Climate and Global Change (EARTH-1111) - Unit 2

Permanent gases

gases found in the same proportion almost everywhere in the atmosphere

Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon

3 permanent gasses that comprise over 99% of the earth’s atmosphere

Variable gases

gases which have uneven distributions that depend on the time/location in the atmosphere

Water vapor, Co2, O3, Methane

4 most common variable gases

Water Vapor

Carbon Dioxide\CO2

Variable gas with anthropogenic sources that comprises about 0.04% of atmosphere, increasing slightly every year. Acts as an important greenhouse gas.

Methane

Variable Gas which is .00018% of atmosphere but still an effective greenhouse gas. Natural cycle of balance (increasing/decreasing concentration) has been broken due to anthropogenic causes.

Ozone/O3

while present in the lower stratosphere, this absorbs harmful UV radiation, protecting life on earth.

While present in the troposphere this behaves as a pollutant that creates smog and can act as a lung irritant.

Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere

From closest to the earth to furthest away, what are the 4 layers of the atmosphere?

Inversion Layer

layer in atmosphere where temperature increases with height

Stratosphere, Thermosphere

what are the two inversion layers of earth’s atmosphere?

Troposphere, Mesosphere

what are the two layers of earth’s atmosphere where temperature decreases as height increases

Troposphere

layer of atmosphere where nearly all weather is contained

Stratosphere

layer of earth’s atmosphere that contains Ozone towards in it’s lower altitudes and virtually no weather