COMPOSTION AND STRUCTURE OF THE ATMOSPHERE

ATMOSPHERE
The vast expanse of air which envelopes the earth all round is called the atmosphere. The
air of the atmosphere has become an integral part of the earth due to earth’s gravitational
force.
According to F.J. Monkhouse, “The atmosphere is a thin layer of gas held to the earth by
gravitational attraction.”
In the words of G.T. Trewartha, “The earth’s atmosphere is a gaseous envelope several
hundred miles thick which surrounds the solid and liquid earth.”
Presenting a more comprehensive definition, Chritchfield writes that, “The atmosphere is
a blanket of gases and suspended liquids and solids that entirely envelops the earth,
extending outward several thousand kilometers to a zone characterized more by magnetic
fields and ionized particles than by familiar air near the surface.”

COMPOSITION OF THE ATMOSPHERE

The atmosphere is a mixture of many gases. In addition, there are water vapours and
dust particles also.
Gases
There are several gases in the atmosphere of which nitrogen constitutes the major
portion. This gas accounts for 78.03% of the total volume of the atmosphere. Next is
oxygen which is 20.99% of the atmospheric volume. Thus, nitrogen and oxygen together
make up over 99% of the atmospheric air by volume.
Some important gases are briefly described below:
1. Nitrogen. Nitrogen constitutes the largest proportion of the atmosphere and accounts
for over 78 per cent by volume. The atmospheric pressure, force of winds and reflection
of light is largely due to nitrogen. This gas has no colour, odour or taste. Nitrogen
avoids quick burning. It would be difficult to control fire in the absence of nitrogen. This
gas extends for over 100 km. from the earth’s surface. However, molecular nitrogen
predominates in the lowest 50 km. and atomic nitrogen is more important at height
between 50 km. and 100 km. above the earth’s surface.
Nitrogen is a very important gas for humans most of the plants and animals as it
generates protein which is very essential for their natural growth. But it cannot be
converted into nitrates which are essential for protein synthesis in plants. There is an
intricate web of nitrogen flow from the atmosphere through the soil and waters of the
earth and back to the atmosphere. Nitrogen is important from the industrial and
 commercial view point also. Currently, a large number of countries are manufacturing
nitrogenous fertilizers using nitrogen present in the air. some other chemical
industries also depend or nitrogen of the atmosphere in varying degrees.

2. Oxygen. Oxygen is the second most important gas of atmosphere and accounts for
nearly 21 per cent of the atmosphere by volume. It is called life giver because it is very
essential for respiration of human beings, animals and plants. This gas is also of great
importance in combustion of fuel. Our earth is the only planet in the entire solar system
whose atmosphere has oxygen in appreciable amount. This is the main source of
energy and provides solid base to industries. Although is extends up to 120 km. in the
atmosphere above the earth’s surface, its main concentration is confined to 16 km.
only.

3. Carbon dioxide. This is the heaviest gas and is confined to lower layers only,
although it can be found upto a height of 32 km in small quantity. Inspite of the fact that
it forms just 0.03% of the atmosphere, it is the most essential gas for the growth of
vegetation. It is important meteorologically also because it is transparent to the
incoming solar radiation but opaque to the terrestrial radiation reflected from earth’s
surface. It keeps the air warmer near the ground and along with water vapour is largely
responsible for greenhouse effect of the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide content of the
atmosphere has been alarmingly rising in the past few decades due to increase in the
burning of fossil fuels. This has increased the temperature of the atmosphere.

4. Hydrogen. This is a light gas and extends to 1,100 km over the heavier gases. The
amount of hydrogen in the lower layers of the atmosphere is negligible, but in up layer,
it consists mainly of protons and electrons of hydrogen. Since hydrogen is of low
molecular weight, it can easily escape into the space. Thus there is continual drift of
hydrogen into the space through the upper atmosphere from the levels where it is
formed.

5. Ozone. Ozone is a special form of oxygen with three atoms instead of normal two and
is chemically denoted as O3. It is a bluish gas and gives pleasant smell if found in small
quantities but becomes pungent smelling on higher concentration. It is formed when
oxygen molecules in the atmosphere are broken up by ultraviolet solar radiation or by
electric discharge during thunderstorms.
Although ozone is present in the atmosphere near the earth’s surface also, its heights
concentration is found in stratosphere at heights varying from 12 km to 50 km above
the ground. It forms a thin layer in stratosphere which is called ozone layer. About 90
per cent of the ozone is concentrated in ozone layer. Near the earth’s surface, ozone
is an increasingly troublesome pollutant because it can damage our lungs when
inhaled in large quantity. But it provides a safety shield from the ultraviolet radiation
 coming from the sun. The ozone gas absorbs UV-B wavelengths and prevents them
from reaching the earth’s surface. The atmospheric temperature rises in stratosphere
due to absorption of ultraviolet rays by the ozone gas present there. The ozone layer
also plays its part in maintaining the stability of climatic conditions over the surface of
the earth.

