Intro Atmosphere

Basic Concept of Atmosphere
and Air Pollution

The atmosphere is the blanket of air that surrounds the Earth.
Introduction to Earth Atmosphere
• The early Greeks considered "air" to be one of four
elementary substances; along with earth, fire, and
water, air was viewed as a fundamental component of
the universe.
• By the early 1800s, however, scientists such as John

Dalton recognized that the atmosphere was in fact
composed of several chemically distinct gases
Introduction to Earth Atmosphere
• The major components of the atmosphere: nitrogen, oxygen, and a small

amount of something incombustible, later shown to be argon.
• The development of the spectrometer in the 1920s allowed scientists to

find gases that existed in much smaller concentrations in the
atmosphere, such as ozone and carbon dioxide.
Formation of earth Atmosphere
Just formed Earth: Like Earth, the

hydrogen (H2) and helium (He) were
very warm. These molecules of gas
moved so fast they escaped Earth's
gravity and eventually all drifted off into
space.
Formation of the Earth Atmosphere
• Earth’s original atmosphere was probably just hydrogen and helium,

because these were the main gases in the dusty, gassy disk around the
Sun from which the planets formed.
• The Earth and its atmosphere were very hot. Molecules of hydrogen and
helium move really fast, especially when warm.
• Hydrogen and helium moved so fast they eventually all escaped Earth's
gravity and drifted off into space.
Young Earth: Volcanoes released

gases H2O (water) as steam, carbon
dixoide (CO2), and ammonia (NH3).
Carbon dioxide dissolved in seawater.
Simple bacteria thrived on sunlight and
CO2. By-product is oxygen (O2).
• Earth’s “second atmosphere” came from Earth itself. There were
lots of volcanoes, many more than today, because Earth’s crust
was still forming. The volcanoes released
a. steam (H2O, with two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom),
b. carbon dioxide (CO2, with one carbon atoms and two oxygen
atoms),
c. ammonia (NH3, with one nitrogen atom and three hydrogen
atoms)
.
Current Earth: Plants and animals

thrive in balance. Plants take in carbon
dioxide (CO2) and give off oxygen (O2).
Animals take in oxygen (O2) and give
off CO2. Burning stuff also gives off
CO2.
• Much of the CO2 dissolved into the oceans. Eventually, a simple
form of bacteria developed that could live on energy from the Sun
and carbon dioxide in the water, producing oxygen as a waste
product.
• Thus, oxygen began to build up in the atmosphere, while the
carbon dioxide levels continued to drop.
• Meanwhile, the ammonia molecules in the atmosphere were
broken apart by sunlight, leaving nitrogen and hydrogen.
• The hydrogen, being the lightest element, rose to the top of the
atmosphere and much of it eventually drifted off into space.
These stromatolites are the earliest fossil evidence of
photosynthetic life.
Composition of unpolluted air
The Gases Parts per million (vol)

Nitrogen 756,500
Oxygen 202,900
Water 31,200
Argon 9,000
Carbon Dioxide 305
Neon 17.4
Helium 5.0
Methane 0.97-1.16
Krypton 0.97
Nitrous oxide 0.49
Hydrogen 0.49
Xenon 0.08
Organic vapours ca.0.02
Layer of the Earth Atmosphere
Layer of the Earth Atmosphere
The Troposphere
Closest to the surface of Earth, we have

the troposphere. “Tropos” means change. This layer
gets its name from the weather that is constantly
changing and mixing up the gases in this part of our
atmosphere.
The troposphere is between 5 and 9 miles (8 and 14

kilometers) thick depending on where you are on Earth.
It’s thinnest at the North and South Pole.
The Troposphere
• The bottom layer of the atmosphere
• Temperature decreases with altitude
• Where weather conditions happen
• With vertical air currents (turbulent)
• Contains 75% of the air
• Mostly N2 and O2
Ozone
Layer
Condensation
Stratosphere
• The second layer of the atmosphere
• Up to about 50 km
• With horizontal air currents
• Temperature increases with altitude
• Contains the ozone (O3) layer in the upper region
• Where most jet planes travel through
• Contains about 24% of the air
Mesosphere
• The third layer of the atmosphere
• Up to about 80 km
• Temperature decreases with altitude
• The coldest layer
• Where most meteors burn up
Thermosphere
• The fourth layer of the atmosphere
• To about 1000 km
• The hottest layer (due to ions, H+ and He-,
• That directly absorb the sun’s radiation)
• Temperature increases with altitude
• Where radio waves are reflected
• The aurora (the Southern and Northern
Lights) primarily occur in the Charged particles (electrons, protons, and other ions) from space
collide with atoms and molecules in the thermosphere at high
thermosphere. latitudes, exciting them into higher energy states.
Those atoms and molecules shed this excess energy by emitting
photons of light, which we see as colorful auroral displays.
Ionosphere
• Earth's atmosphere contains a series
of regions that have a relatively large
number of electrically charged atoms
and molecules. As a group, these
regions are collectively called the
ionosphere.
Ionosphere
• Before communication via satellites
became common, the operators of
radio communication systems often
used the ionosphere to extend the
range of their transmissions..
Ionosphere
• High-energy X-rays and ultraviolet (UV)
"light" from the Sun are constantly
colliding with gas molecules and atoms
in Earth's upper atmosphere.
• Electrically charged ions and electrons
move and behave differently than
normal, electrically neutral atoms and
molecules.
Exosphere
• The exosphere is the uppermost region of Earth's atmosphere
• It gradually fades into the vacuum of space.
• Air in the exosphere is extremely thin - in many ways it is almost the
same as the airless void of outer space
• Not all scientists agree that the exosphere is really a part of the
atmosphere.
Further Reading
https://scied.ucar.edu/atmosphere-layers
Radiation in Atmosphere
UV Radiation
Ozone – Protect
from UV-b
Sydney Chapman (Chapman Theory)
Chapman Theory
O2 + hv → O + O (1)
O + O2 + M → O3 + M (2)
O3 + hv → O + O2 (3)
O + O3 → 2 O2 (4)
O + O + M → O2 + M (5)
• M = O2 atau N2
GLOBAL CYCLE OF ATMOSPHERIC MAIN COMPOSITION
Natural Composition of Atmosphere
Sulphur cycle
Carbon cycle
Nitrogen cycle
Video on formation of atmosphere
https://youtu.be/X5oR-IaPY_I

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Intro Atmosphere

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Basic Concept of Atmosphere

and Air Pollution

• By the early 1800s, however, scientists such as John

• The major components of the atmosphere: nitrogen, oxygen, and a small

• The development of the spectrometer in the 1920s allowed scientists to

Just formed Earth: Like Earth, the

• Earth’s original atmosphere was probably just hydrogen and helium,

Young Earth: Volcanoes released

Current Earth: Plants and animals

The Gases Parts per million (vol)

Closest to the surface of Earth, we have

The troposphere is between 5 and 9 miles (8 and 14

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