Unit-2

Atmosphere and
Meteorological Parameters

Dr. Shruti Singh

Assistant Professor
Department of Environmental Science
shruti.singh.2229@sharda.ac.in
• The earth's atmosphere is a very thin layer wrapped around a
very large planet.
• Two gases make up the bulk of the earth's atmosphere: nitrogen,
which comprises 78% of the atmosphere, and oxygen, which
accounts for 21%. Various trace gases make up the remainder.
• Based on temperature, the atmosphere is divided into four
layers: the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and
thermosphere.
• The thin envelope of air that surrounds our planet is a mixture of
gases, each with its own physical properties. The mixture is far from
evenly divided. Two elements, nitrogen and oxygen, make up 99% of
the volume of air. The other 1% is composed of "trace" gases, the
most prevalent of which is the inert gaseous element argon. The rest
of the trace gases, although present in only minute amounts, are very
important to life on earth. Two in particular, carbon dioxide and
ozone, can have a large impact on atmospheric processes.
• Another gas, water vapor, also exists in small amounts. It varies in
concentration from being almost non-existent over desert regions to
about 4% over the oceans. Water vapor is important to weather
production since it exists in gaseous, liquid, and solid phases.
Structure of the
Atmosphere
• The atmosphere is divided vertically into four layers based on temperature:
the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere.
1) Troposphere
The word troposphere comes from tropein, meaning to turn or change. All of
the earth's weather occurs in the troposphere.
The troposphere has the following characteristics.
• It extends from the earth's surface to an average of 12 km (7 miles).
• The pressure ranges from 1000 to 200 millibars (29.92 in. to 5.92 in.).
• The temperature generally decreases with increasing height up to the
tropopause (top of the troposphere); this is near 200 millibars or 36,000 ft.
• The temperature averages 15°C (59°F) near the surface and -57°C (-71°F) at the
tropopause.
• The layer ends at the point where temperature no longer varies with height. This
area, known as the tropopause, marks the transition to the stratosphere.
• Winds increase with height up to the jet stream.
• The moisture concentration decreases with height up to the
tropopause.
• The air is much drier above the tropopause, in the stratosphere.
• The troposphere is 70% nitrogen and 21% Oxygen. The lower
density of molecules higher up would not give us enough
Oxygen to survive.
Stratosphere
• This extends upwards from the tropopause to about 50 km. 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".
Mesosphere
• 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"
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. 
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
Meteorological Parameters
• Temperature - is a physical property that underlies the common
notions of hot and cold. Celsius scale is used for most temperature
measuring purposes.
• Relative humidity - The ratio of the vapor pressure to the saturation
vapor pressure with respect to water.
• Precipitations - is any product of the condensation of atmospheric
water vapor that is pulled down by gravity and deposited on the
Earth's surface. The main forms of precipitation include rain, snow,
ice pellets, and graupel. It occurs when the atmosphere, a large
gaseous solution, becomes saturated with water vapour and the
water condenses, falling out of solution (i.e., precipitates).
• Wind speed - the movement of air or other gases in an
atmosphere.
• Wind direction - is the direction from which a wind originates.
• Solar radiation is radiant energy emitted by the sun from a
nuclear fusion reaction that creates electromagnetic energy