Water vapour
The average amount of water vapour is nearly 2% of the atmosphere by volume. It may
vary from 4% in the warm and wet tropics to less than 1% in dry and cold areas of deserts
and the polar regions. Even the driest air has some proportion of water vapour. The
amount of water vapour decreases with altitude. It is estimated that water vapour in the air
lies below the altitude of about 2,000 metres. It also decreases from the equator towards
the poles. Water vapour absorbs part of the insolation from the sun and reduces its
amount reaching the earth’s surface. It thus, acts like a blanket allowing the earth neither
to become too cold nor too hot.

Dust Particles
When air blows as wind with sufficient speed, it carries large quantities of dust particles
and keeps them suspended in it. They are derived from different sources and include: sea
salts, fine soil, smoke soot, ash, pollen, dust and disintegrated particles of meteors.
Although dust particles are mostly concentrated in the lower layers, yet convectional air
currents may carry them to great heights. The amount of dust particles is more in sub-
tropical and temperate areas because of dry and windy conditions than in the equatorial
and polar regions. These dust particles are significant from meteorological standpoint.
Many of them act as hydroscopic nuclei around which water vapour condenses to produce
clouds. They also intercept and reflect insolation. Dust in the air produces marvelous
optical phenomenon of red and orange hues in the sky at the sunrise and the sunset which
are known as ‘dawn’ and ‘dusk’ respectively. Besides, dense haze and smog are also
caused due to the presence of dust particles. Sky looks blue due to the presence of dust
particles in the atmosphere.
STRUCTURE OF THE ATMOSPHERE

The atmosphere consists of almost concentric layers of air from bottom to its highest limit.
These layers differ from one another with respect to density and temperature.

1. Troposphere. Troposphere is the lowermost layer of the atmosphere. Its average

height is 16 km although it is only 8 km at the poles and 18 km at the equator.
Thickness of the troposphere is the greatest at equator due to upward transportation of
heat by strong conventional currents. The height of troposphere at a given latitude is
grater in summer than in winter. This layer contains about 75% of the total mass to the
atmosphere. About 50% of the total mass of the atmosphere lies below 5.5 km. 84%
below 13 km. and 99% below 30 km.
The temperature decreases with height in this layer, roughly at the rate of 1ºC for 165
metres of ascent. This is known as normal lapse rate.
The decrease in temperature with height is due to two reasons:
❖ Air is compressible and its density decreases with height, allowing rising air to expand
and thereby cool,
❖ Atmosphere is heated primarily by turbulent heat transfer from the earth’s surface.
Thus the layer of atmosphere near the surface of the earth has the highest
temperature and it decrease with height.
❖ Water vapour also decreases with height from about 5000 ppm (parts per million0 to
as little as 100 ppm at a height of about 12 km. The spatial and temporal distribution
of water vapour content in the troposphere is controlled by a large number of factors
and the important factors are rate of evaporation, temperature of the air, atmospheric
pressure, proximity to a moisture source and nature of air mass.
❖ The decrease of water vapor in the atmosphere is caused by two factors, (i) most
water in the atmosphere is obtained by evaporation and from evapotranspiration
which is maximum at the earth’s surface and (ii) temperature, which causes
evaporation, is highest near the earth’s surface. The recorded range of water vapour
in the atmosphere near the surface varies from a low of 0.1 ppm in Antarctic and
Siberia to a high of 35,000 ppm along the Persian Gulf.
❖ The upper limit of troposphere is determined by temperature inversion. The
troposphere thus remains to a large extent self contained because inversion acts as a
‘lid’ that effectively limits convection.
❖ Troposphere is the most important layer of atmosphere for man because all vital
atmospheric processes leading to various climatic and weather condition’s take place
in this layer. Most of biosphere (life supporting part of the earth) lies in troposphere.

❖ Tropopause. The upper limit of troposphere separating it from stratosphere is called

tropopause. This is a very unstable and thin layer of 1.5 km thickness only.
Temperature stops falling and convection currents cease to function at this height.
Tropopause marks the limit of temperature inversion and forms an effective lid on any
convection within the troposphere and upper ceiling of weather pattern.
The air temperature at the tropopause is about 80ºC over the equator and about 45ºC
over the poles. It is apparently a paradox that the lowest temperature in the atmosphere
is vertically overhead the equator rather than over the poles. This is due to the fact that
troposphere extends upto a height of 18 km. at the equator whereas it is only 8-9 km. at
the poles.

