Lecture 3 Earth Surface Processes

Layers of the atmosphere
The atmosphere is comprised of layers based on temperature. These layers are the troposphere,
stratosphere, mesosphere and thermosphere. A further region at about 500 km above the Earth's surface
is called the exosphere.
The different layers of the atmosphere can be divided into layers based on its temperature, as
shown in the figure below. These layers are the troposphere, the stratosphere, the
mesosphere and the thermosphere. A further region, beginning about 500 km above the
Earth's surface, is called the exosphere.
✓ Unlike the changes in
pressure and density,
which decrease with
altitude, the temperature
changes are irregular.
✓ A change in temperature
with distance is called a
temperature gradient.
✓ The Earth’s atmosphere is
divided into layers based
on the layer’s temperature
gradient, and the heat
source of the layer
determines the
temperature gradient in
each layer.
IMPORTANCE OF ATMOSPHERE
WHY THE ATMOSPHERE IS DIVIDED INTO 4 DIFFERENT LAYERS.
The atmosphere is divided into five different layers because
the atmosphere is not uniform, its properties change with
altitude.
Density is not the same throughout and atmospheric

pressure decreases with height.
Two properties change with altitude, the AIR pressure and

the AIR temperature.
Atmosphere is the envelope of air that extends upto a

considerable height from the surface of earth.
The atmosphere is held to the earth by its gravitational pull.

The atmosphere is densest at sea level and thins rapidly upwards.
The Troposphere
This is the lowest part of the atmosphere - the part we live in.
It contains most of our weather - clouds, rain, snow. In this part of the
atmosphere the temperature gets colder as the distance above the earth
increases, by about 6.5°C per kilometre.
The troposphere contains about 75% of all of the air in the atmosphere, and
almost all of the water vapour (which forms clouds and rain).
The decrease in temperature with height is a result of the decreasing pressure. If
a parcel of air moves upwards it expands (because of the lower pressure). When
air expands it cools. So air higher up is cooler than air lower down.
The lowest part of the troposphere is called the boundary layer. This is where
the air motion is determined by the properties of the Earth's surface. Turbulence
is generated as the wind blows over the Earth's surface, and by thermals rising
from the land as it is heated by the sun. This turbulence redistributes heat and
moisture within the boundary layer, as well as pollutants and other constituents
of the atmosphere.
This ozone layer serves a s a shield
protecting the earth’s surface and
troposphere by absorbing most of the
ultraviolet radiation found in the Sun’s
rays which is most important for
existence of life on earth’s surface.
Due to negligible water vapor content

weather creating processes are
negligible.
The Stratosphere
This extends upwards from the tropopause to about 50 km. it is an isothermal region and is
free of clouds, dust and air.
It contains much of the ozone in the atmosphere.
The increase in temperature with height occurs because of absorption of ultraviolet (UV)
radiation from the sun by this ozone.
Temperatures in the stratosphere are highest over the summer pole, and lowest over the
winter pole.
By absorbing dangerous UV radiation, the ozone in the stratosphere protects us from skin
cancer and other health damage. However chemicals (called CFCs or freons, and halons) which
were once used in refrigerators, spray cans and fire extinguishers have reduced the amount of
ozone in the stratosphere, particularly at polar latitudes, leading to the so-called "Antarctic
ozone hole".
Now humans have stopped making most of the harmful CFCs we expect the ozone hole will
eventually recover over the 21st century, but this is a slow process.
The region above the
stratosphere is called
the mesosphere. Here
the temperature
again decreases with
height, reaching a
minimum of about -
90°C at the
"mesopause".
It is a very cold region.

It has very small ozone content that’s why sometimes
shows higher temperature in winters than in summers
The Thermosphere and Ionosphere
The thermosphere lies above the mesopause, and is a region in which

temperatures again increase with height.
This temperature increase is caused by the absorption of energetic
ultraviolet and X-Ray radiation from the sun.
The region of the atmosphere above about 80 km is also caused the
"ionosphere", since the energetic solar radiation knocks electrons off
molecules and atoms, turning them into "ions" with a positive charge.
The temperature of the thermosphere varies between night and day
and between the seasons, as do the numbers of ions and electrons
which are present.
The Exosphere
The region above about 500 km is called the exosphere. It contains mainly
oxygen and hydrogen atoms, but there are so few of them that they rarely
collide - they follow "ballistic" trajectories under the influence of gravity, and
some of them escape right out into space. Satellites orbit earth in the
exosphere. It si the diffusion zone where the atmospheric gases diffuse into
the open space.
The Magnetosphere
The earth behaves like a huge magnet. It traps electrons (negative charge) and
protons (positive), concentrating them in two bands about 3,000 and 16,000
km above the globe - the Van Allen "radiation" belts. This outer region
surrounding the earth, where charged particles spiral along the magnetic field
lines, is called the magnetosphere.
A hydrosphere is the total amount of water on a planet. The hydrosphere
includes water that is on the surface of the planet, underground, and in
the air. A planet's hydrosphere can be liquid, vapor, or ice. On Earth,
liquid water exists on the surface in the form of oceans, lakes, and rivers.
IMPORTANCE:
• For animals, human beings, aquatic
organisms,
• plants
• For maintenance of Earth’s temperature
• Habitat to aquatic organisms
GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE
The Geologic Time Scale is a system used by scientists to describe the timing and relationships between events in
Earth's history. It covers a vast expanse of time, from the formation of the planet nearly 4.6 billion years ago to
the present day

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Layers of the atmosphere

Density is not the same throughout and atmospheric

Two properties change with altitude, the AIR pressure and

Atmosphere is the envelope of air that extends upto a

The atmosphere is held to the earth by its gravitational pull.

Due to negligible water vapor content

It is a very cold region.

The thermosphere lies above the mesopause, and is a region in which

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