The atmosphere contains five distinct layers. Humans and most animals are dependent on oxygen. It composed of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.9% argon, 0.03% carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of other gases. It consists of a number of gases, including nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), argon (0.93%) and traces of carbon dioxide, hydrogen, helium, and other noble gases. The Earth's atmosphere is an extremely thin sheet of air extending from the surface of the Earth to the edge of space. It is because of the heat created by the friction of the atmosphere that the space shuttle had to be equipped with a heat shield to prevent it from burning up as it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere. The atmosphere is thickest near the Earth’s surface and gets thinner with height. The Earth's atmosphere has four primary layers: the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. Five Different Layers of Earth’s Atmosphere. The lower atmosphere is a mixture of molecules of three important gases — Oxygen (O 2), Nitrogen (N 2) and Carbon dioxide (CO 2) — along with water vapor and trace amounts of several other gases that have no immediate biologi­cal importance. A further region, beginning about 500 km above the Earth's surface, is called the exosphere. This mixture of gases is called air. The atmosphere is an important part of what makes Earth livable. Above 200km, however, the incredibly thin atmosphere actually spins faster than the Earth. Earth is surrounded by its atmosphere, which is the body of air or gases that protects the planet and enables life.Most of our atmosphere is located close to Earth's surface, where it is most dense. The Earth's atmosphere is a thin layer of gases that surrounds the Earth. How to use atmosphere in a sentence. At the loss of the atmosphere, humanity no longer exists. While 78.1% of Earth’s atmosphere is nitrogen, Mars is only 1.9% nitrogen-based.. Earth is rich in oxygen (2 The atmosphere protects us from this space junk that would do damage to us, to our homes, and to the earth itself. The numbers are the amount of energy that is found in one square meter of that location. Earth’s atmosphere’s main components are nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, and trace gases of less than 0.04%. How much amount of these gases are available in the earth’s atmosphere, is called the composition of the earth’s atmosphere. is the layer of gas surrounding the Earth's crust and is retained by. The atmosphere, as we know it, is a protective layer of gases that envelop the Earth. The atmosphere is a mixture of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), and other gases (1%) that surrounds Earth. The lowest layer of the atmosphere is the troposphere, which is where most of the Earth's weather occurs. The troposphere is the atmosphere’s lowest layer. Troposphere. Its first layer, the stratosphere, is closest to Earth and serves as the activity spot for weather production and cloud formation. Composition of Atmosphere. Earth’s atmosphere is unique among all the planets and moons we know, both in our own solar system and in others light years away. High above the planet, the atmosphere becomes thinner until it gradually reaches space. Bound to the Earth by gravity, most of the atmosphere spins along with it as a result of friction with the ground and the viscosity or ‘stickiness’ of the different layers of air above it. The Troposphere; The troposphere is the lowers layer of the atmosphere, nearest to the earth’s surface. The Earth’s heat budget shows the amount of energy coming into and going out of the Earth’s system and the importance of the greenhouse effect. Besides providing us with something to breathe, the atmosphere helps make life on Earth possible in several ways. Similar to planet Venus, carbon dioxide dominates Mars.Lucky for us, CO 2 is less than 1% of Earth’s atmosphere composition. Earth’s atmosphere extends from its ocean, land, and ice-covered surface outward into space, and its density is greatest close to the surface, because the gravitational attraction of the planet pulls the gases and aerosols (microscopic suspended particles of dust, soot, smoke, or chemicals) inward. Layers of the Atmosphere . These layers create a habitable environment to sustain life. Plants are also dependent on oxygen because they take the leftover carbon dioxide from humans when they inhale the oxygen. It is where all the aviation activities, weather, wind circulation, and climate take place. 