2. Stratosphere. Stratosphere extends

upward from the tropospause to about
50km. and account for about 10 per
cent of the atmospheric mass. Since
tropopause is at a height of about 18
km. at the equator and 8 km. at the
poles, stratosphere is thicker at the
poles than at the equator.
It is stratified and non convective in
nature and this is the reason that it is
called stratosphere.
In the lower stratosphere, the
temperature either remains constant or
increases slightly with height. Afterwards it rises gradually upto a height of about 50 km.
above the earth’s surface due to the presence of ozone gas which absorbs sun’s ultra
violet rays. The air density here is very low and even limited absorption of heat radiation
produces high temperature rise.
The wind system also undergoes changes with respect to space and time. In the over
part of the stratosphere, the winds decrease with height but in the upper stratosphere
there is increase in the wind with height. In the lower layer extending from 18 to 30 km,
the winds blow from the east for 12 months to descend from 30 to 18 km. (10 to 60mb).
The nature of this circulation is supposed to be linked with the changing distribution of
ozone gas in the atmosphere which causes changes in the radiation balance.
There are practically no clouds, convection currents, thundering and
lightening, water vapour, dust particles etc. in the stratosphere. This layer of the
atmosphere is extremely dry and is almost completely devoid of moisture and clouds.
Whatever clouds are there, they are very rare and occur only in restricted areas over
the Antarctica in winter. These clouds are called ‘mother of pearls” or nacreous due to
their colouring.
The lower portion of the stratosphere having maximum concentration of ozone is
called ozonosphere. It is confined to a height varying from 15 km. to 35 km. although
its upper limit extends to 55 km. above sea level. Ozone is a special type of gas with
three atom isotope of oxygen or merely triatomic form of oxygen. It filters ultraviolet
radiations from the sun and saves us from their ill effects. It also saves mankind from
the meteorites falling on the earth as it burns them as they enter into the ozone layer.
The upper limit of stratosphere is known as stratopause. It lies at heights varying
from 50 to 55 km. above the earth’s surface. It separates stratosphere from the
overlying mesosphere.
Mesosphere. Mesosphere lies above the stratosphere upto a height of about 80 km.
although there is yet no universal terminology for the upper atmospheric layers. The
average temperature decreases fairly uniformly with height and reaches its minimum of
about 90ºC at the height of about 80 km. above the earth’s surface. Some of the lowest
temperatures of -100ºC in the atmosphere have been recorded here.
Above 80 km. altitude i.e. above mesopause, the temperature again starts resting
after remaining constant upto 90 km. Molecular oxygen and ozone absorption bands
leads to heating and consequently rise in temperature. Thin noctilucen clouds are
observed here on summer nights. They are present due to meteoric dust particles,
which act as nuclei for ice crystals when traces of water vapour are carried upward by
high level convection caused by vertical decrease of atmospheric temperature. They
may also be formed due to production of water vapour through oxidation of atmospheric
methane.
Thermosphere. Above the mesopause i.e. above 80 km. altitude, lies thermosphere.
This zone is characterized by rapid increase in temperature and hence the name
‘thermosphere’. The temperature rises from -90ºC at 80 km to about 120ºC at 350 km.
altitude. The rise in temperature with height is primarily due to absorption of extreme
ultraviolet solar radiation of small wavelength (0.125 to 0.005 microns) by molecular and
atomic oxygen and its inability of re emit the incoming shortwave radiation as long wave
radiation. However, it is important to note that these high temperatures are essentially
theoretical as these temperatures are not strictly comparable with those experienced
near the earth’s surface. This is because of the fact that atmospheric densities above
the mesopause are extremely low and the gases are so sparse that only insignificant
amount of energy could be transferred. Thus the temperature of satellite orbiting the
earth in the thermosphere is determined mainly by the amount of solar radiation it
absorbs and not by the temperature of the surrounding air. If an astronaut travelling in a
spacecraft were to expose his hand, it will not feel ‘hot’. Temperatures in the upper
thermosphere and exosphere undergo wide diurnal and seasonal variations. They are
higher by day and are also higher during a sunspot maximum, although the changes are
only represented in varying velocities of the sparse air molecules.
Above 100 km. cosmic radiation, solar X-rays and ultraviolet radiation affect the
atmosphere to a great extent and this process causes ‘ionization’. Thus the zone
extending from 80 km. to 400 km. is known as ionosphere. Some scientists regard the
thermosphere and ionosphere as a separate layer containing electrically charged
particles known as ions. Radio waves transmitted from the earth are reflected back to
the earth by this layer. Thus ionosphere is helpful in radio transmission over the surface
of the earth. The Aurora Borealis (North light in the northern hemisphere) and Aurora
