 miles Temperature: Contains 24% of the Gets so hot because the Decreases from 20°F at total mass of the thin atmosphere base to -166°F, atmosphere. reabsorbs a lot before rising again at top At the bottom of the of radiation What do we know?: stratrosphere that bounces Meteors burn up in this zone to give “shooting stars;” together with the is the ozone back from thermosphere, this layer contains many layer the lower ionized particles, and they are layers collectively termed the ionosphere--this is the layer off which radio signals bounce to allow radio telecommunications