5 Layers of the Atmosphere 1. This began to change during what’s known as the Great Oxidation Event, or GOE. The Earth formed approximately 4.6 billion years ago. Let's look at each, from closest to farthest from the Earth. It’s the product of 4.7 billion years of evolution, shaped by everything from its proximity to the Sun to the rise of photosynthetic life. Troposphere . From lowest to highest, the major layers are the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere. Each layers has specific characteristics that include composition and temperature. The atmosphere protects earth's life forms from harmful radiation and cosmic debris. Each layer has its own properties, depending on how far you are from the surface of the planet. Earth’s Atmosphere: Origin and Structure of the Atmosphere! also protects the earth from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays; seasonal holes in the ozone layer, the first detected above Antarctica and the Arctic in the 1980s, caused considerable alarm about the consequences of air pollution. These layers protect our planet by absorbing harmful radiation. The ozone layer. Our atmosphere is unique in the solar system. Without the atmosphere that protects the Earth, humans, animals and all plant life would not be able to survive. It is divided into five layers.Most of the weather and clouds are found in the first layer.. Earth’s atmosphere composition or percentage of gases in the atmosphere by volume are given below: Nitrogen- 78.08% Earth’s atmosphere has five major and several secondary layers. The Earth’s atmosphere is like a blanket that protects life to survive in many ways. Atmospheric pressure at a particular location is the force per unit area perpendicular to a surface determined by the weight of the vertical column of atmosphere above that location. Radiation is another important … The easiest way to think about the atmosphere above our planet is to imagine an invisible shield that protects our planet from all the bad stuff that floats around in the universe. How Many Layers Does the Earth’s Atmosphere Have and What are They Called. On Earth, units of air pressure are based on the internationally recognized standard atmosphere (atm), which is defined as 101.325 kPa (760 Torr or 14.696 psi). Atmosphere definition is - the gaseous envelope of a celestial body (such as a planet). The total mass is 5.3 x 10 18 km which is about 1 millionth of the total mass of the planet (5.97 x 10 24 kg). There are five major divisions of our atmosphere that reach from the surface of the Earth upward to outer space. The troposphere is the lowest layer of our atmosphere. The Earth is a sphere with a roughly 8000 mile diameter; the thickness of the atmosphere is about 60 miles. Scientist have divided the atmosphere into 5 layers. The atmosphere of Earth is divided into several different layers. There is almost no air above 480 kilometers. Earth's atmosphere has a series of layers, each with its own specific traits. The air pressure over the troposphere is only 10% of that at sea level. The earth’s atmosphere is mostly made up of GASES and AEROSOLS. Composition of Atmosphere – Gases in the Atmosphere. The atmosphere. Because Mars atmosphere is 96% carbon dioxide, any plants would blossom if they existed. The exosphere gradually fades away into the realm of interplanetary space. Photo What happens if the Earth's atmosphere disappears? At sea level it has a pressure of about 1 x 10 5 pascals (Pa). The Earth’s atmosphere has five distinct layers generally measured by temperature gradients, from the troposphere near the Earth's surface at an average 15 degrees Celsius to the temperature of the exosphere layer at 1,500 degrees Celsius. Scientists cannot be certain about what gases made up the Earth’s early atmosphere. The atmosphere is the thin layer of gases separating earth from the outer space. The Earth's Atmosphere. The Earth has an atmosphere much different than those on the other planets in the solar system. The main difference between the troposphere and the stratosphere is that the temperatures begin to rise in the stratosphere. Earth's atmosphere is a mixture of gases that surrounds our home planet. Dry air from earth’s atmosphere contains 0.038% of carbon dioxide, 20.95% of oxygen, 78.08% of nitrogen and 0.93% of argon. Moving upward from ground level, these layers are named the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere. Earth will be destroyed by meteorites or the ocean will disappear, two of the scenarios given if the atmosphere on Earth is gone. It absorbs the right amount of heat from the Sun to keep our planet at a survival temperature. A concentration of plasma in the Earth's atmosphere, called the ionosphere, interacts with solar winds, ultraviolet radiation and radio waves. Troposphere. The atmosphere works to hold oxygen in the area around the earth. These layers are the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere and the thermosphere. All they are missing is a source of water. The atmospheric composition of gas on Earth is largely conducted by the by-products of the life that it nurse. The total mass of the Earth’s atmospheric gases is about 515 million kilograms, equivalent to 0.86 parts per million of the Earth’s total mass. Greenhouse gases are the component of the atmosphere that moderate Earth’s temperatures. The atmosphere of the early Earth lacked oxygen. The atmosphere of the earth has been made of many gases and these gases are usually called ‘air’. It also protects us from harmful radiation. Earth’s troposphere extends from Earth’s surface to, on average, about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) in height, with its height lower at Earth’s poles and higher at the equator. The atmosphere of the earth is the layer of gases (commonly called air) that surrounds the earth and creates an inhabitable environment, maintains temperature, causes weather, and protects its inhabitants from solar radiation. 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