Australis (South light in the southern hemisphere) are produced by penetration of
ionizing particles through the atmosphere from 80 km. to 300 km.
Ionosphere can be divided into a number of layers on the bases of electrical
transmission. Koppen has named these layers as D,E,F, and G layers. The heights of
these layers is not well defined but rough approximates of heights are available.
❖ D-layer (between 80 and 90 km.) reflects the signals of low frequency radio
waves but absorbs the signals of medium and high frequency waves. This layer
is mainly associated with solar radiation and disappears after sunset. Medium
and high frequency waves do not move when sun flares increase.
❖ E. Layer was discovered by Kennedy of the U.S.A. and Heaviside of England
and is also known as Kennedy Heaviside layer. Its boundaries are better
defined and it extends from 90 km. to 160 km. this layer comes into being by the
interaction of solar ultraviolet photons with nitrogen and nitrogen molecules and
disappears as soon as sunset occurs. This layer is important because it reflects
medium and high frequency radio waves back to the earth.
❖ F-1 and F2 layers. These two layers were discovered by Appleton as a result of
which these layers are also known as Appleton Layers. These layers reflect
medium and high frequency radio waves back to the earth and are useful for long
distance radio transmission.
❖ G- layer lying above 480 km. probably persists day and night but is hardly
detectable.
Exosphere. Layer extending above thermosphere is known as exosphere whose base
is between 500 km. and 750 km. altitude. Very little is known about this layer. This layer
 is extremely rarefied and gradually merges with the outer space. It has no defined
border as the altitude rises, it thins out until there are no air molecules left.
Chemical Composition of the Atmosphere.
Based on its chemical composition, the earth’s atmosphere can be divided into two
broad zones namely (i) homosphere and (ii) heterosphere.
Homosphere. The lower part of the atmosphere upto the height of 90-100 km. is
known as homosphere. This zone has been named as homosphere because proportion
of gases constituting it is homogenous throughout this zone. The main constituent gas
are nitrogen (78.03%) and oxygen (20.99%). The other gases are argon, carbon
dioxide, hydrogen, neon, helium, krypton, xenon and ozone. It is worth noting that the
natural homogeneity of the major gases of the homosphere has been disturbed to a
great extent by some of the economic activities of mankind. The main economic
activities are industrialization, transportation and urbanization. With the increase in
economic activities the use of fossil fuels has increased dramatically leading to the
larger concentration of carbon dioxide. It is estimated that there has been an increase of
25 per cent in carbon dioxide since the dawn of industrial revolution. On the other hand,
human beings have consumed large quantities of oxygen and depleted larger quantities
of ozone. The ozone layer is depleted largely b y consumption of chloroflurecarbons
and halogenated gases. Based on thermal conditions, the homosphere contains
important layer of the atmosphere which include troposphere, stratosphere,
mesosphere and the lower part of thermosphere.
Heterosphere. This zone extends from 100 km. to the highest limits of the atmosphere.
This zone is called heterosphere because of the heterogeneous nature of its different
layers which vary largely in their physical and chemical properties. This zone has
following four distinct layers of gases.
(i) Molecular nitrogen layer extends from 90 km. to 200 km. and is dominated
by molecular nitrogen.
(ii) Atomic oxygen layer extends from 200 km. to 1100 km. and is dominated by
atomic oxygen.
(iii) Helium layer extends from 1100 to 3500 km. and its major gas is helium.
(iv) Atomic hydrogen layer is the topmost layer and extends beyond 3500 km.
upto the outermost limit of the atmosphere. This layer is dominated by the
hydrogen gas.
 INSOLATION AND TEMPERATURE
SOLAR RADIATION
Sun is an extremely hot gaseous spherical mass whose surface temperature is 6000ºC.
This hot gaseous mass is continuously radiating heat energy into space which is known
as solar radiation. Earth receives heat from solar radiation only. But our earth receives
a very small percentage of total solar radiation which is only one in two billion parts.
This is due to great distance of the earth from the sun (approximately 150 million km.).
Secondly, the size of the earth is very small as compared to sun. Yet, this small
proportion of solar radiation reaching the earth is of great importance as it provides
99.97 per cent of energy to the atmosphere and the oceans.
Other energy sources such as heat produced by radioactive decay processes within the
earth’s crust, energy from other stars, and gravitational attraction of sun and moon are
negligible compared with radian energy received from the sun. Being the only major
source of energy on the earth, it controls many of the physical and all biological
phenomena of the earth. It drives winds, ocean currents, denudational processes, and
hydrological cycle through evaporation and precipitation and sustains life in the
biosphere.
Solar Insolation. Insolation is the short form of ‘incoming solar radiation’ which is
radiated by the sun and received by the earth.

