Earth's Modern Atmosphere Review

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering atmospheric composition, temperature characteristics, and ozone depletion based on Chapter 3 lecture notes.

Heterosphere

The atmospheric layer located above $80\,km$ where gases are layered by weight, specifically light gases like Helium ($He$) and Hydrogen ($H$) on top and heavy gases on the bottom.

Homosphere

The atmospheric layer located below $80\,km$ where the gas composition is uniform, containing Nitrogen ($N_2$) and Oxygen ($O_2$).

Thermosphere

The atmospheric layer characterized by being hottest at the top and having its lowest temperatures at the bottom.

Mesosphere

The atmospheric layer where it is hotter at the bottom and gets cooler as you go higher.

Stratosphere

The layer containing the Ozone layer which filters UV radiation and produces heat.

Troposphere

The atmospheric layer where humans live and where weather occurs.

Normal Lapse Rate

The standardized rate of temperature decrease with altitude, valued at $6.5^\circ C/1000\,m$.

Environmental Lapse Rate

The actual measurement of temperature change at a specific time and location, ranging from $5$ to $10^\circ C/1000\,m$.

Temperature inversion

A condition where it gets warmer as you go higher, acting as a lid that can trap cold air and water vapor (fog) at the bottom.

Ionosphere

A functional layer of the atmosphere that protects from harmful radiation by filtering out different types of radiation.

Ozonosphere

A functional layer of the atmosphere responsible for filtering ultraviolet radiation.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

Compounds containing chlorine and bromine that cause ozone depletion.

Ozone Depletion Reaction

The chemical cycle where $Cl + O_3 \xrightarrow{UV} ClO + O_2$, and subsequently $ClO + O_3 \xrightarrow{UV} Cl + 2O_2$, which can take $75$ years to end.

Polar stratospheric clouds

Solid surfaces required for the chemical reactions of ozone depletion to occur at extremely low temperatures.

Antarctic Vortex

A weather phenomenon that sucks in harmful chemicals, facilitating chemical reactions that lead to an ozone hole.