The four spectra are briefly described as under:

1. The first spectrum consists of Gamma Rays, X-Rays and Ultraviolet Rays. The
wavelengths of this spectrum are the shortest and are usually less than 10-m.
2. The second spectrum is the spectrum of visible light which includes violet, blue,
green, yellow, orange and red rays.
3. The third spectrum is called the infrared spectrum which contains infrared waves
whose wavelength varies from 0.7 microns to 300 microns.
4. The fourth spectrum consists of long waves which includes microwaves and radio
waves. The radio waves are useful for radio communications.
 Effect of the Atmosphere on Solar Radiation. When a solar beam passes through
the atmosphere of the earth to reach its surface, its intensity or energy is depleted due
to reflection, scattering, absorption and transmission of solar energy by the atmosphere.
1. Reflection. The earth and its atmosphere reflect part of solar radiation back of space. It
has been estimated that about 70 per cent of the solar radiation intercepted by the earth
and its atmosphere is used in energy process producing weather and climate and the
remaining 30 per cent is reflected back to space.
The term albedo (Latin albus-white) is used to describe reflection of solar radiation by
the earth and its atmosphere.
Albedo is defined as the ratio of radiation reflected from an object to the total amount
that falls on it. The term albedo refers to the reflecting power of a surface for all
wavelengths of energy, whereas reflectivity of a surface is its response to one specific
wavelength or range of wavelengths.
Albedo is expressed in terms of percentages. When we say that the earth reflects back
to space about 30 per cent of the solar radiation received by its, this means that the
earth’s albedo is 30 percent.
There are spatial and temporal variations from the earth’s average albedo of 30
per cent because the earth’s surface has solid land area and liquid water area and is
surrounded by the gaseous atmosphere. Further, seasonal changes in climate and
sun’s inclination also cause changes in albedo.
About three fourths of the earth’s surface is convered by water whose albedo
varies with height of the sun, from very small values at the time of high sun to more than
99 per cent when the sun is near the horizon. Albedo of water surface is affected to a
large extent by waves and ripples, which increase net reflection of direct light when the
sun is near its zenith, and decrease it when the sun is near the horizon.
Albedo of land surfaces changes depending upon the vegetation and snow cover
and the nature of surface. The concept of albedo means that a sandy beach, a grass
covered park, and a body of water or a snow covered area all within a short distance will
not be heated to the same temperature even though the same amount of heat energy is
heading toward each surface. Each of these surfaces has different albedo and different
thermal properties. The albedo of wet ground is only half that of dry ground.
Albedo also changes with time over the same surface. It is relatively high in early
morning and late evening, when the sun is low and relatively low when the sun is high
and its rays are almost vertical. In this position much of the solar energy is absorbed by
the earth’s surface and albedo is low. Dark rocks and soils absorbs most of the solar
radiation and have lower albedo whereas rocks and soils of light colour absorb less
solar radiation and have higher albedo.
Albedo of snow surfaces also vary widely with fresh snow having more albedo
than old snow. On the whole snow covered areas have more albedo than snow free
areas because snow has the quality of reflecting solar radiation in large quantities. For
 example fresh snow has albedo varying from 75 to 95% i.e. only 25 to 5% of solar
radiation is absorbed by fresh ice.
The type of vegetation cover also influences albedo in its own way. Bare surface
has more albedo than the surface covered by vegetation. Savanna vegetation has the
highest albedo varying from 15 to 30 percent while coniferous forest has the lowest
albedo varying from 5 to 15 percent.

Clouds are great reflectors of solar insolation and most of the cloudy areas have
very high albedo. In other words, very small percentage of solar insolation can cross the
clouds and reach the earth’s surface. Amongst the clouds cumuliform have the highest
albedo varying from 70to 90 per cent.

World Distribution of Albedo. The global distribution of annual average surface

albedo varies with latitude and decreases as we move away from the equator towards
the poles. The effects of snow cover in the Arctic sea and ice sheet on the Antarctic
Continent are clearly visible. (Class Notes)

2. Scattering. When solar radiations enter the earth’s atmosphere, they are diffused
in all directions by small particles and molecules of gases, and this process is
known as scattering.
The amount and direction of scatter largely depends upon the following two factors:
(i) Ratio of the radius of the scattering particle to the wavelength of the energy.
(ii) The amount of scatter is inversely proportional to the fourth power of the
wavelength. This means that the solar radiation of shorter wavelengths
scatter more easily than that of longer wavelengths. Thus, if the wavelength
increases two times, the scattering is reduced 16 times and if the
wavelength is increases three times, the scattering is reduced 81 times.
Thus, for visible radiation, the scattering of blue light is 10 times greater
than red light.
Scattering of the solar radiation has several effects. Sky appears to be blue due to
scattering of radiation in blue range of short wavelengths of visible light. The
orange and red colours at dawn and dusk are also due to scattering.

To astronauts, going into space, beyond the limits of the

atmosphere, sky appears to be black because there is no
atmosphere and hence no scattering of solar radiations.
Similarly, the sky appears to be black from the moon’s surface
because moon does not have atmosphere.
An important effect of scattering is that insolation reaches the ground from all parts of the
sky and not only in rays coming directly from the sun. It produces what is known as
diffused light which accounts for brightness of the day time sky.
In polar regions, during the winter season, the sun rarely rises above the horizon,
and whatever little solar insolation is received, is through scattering of solar radiation by
the atmosphere downward towards the earth’s surface.
About 23% of the incoming electromagnetic solar radiation is scattered by dust
particles and gas molecules present in the atmosphere. Out of this 6% is sent back to the
space and the remaining 17% reaches the earth’s surface.
3. Absorption. Absorption is the process by which the incident solar radiation is
retained by the atmosphere and is converted into some other form of energy. It
has been estimated that about 14 per cent of total amount of solar radiation
is absorbed by the atmosphere.
This absorption is done by gas molecules, cloud particles, haze, smoke, dust
particles, etc. present in the air.
The process of absorption is selective in nature as each gas has a typical
characteristic absorption spectrum. Thus different gases absorb different portions
of the electromagnetic spectrum. Two most common gases of the atmosphere,
nitrogen and oxygen, absorb short wavelength radiation. Ozone also absorbs
radiations of short wavelength. Oxygen and ozone absorb radiations of very short
wavelength ranging between 0.02 micron and 0.29 micron, with most of the
absorption occurring in the ionosphere. Ozone also absorbs ultraviolet rays
varying from 1000 angstroms to 4000 angstroms and prevents these radiations
from reaching the earth’s surface. Water vapour absorbs fairly well in the infrared
range but not in the range of maximum solar radiation. The wavelength of the
radiations which are absorbed by the water vapour ranges between 0.9 micron
and 2.1 microns.

4. Transmission. Some of the solar radiation which reaches the top of the
atmosphere is transmitted by it. The proportion of the solar radiation ultimately
passing through the atmosphere is known as transmissivity. It depends upon the
state of the atmosphere and the distance travelled by the solar beam through the
atmosphere.
 FACTORS CONTROLLING SOLAR INSOLATION
Solar insolation received is not the same everywhere on the earth. It varies from place to
place and is controlled by the following factors:
1. Inclination of Sun’s Rays: Inclination of sun’s rays affect the solar insolation at a place
in the following two ways:

(a) Area. Vertical rays have to heat less area than the inclined rays so that heat per unit
area provide by the vertical rays in more than the inclined rays. The insolation per unit
area is maximum at the equator and minimum at the poles.

2. Thickness of the Atmosphere:

The larger the thickness of the atmosphere, greater the amount of scattering, reflection
and absorption by the atmosphere which reduces the intensity of insolation at the
earth’s surface. Consequently, the insolation received per unit area is maximum at the
equator and minimum at the poles.

3. Length of the Day or Duration of Sunshine:

Days are longer in summer and more insolation is received. In winter, says are shorter
and less insolation is received. The duration of the day remains the same throughout
the year at the equator and the amount of insoloation received is also the same. But
days and nights are of six months ‘duration at the poles and large seasonal variations of
the insolation are observed there.
 The length of longest day during summer (and hence largest night during winter)
gradually increases as we move away from the equator towards the poles.

At the time of summer solstice on June 21, the sun vertical rays are at the tropic of
cancer and the length of the longest day increases rapidly from equator towards the
north pole. Consequently the amount of insolation received in higher latitudes is more
than even received at the equator.

4. Effect of the atmosphere. Almost all the insolation received from the sun is in the form
of short wave radiation which is normally less than 4 um. This radiation is absorbed,
reflected, refracted and scattered by different components of atmosphere. Much of the
long wave radiation reflected from the earth’s surface is absorbed by water vapour,
carbon dioxide and ozone present in the atmosphere the rest escaping through
atmospheric windows back into outer space. The ultimate retention of this energy by
the atmosphere is of great importance because in the absence of this energy, the
temperature of the earth’s surface would fall by some 40ºC. Most of the life on the earth
would be impossible at such low temperatures.
5. Effect of Cloud Cover. Cloud cover is a significant barrier to the penetration of
insolation as it reflects a considerable amount of insolation falling on its surface. The
amount of isolation reflected by clouds depends upon their nature, thickness and
amount of cloud cover.
The Zaire (Congo) Basin of Africa is located near the equator and the sun’s rays
are almost vertical here throughout the year. But most of the incoming solar radiation is
reflected back into the space as this area remains almost overcast throughout the year.
Hence, maximum insolation is not fund here. As against this, the Sahara desert of North
Africa, extending upto about 30ºN latitude has practically no cloud cover to reflect the
incoming solar radiation. Thus Sahara desert rather than Congo Basin has the
Maximum solar radiation.

6. Effect of Latitude. Two main factors contribute to this phenomenon. (i) sun’s rays are
vertical over the equator but become oblique away from the equator and are almost
tangential at the poles particularly at the time of equinoxes i.e. 21 March and 23
 September. Vertical rays provide more insolation than oblique rays. (ii) Thickness of the
atmosphere to be crossed by the sun’s rays increases away from the equator towards
the poles. Thus most of the solar radiation reaching the top of the atmosphere is
absorbed, reflected and scattered by in atmosphere and very little insolation is able to
reach the earth’s surface.

The latitudinal distribution of insolation at the time of equinoxes (March 21 and

September 23) when the sun’s noon rays are vertical at the equator, resembles for the
year as a whole because the minimum is at the equator and the minimum at the poles.
The situation is however, different at the time of solstices (June 21 and December
22) when the sun’s vertical rays are at either on Tropic of Cancer (23½ºN) on June 21,
or at Tropic of Capricorn (23½ºS) on December22.

7. Effect of Land and Sea. Water can store a large proportion of the solar radiation
received by its surface, land, in contrast, quickly returns it to the atmosphere. Following
are the main reason for such a phenomenon:
(i) Most of the land surface reflects a large part of the incident solar radiation and has high
albedo. For land surface, the albedo is generally between 8 and 40 per cent of the
incoming radiation whereas for sea surface, it does not exceed 7 per cent unless the
angle of incidence of the sun’s rays is less than 30º. Snow covered areas have
maximum albedo from 40 to 95 per cent with fresh snow reflecting more than 90 per
cent of the incidence solar radiation.
(ii) Being liquid, the sea water always keeps on moving and the solar insolation spreads
over wider areas. Consequently no layer of the water is much heated. On the contrary,
land area remains stable and the solar radiation received by the land surface remains
confined to be limited area. Thus the heat received per unit area of land surface is
sufficiently more than that received by water.
(iii) Water is transparent and permits sun’s rays to penetrate deeper into it. Thus the sun’s
rays have to provide heat to greater depth and the heat received per unit is less. In
contrast to this, land surface does not allow sun’s rays to penetrate deeper into it and
only the upper thin layer is heated. Thus land surface is heated to a much larger extent
during day time when the sun shines above the horizon. But it loses solar radiation
quickly after sunset and becomes cooler, whereas water surface takes time to get
 cooled. Similarly there is seasonal variation in solar radiation with high values in
summer and low values in winter. Wet and dry surfaces behave differently to solar
radiation.
(iv) Large quantity of heat, known as latent heat, is consumed for converting water into
water vapour and is not available for heating water. On the other hand there is no loss
of latent heat from the land surface and entire solar radiation is available for heating it.
(v) Specific heat which is represented by the number of thermal units required to raise a
unit mass through 1ºC, is about five times for water than land. For example, if the
temperature of one kg of water and one kg of rock is to be raised through one degree
Celsius, then heat required by water will be five times more than that required by rock.
(vi) Water surface can be cooled to a certain degree only when the entire water body is
cooled to that level. If the upper layer of water becomes cooler than its lower layer, it
well sink down and warm water from below will come up forming a convection current.
Thus the whole body of water has to become cool or hot before there is any change in
temperature and the entire process takes its own time.
Heat storage in the oceans causes them to be warmer in winter and cooler in summer
than land in the same latitude.

8. Effect of elevation and aspect of slope. At the local level elevation plays an important
role in controlling the amount of solar radiation received. Places located at higher
elevations have smaller mass of air above them and receive more direct solar radiation
under clear sky than those places which are located near the sea due concentration of
water vapour in the lower troposphere. There is however, a corresponding net loss of
terrestrial radiation at higher elevations. This is due to low density of overlying are which
absorbs lesser amount of outgoing radiation. The situation is further complicated by the
presence of clouds in mountainous areas, and generalization is not possible under
these circumstances. Therefore mountains are known as RADIATION WINDOWS.
Aspect of slope is the direction which the slope faces. Slopes facing the sun receive
more insolation than those away from it. Southern slopes of mountains in the northern
hemisphere receive more insolation than their northern counterparts. It is because of
this reason only that the southern slopes of the Himalayas receive more insolation than
their northern counterparts.
9. Distance of the Earth from the Sun. The earth revolves around the sun along an
elliptical path and its distance from the sun keeps on changing with time. This changing
distance of the earth from the sun produces seasonal variations in solar energy
received by the earth from the sun. due to eccentricity of the earth’s orbital path around
the sun, the earth’s distance from the sun is minimum at 147.3 million km.
On January 3 when the earth is said to be in perihelion (from the Greek pari around or
near; helios, the sun). On about July 4 the earth is at its farthest point from the or in
aphelion (from the Greek ap. away from; helios sun) at a distance of 152.1 million km.
Because of this variation in distance of the earth from the sun, the solar energy received
on the earth’s surface normal to a beam of the sun’s rays is 7 per cent more on January
3 than on July 4.
10. Sunspots. Sunspots are dark areas visible on the sun’s surface, surrounded by bright
areas of higher temperature known as faculae. Sunspots change in number and
position in a regular manner, known as sunspot cycles. The solar radiation received at
the earth’s surface changes with change in the number of sunspots. There is a
corresponding increase in solar radiation received by the earth when the number of
sunspots increases. It is estimated that the solar constant changes by 3 per cent
depending upon the increase and decrease in the number of sunspots.

TEMPERATURE
In simple words temperature is a measure of intensity or degree of hotness of a body. It is
the condition that determines the flow of heat energy from one substance to another and
this flow is always from substance at high temperature to substance of low temperature.
Temperature is often erroneously treated as synonymous with insolation, but these two
terms have different meanings and represent different concepts as is clear from the
following description.
Insolation Temperature
1. Insolation is heat energy which makes1. Temperature measures the intensity of
things hotter. heat i.e. the degree of hotness.
2. Insolation is measured in calories. 2.Temperature is measured in degrees.
(Celsius of Fahrenheit).
3. Insolation is the cause. The temperature 3.Temperature is the effect.
of a body increases when it receives
heat.
4. Heat does not travel from one substance 4.Heat can easily travel from one substance
to the other even if they have different to the other if they are at different levels of
amounts of heat contained in them. temperature.
5. A substance can have high temperature 5.A substance may be having high amount
even if it does not have large amount of of heat even if it is at low temperature. For
heat. For example, a body of small mass example, a body of large mass may contain
can have high temperature even though more heat but still remain at low
it has small amount of heat. temperature.

Nevertheless, insolation and temperature are related to each other because gain or loss of
heat is necessary to raise or lower the temperature of a body.
FACTORS CONTROLLING TEMPERATURE
Following few factors are responsible for controlling temperature:
1. Latitude of Distance from the Equator Sun’s rays are vertical at the equator almost
throughout the year. As a result, large quantity of insolation is received there and the
temperature remains nearly 30ºC. The inclination of sun’s rays increases as we go from
equator towards the poles and quantity of insolation received is reduced gradually.
 Consequently temperature falls away from the equator towards the poles. The
temperature near the poles remains below freezing point and these areas are always
snow covered.
2. Altitude or Height above Sea level – It has already been mentioned that there is
gradual fall in temperature with increase in altitude throughout troposphere which
extends to 17-18 km. at equator and 8-9 km. at the poles. On an average, temperature
decreases at the rate of 1ºC for 165 metres of 6.4ºC for one kilometer of ascent. This is
known as normal lapse rate.
This fall in temperature is caused mainly by the following two factors. (a) The
atmosphere is heated mainly by the long wave terrestrial radiations reflected by the
earth’s surface. Thus, the layer of the air located close to be earth’s surface gets more
radiation than the layers lying at higher altitudes. Consequently the temperature goes on
falling as we go higher in the atmosphere. (b) The lower part of the atmosphere is
denser and contains dist particles as well as water vapour which readily absorb terrestrial
radiations. This results in gradual fall in temperature with altitude.
It is because of these reasons that mountains are always cooler than plains.
3. Distance from Sea- Landmasses are heated and cooled more rapidly and to a greater
degree than water bodies. Hence, the temperature of the air resting over a land mass
differs markedly from that of the air resting over a land mass differs markedly from that
of the air resting over a land mass differs markedly from that of the air resting over an
expanse of water in the same latitude. Greater extremes of temperature are felt over
the land than over the oceans. For example, temperature of Mumbai is more uniform
than that of Delhi because Mumbai is located at the seacoast and Delhi is located away
from the sea.
4. Ocean Currents- Ocean currents influence temperature of adjacent land areas
considerably. Warm currents raise the temperatures of the coastal areas, whereas cold
currents lower the temperature near the coast.
In the higher latitudes, e.g. in Eurasia and North America, the eastern coasts have
much lower temperatures than the corresponding western coasts. The North Atlantic
Drift, and extension of the warm Gulf Stream, keeps wintertime temperatures in Great
Britain and much of western Europe warmer than one would expect for their latitudes.
Because of the prevailing westerly winds, the moderating effects of the ocean currents
are carried far inland.
The influence of the cold currents is most pronounced in the tropics or during the
summer months in mid latitudes. For example, the cold Benguela current of the
western coast of southern Africa moderates the tropical heat.
5. Prevailing Winds - Hot winds raise the temperature while cold winds cause a fall in the
temperature. Sirocco is a hot wind blowing from Sahara desert towards Italy and raises
the temperature there. Similarly, Chinook becomes a hot wind when it descends from
the slopes of Rockies and cause a steep rise in the temperature of the Great plain of
North America. Very hot and dry wind known as ‘Loo’ blows over a large part of north
 India in summer and often raises the temperature to a soaring 45ºC. Contrary to this,
cold Mistral winds of Europe and those blowing from Central Asia into China lower the
temperature considerably.
6. Aspects of Slope – Direction of the slope and its angle control the amount of solar
radiation received locally. Slopes more exposed to the sun receive more solar radiation
than those away from the sun’s direct rays. In this way, the southern slopes of the
Himalayas experience higher temperature than their northern counterparts. In many
valleys, settlements and cultivation are, therefore, concentrated on southern slopes,
whereas northern slopes remain forested. In our country, this phenomenon is well
observed in the Himalayan region.
7. Nature of Land Surface – Areas covered with snow of forests reflect much of the
incoming solar radiation and temperature remains low. On the other hand, sand and
black soil absorb much of solar radiation which helps in raising the temperature.
8. Clouds and Rainfall – Areas having more clouds and rainfall do not experience high
temperature because clouds reflect back to space much of the incoming solar radiation.
Inspite of vertical rays of the sun, equatorial region with overcast sky experience lower
temperature than the cloudless desert areas in the tropics.
HORIZONTAL DISTRIBUTION OF TEMPRATURE
Horizontal distribution of temperature means the distribution of temperature across
latitudes. It is shown on a map by isotherms. An isotherm is an imaginary line joining
places having equal temperatures, reduced to sea-level to eliminate the effects of
altitude. On weather maps of small areas the actual observed temperatures are used for
drawing isotherms, but on continental or world maps mean temperatures are reduced to
sea level equivalents by adding 6°C for each kilometer of elevation. This adjustment
eliminates the effect of altitude on temperature and facilitates the mapping of horizontal
temperature differences.
Characteristics of Isotherms
1. Isotherms run almost parallel to latitudes because same amount of insolation is
received and same temperature is experienced by almost all points located on a
particular latitude.
2. Due to differential heating of land and water, temperature above the oceans and
land masses varies even on the same latitude. Isotherms, therefore, bend slightly
while crossing from land mas to oceans and vice versa.
3. There is more water area in the southern hemisphere resulting in uniform
temperature distribution. So there are less bends in the isotherms and their east-
west trends is more clear in the southern hemisphere as compared to northern
hemisphere.
4. Distance between isotherms indicates the rate of change of temperature. Close
spacing of isotherms indicates a rapid change in temperature and wide spacing
means slow change.
5. Temperature is always high in the tropics and isotherms of high value are located
there. Very low temperature is experienced by polar areas and isotherms of low
value are found there.